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Charles W. Chestnutt's The Passing Of Grandson

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Charles W. Chestnutt’s the Passing of Grandison is a tale that sheds light on southern slavery in a time where a movement to free slaves was a rebellious act. The author uses specific locations and dialogue to portray the reality of the era. The theme of the story is addressed through the acts of both of the main characters. On one end, Dick’s determination and courage is driven by a hidden motive that benefits himself; while Grandison’s courage and determination are led by his hidden motive to concur opportunity for himself and his family. Ironically, both men address the topic of what a man is willing to do for the person or people he loves, but the initial reasoning behind the both of the similar yet differing situations leads to a very unexpected outcome. …show more content…

Grandison presents himself as a complacent slave that essentially enjoys living the plantation lifestyle. He expresses that he is “better off than free niggers” and that Colonel Owens is “the bes’ marster any nigger ever had in dis worl’.” Really Grandison’s plan to free himself and all of his family is slowing brewing for the right time. Dick Owens, from the very time he began his voyage with Grandison, was so completely blinded by his own schemes to outwit everyone else, that is never became possible to him that maybe he was the one being fooled. His goal was to obtain a certain damsel named Charity Lomax’s love by freeing a slave because of the gratitude she showed a recently punished “slave stealer”. Charity spoke of the man, “I could love a man who dared such chances for others.” This affection single-handedly guided Dick Owen’s cynical plan to free one of his father’s beloved slaves without him ever noticing how the slave really became

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In Charles W. Chesnutt’s “The Passing of Grandison,” the protagonist is a slave named Grandison. He is selected by his owner Colonel Owens, to accompany his son on a trip north. Grandison assures his owner that there is no place he’d rather be than on the plantation, and that there’s no one he considers more of a friend than the Colonel. Still, sound reasoning suggests that nobody would chose slavery over freedom? An example of this can was seen during my visit to the “450 Years of the African-American Experience;” which lead patrons on a journey from the time Africans reached America via slave ships, through the turbulent period of the Civil Rights movement of the 1060’s, and on to the election of President Barack Obama.

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In “Nightjohn” by Gary Paulsen, Nightjohn and Sarny, live difficult lives of slavery. With no freedom, and Sarny’s wish to learn, Nightjohn is in desperate need to teach Sarny to read and write, to able to write to others to teach them about the bads things of slavery. Through the story’s brave characters, description of hardships they, and a beautiful picture of their bravery they have, readers understand that Gary Paulsen is expressing the idea that helping others, is worth sacrificing yourself. Nightjohn left his Family behind, so he could teach slaves to read and write. In the movie Nightjohn, Sarny tells us how Nightjohn told her that he left his family behind.

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Phaedrus once said, “Things aren’t always as they seem, first appearance deceives many.” The short story The Passing of Grandison was written by author Charles W. Chesnutt. The story takes place in Ohio in the 1850s during abolitionist and anti-slavery laws. It focuses on slavery and how the slaves are owned by a man named Colonel Owen. His son Dick Owen tries to help a slave escape to be with his true love named Charity Lomax.

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Let us begin with George, Celia’s understandably treacherous slave lover, and his unreasonable demands that set Celia’s case into motion. George’s actions are an example of the common frustration and desperation of slave men who had no control over the sexual abuse of their loved ones by white masters (McLaurin 139-140). His was a reaction to a smoldering attack upon his masculinity, an attack that was a direct result of the dehumanization upon which slavery rested. Because the South was a slave society, this master-slave relationship structure echoed throughout every other aspect of southern life (Faragher, 204 & 215). In Celia’s case, we see this truth through Virginia and Mary Newsom’s position of powerlessness.

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Although from different eras, both Douglass and Rowlandson use similar techniques such as religion, repetition, and sentimentalism to show that being held captive and slavery is wrong. America was founded on Christian beliefs, so Douglass attacked that. He states, “If the churches and ministers of our country were not stupidly blind, or most wickedly indifferent, they, too, would so regard it” (Douglass 1037) Douglass is making a bold move that will spark controversy. He uses statements like this to keep the audience’s attention.

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1.Plantation fiction Plantation fiction glorifies slavery and worships slave masters and tells of story of loyal slaves who would never betray their master. The Passing of Grandison is a critique of plantation fiction. Dick Owens, son of a wealthy slave master is in pursuit of Charity Lomax who told him “I’ll never love you Dick Owens, until you have done something. When that time comes, I’ll think about it.”. Dick sets a plan to take his servant Tom on his trip to the north.

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“Outcasts” by Bret Harte and “The Passing of Grandison” by Charles Chesnutt are both local color stories, which is “a pleasant and often sentimental presentation of typical life in a certain definite locality that has characteristic speech, manners, and customs peculiar to itself. The pleasant portrayal of manners in the chosen locality is the primary aim of the local colorists or regionalists” (Local Color (Regionalism)-2 Notes). These two stories have heroism expressed in different ways, due to this different expression “Outcasts” is the better story and more worthy of study than “The Passing of Grandison” is. Although “Outcasts” and “The Passing of Grandison” have similar themes within their stories, after reading the two stories the reader will find that the characters in “Outcasts” have better intentions and are more real than the characters in

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The Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass shows the imbalance of power between slaves and their masters. In his book, Douglass proves that slavery is a destructive force not only to the slaves, but also for the slaveholders. “Poison of the irresponsible power” that masters have upon their slaves that are dehumanizing and shameless, have changed the masters themselves and their morality(Douglass 39). This amount of power and control in contact with one man breaks the kindest heart and the purest thoughts turning the person evil and corrupt. Douglass uses flashbacks that illustrate the emotions that declare the negative effects of slavery.

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Frederick Douglass’s narrative provides a first hand experience into the imbalance of power between a slave and a slaveholder and the negative effects it has on them both. Douglass proves that slavery destroys not only the slave, but the slaveholder as well by saying that this “poison of irresponsible power” has a dehumanizing effect on the slaveholder’s morals and beliefs (Douglass 40). This intense amount of power breaks the  kindest heart and changes the slaveholder into a heartless demon (Douglass 40). Yet these are not the only ways that Douglass proves what ill effect slavery has on the slaveholder. Douglass also uses deep characterization, emotional appeal, and religion to present the negative effects of slavery.

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“Yes, sir, he gives me enough, such as it is.” The colonel, after ascertaining where the slave belonged, rode on; the man also went on about his business, not dreaming that he had been conversing with his master. He thought, said, and heard nothing more of the matter, until two or three weeks afterwards. The poor man was then informed by his overseer that, for having found fault with his master, he was now to be sold to a Georgia trader. He was immediately chained and handcuffed; and thus, without a moment’s warning, he was snatched away, and forever sundered, from his family and friends, by a hand more unrelenting than death.”

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