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3.13.6: Reading and Review Questions

  • Page ID
    63235
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    1. What racial prejudices—on her own or on her audience’s part—is Wheatley displaying in “On Being Brought from Africa to America?”
    2. What images of slavery does Wheatley use in “To the Right Honorable William, Earl of Dartmouth” that could apply equally to black slaves and white colonists? What’s the effect of this transfer?
    3. How does Wheatley reveal her attitudes towards Christ and Christianity through her depiction of the Rev. Mr. Whitefield?
    4. What does “To S. M. a Young African Painter, on Seeing his Works” reveal about Wheatley’s attitude towards art and the artist? In other words, what is the role and purpose of art, according to this poem?
    5. How does Wheatley counter implied arguments for slavery in her “Letter to Rev. Samson Occom?” To what hypocrisies does she draw attention, and why?

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