Oxherding Tale is a slave narrative that is unlike conventional black novels. Charles Johnson transforms the traditional black writings into a form of literature that provides meaning, existence, and freedom to blacks in literature. These traditional writings are what Johnson calls “protest novels” that relate to the hardships, racism, and the oppression placed on blacks (Johnson IX).
Johnson feels that these novels are not focusing on significant points and should focus more on blacks experiencing spiritual and mental freedom regardless of enslavement. The characters who obtain freedom are adaptive and submissive, being able to give up their present notions of the self to gain a more purified form of the self, which serves as their source of existence.
The static, fixed characters are consumed with their personal beliefs and unresponsive to others in their surroundings. This self-absorbed demeanor prevents them from being adaptive to their experiences. The self is not found, and therefore, existence will never occur. History is presented in the novel indirectly through the lives of the characters, and the experiences they undergo mark historical events. The mindset of the characters also makes up experiences, which construct history.
The uprising of the slaves at Cripple gate is an example of how experiences can yield historical events. George was one of the slaves that escaped after the rebellion, and after his escape, the Soulcatcher captured and killed him (Johnson 174).
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The Chesapeake area in the seventeenth century was a unique community that was almost absent of racism. In this community, at this time, property was the central and primary definition of one's place in society. The color of one's skin was not a fundamental factor in being a well respected and valued member of the community. Virginia's Eastern Shore represented a very small fellowship of people ...
The uprising of the slaves is a historical event that determined the fate of George and other slaves (Johnson 65).
History is also presented in the form of slave narratives, which provides a first-person account of life as a slave. Slave narratives allow slaves to convey their feelings about living in enslavement. These narratives are valuable resources in understanding the experiences and the state of mind of slaves.
History is presented in Oxherding Tale because of incitement from the twelfth century Buddhist painting ‘Ten Oxherding Pictures.’ In this painting, a young man searches for an ox that disappears, allegorical for the disappearance of the self. Andrew Hawkins, one of the characters in search of the self, can only exist through his connection to history (Johnson 152).
The self is a product of experience, and existence can only be attained by allowing experiences to reshape the self. Characters that possess adaptive characteristics perceive their experiences and are willing to give way to changes in the self. Static or fixed characters are unable to achieve existence or spiritual freedom because of their failure to respond to their experiences. Their self-centered way of life also prevents them for achieving existence.
George is a living contradiction by his thoughts and actions. George tells Andrew not to pass for a white, and he places the fate of the black race on Andrew’s shoulders: “You could pass,” he said, “if you wanted to. But if you did, it’d be like turn in’ your back on me and ever thin’ I believes in… Whatever you do, Hawk-it pushes the Race forward, or pulls us back… If you fail, everything we been fight in’ for fails with you. Be y’self” (Johnson 21).
George ends by telling Andrew to be himself, which contradicts everything he had previously told him. Contradiction is also evident in his beliefs concerning Black Nationalism. George tells Andrew about the rising of the African empire, and says that the African empire of kings and queens will rise again greater than anywhere in Europe (Johnson 21).
Contrary to his ramblings of the advancement of Africa, he believes that slavery is reduced to skin color and accepts his inferiority of being a slave.
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How did Andrew Carnegie’s views of the obligations of wealthy people compare with those of Henry George? In the gilded ages dating back to the nineteenth century both Andrew Carnegie and Henry George were known as very influential men of their time both striving towards the common goal of deflating poverty in hopes to diminish it as a whole. Though both Andrew and Henry shared a similar feat they ...
George allows his pain to define his being, which allowed the Soulcatcher to capture him. Andrew and Reb both possess adaptive characteristics and allow their experiences to modify the self. This change purifies the self, which guides them to existence and spiritual freedom. The fluidity of Andrew can be seen in his staying at Levaithan. In order for Andrew to learn the sexual desires of Flo Hatfield, he has to transform the self to adapt to these new experiences (Johnson 64).
In contrast, Reb portrays his adaptability to experiences in a different way. Reb lost his wife, Lucy, and daughter, Biddy, to pellagra. Before Biddy died, Reb had to beg for money in order to pay for a doctor to treat Biddy. Unfortunately, his actions failed until another beggar enlightened him on the ways of not only begging, but on life in general. He told Reb that in order to get what he wants he must act as if he does not want or desire anything (Johnson 76).
Reb then surrenders and accepts his future of uncertainty. All of his future actions involve sacrifice, and he detaches himself from material objects, as well as loved ones, because of the ambiguity life brings life (Johnson 76).
The historical moment presented in the novel is founded upon a set of beliefs in which black people are inferior and are justifiably enslaved because of the mental limitations blacks have. These beliefs attempt to justify the inferiority of blacks and their lack of humanistic qualities. The historical moment can be indicated by the method that Soulcatcher uses to catch slaves. Soulcatcher believes that he can catch any slave, and if there is a slave that he could not catch, he would quit (Johnson 116).
He captures slaves on the theory that the physical capture of a slave is secondary to the mental capture, meaning that a slave’s mental incompetence allows them to be caught. The historical moment is also presented in the perceptual change of the first-person viewpoint of Andrew Hawkins. In the beginning of the novel, Andrew did not have a clear perception of the self, and this caused him to search for the self. His confidence of his understanding of the self can be seen after his second encounter with Soulcatcher. Andrew is very confident that he could outsmart and escape the control of the Soulcatcher (Johnson 117).
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The writings of Harriet Jacobs and Sojourner Truth exemplify that the sufferings of black women were far worst than that of their male counterparts. All slaves were forced to endure the physical and emotional turmoil of bondage, however, for the enslaved woman, race and gender presented a double oppression. Women slaves experienced peculiar wrongs and injustices to which men slaves were not ...
The metaphoric impotence in Oxherding Tale is demonstrated when the Soulcatcher grants Andrew his freedom.
Andrew becomes over-confident that he can escape from the Soulcatcher because he feels that he is unable to lose hope and can surely succeed in the search for the self. However, Andrew is not given freedom due to his ability to adapt to experiences in which the self is transformed. His freedom is also not by compassion or humanizing of blacks, but because of Soulcatcher’s failure to rise to his expectations of the capture of slaves. Andrew is however able to transcend his own historical moment through the Soulcatcher’s failure of capturing Reb. Reb also transcends his historical moment by overcoming the mental limitations that Soulcatcher placed on blacks. History is presented in the novel by the experiences that characters undergo, and these experiences determine whether the self or existence is achieved.
The self is a product of experiences, and the self can only attain existence through its connection to history. Oxherding Tale is an innovative way to present historical black literature, and it strays from the traditional black writings of racism and oppression placed on blacks. Parallelism is present in the novel. Just as Johnson’s new form of literature opposes the traditional black writings, adaptive characters oppose static characters.
There is a correlation between Johnson’s new black literature and adaptive characters because they both strive for meaning and existence. On the other hand, traditional black writings and static characters both focus on insignificant viewpoints and are incapable of providing or reaching existence. The historical moment in the novel is based on expectations as well as a set of beliefs that blacks are inferior due to mental incompetence and limitations. This mental incompetence is the reason why slaves are capable of being caught.
Metaphoric impotence is demonstrated in the way Andrew obtained his physical freedom, and this was due to the Soulcatcher’s failure to rise to his expectations of the capture of slaves. Reb and Andrew both transcend their historical moment, but Andrew remains impotent and weak unlike Reb. After Soulcatcher grants Andrew his freedom, Andrew continues to live out his deceptive life of passing for white. He discontinues his search for the truth and accepts living with the impure form of the self, which prevents him from reaching existence and mental freedom..
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Born the youngest of eleven children, Marcus Garvey started his inspiring life in the rather uninspiring town of St. Ann, Jamaica in 1887. Before his death in 1940, Garvey would revolutionize the way many Blacks throughout the world portrayed their lives and approached the White world they were thrown into. Garvey was revolutionary from many of his contemporary thinkers, Black or White. His most ...
