“This they would sing, as a chorus, to words which too many would seem unmeaning jargon, but which, nethereless, were full of meaning to themselves” (316, Douglass). This quote is an example of expressing there heritage through the use of songs. Go Down, Moses, Take My Hand Precious Lord & Steal Away Jesus are all other examples of Oral Tradition that African Americans have passed on from one generation to the next. These songs and folktales seen to weave into the narratives of slaves because these oral depictions were a part of there everyday life. Most narratives like “The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass,

The reactions of Phillis Wheatly and some of the slave narrators to oral slave literature would most likely be negative. The Literature of Slavery and Freedom 1746-1865, included the following passage: “Typically the antebellum slave narrative carried a black message inside a white envelope.” These thoughts of producing writings that were padded with material to make them more acceptable to white Americans at the time would be definitely be looked down upon by slave narrators.

” were written long after these events occurred. The stories and songs that they grew up with effected they lives daily which is the reason why we see many examples of Oral Traditions in there writings.

Dunbar’s poem entitled We Wear the Mask describes the following: “We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries” (896, Dunbar), with this passage in mind I believe that both Washington & Du Bois had the same feeling in mind. I believe neither of them wanted there people to be misrepresenting themselves; they also didn’t want them to portray themselves as being weak. Du Bous’s actions like the creation of the NAACP and other organizations shows that he doesn’t want his people to show despair. Throughout the struggle of slavery we must believe that without the use of the “Mask,” that African Americans fight for freedom would have been much harder.

Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes both brought to the table the use of symbolism and imagery to make their points. One of the things that I have noticed after reading both of their writing is that they both seem to use imagery when dealing with sorrow situation. One example of this is written in Hurstons Sweat were the following is said: “She Lay awake, gazing upon the debris that cluttered their matrimonial trail” (1001, Hurston). The imag

Some topics in this essay:
Fredrick Douglass’s, African Americans, Du Bois, Hurstons Sweat, Booker Washington, Slavery Freedom, Jim Crow, Langston Hughes, Americans Washington, Cotton Exposition, african americans, du bois, mind believe, booker washington, tradition african americans, question 1, tradition african, fight freedom, 493 washington, slave narrators, oral tradition african, mainly focused,