Charles W. ChesnuttCharles W. Chesnutt

Charles W. ChesnuttCharles W. Chesnutt

Charles W. Chesnutt, America's first great Black novelist, lived in the distinct political, social and cultural environment that found expression in his literary works. 

Though born in Cleveland in 1858, the grandson of a white man and the son of free blacks, Chesnutt grew up in Fayetteville, North Carolina where his family, having left the South originally in 1856, returned after the Civil War.

Charles W. ChesnuttCharles W. Chesnutt

Chesnutt attended a school funded by the Freedman's Bureau, and then worked as a teacher and eventually as a school principal in Charlotte and in Fayetteville.

Despite his personal success, Chesnutt resented the racial

oppression of the South.

Believing a more hospitable environment existed in the North, he moved his family to Cleveland in 1884, where he worked first as a court reporter and then as founder of a successful legal stenography company.

Charles W. ChesnuttCharles W. Chesnutt

Chesnutt also had a passion for writing, and began publishing short stories in 1885.

"Dave's Neckliss" was among the first stories written in black dialect by a black author, using the language to convey not only authenticity but also moral complexity.

Chesnutt's work dealt primarily with the South, and especially with themes of interracial sex and the phenomenon of people legally defined as "black" whose relatively light skin color enabled them to "pass" as "white."

Charles W. ChesnuttCharles W. Chesnutt

He stopped writing fiction in the early twentieth century, devoting his energies to business and to organizations dedicated to improving the lot of African-Americans.

Chesnutt wrote powerful essays on the political and economic exploitation of Southern blacks and served as a member of the General Committee of the NAACP, making him one of the most important commentators on racial issues in the early twentieth century, along with men such as W.E.B. DuBois and Booker T. Washington.

In 1928, the NAACP awarded Chesnutt its Spingarn Medal for his life's work. Charles W. Chesnutt died in 1932.

The Historical Context: The Historical Context: The Fugitive Slave Act, September 18, 1850 The Fugitive Slave Act, September 18, 1850

Before 1850, slaves could not be chased into the free states. That changed in 1850 because of the Fugitive Slave Act.

The Fugitive Slave Act made it against the law to help escaped slaves. Bounty hunters were allowed to go into free states and capture runaway slaves.

If any United States Marshall refused to return a runaway slave would have to pay a penalty of $1,000 (that was a lot of money back then). It was illegal to assist an escaped slave.

The Historical Context: The Historical Context: The Fugitive Slave Act, September 18, 1850 The Fugitive Slave Act, September 18, 1850

The Fugitive Slave Act mandated the return of runaway slaves, regardless of where in the Union they might be situated at the time of their discovery or capture.

Along with the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the ratification of Kansas' admission for free statehood, this legislation is part of the chain of events which culminated in the American Civil War.

The Historical Context: The Historical Context: The Fugitive Slave Act, September 18, 1850 The Fugitive Slave Act, September 18, 1850

Charles Chesnutt lived during a very peculiar time (1858-1932). Chesnutt was a young boy during the Civil War.

Life was rough and unfair for people of color especially those with black blood. Those with even a drop of black blood were mistreated and were rarely, if ever, treated fairly.

The following is a court case from the United States Supreme Court that occurred during Chesnutt's lifetime. It hold some significance to Chesnutt's literary works in one form or another.

Ableman v. BoothAbleman v. Booth

This case deals with an abolitionist who helps a slave to freedom and so is charged with violating the Fugitive Slave Acts.

He appealed to the state Supreme Court and was released. The case was then appealed to the United States Supreme Court by U.S. Marshall who arrested the abolitionist.

This case is also related to "The Passing of Grandison" because the story talks about abolitionist trying to help free slaves which was what happened with Booth (the abolitionist).

““The Passing of Grandison"The Passing of Grandison"

Point of view:

Through the filtered perspective utilized by the narrator, we as readers are only allowed to see the same Grandison which Dick and the Colonel see, thus limiting our knowledge and observations of his character to those characteristics displayed only in the company of the white people in the story.

GrandisonGrandison

Upon Grandison’s introduction, the reader observes a man who appears to appreciate his life as a slave and desire no more from life than what can be found on the plantation, hate “dem low-down free niggers” and “dem cussed, low-down abolitioners” (which endears him to the Colonel more than anything), and, in general, be the picture of the model slave.

After all, Grandison’s loving “marster” has always been benevolent enough to grant him enough food, whiskey, and tobacco.

So why would he, a common slave who has known no other way to live, desire any more from life?

GrandisonGrandison

As “The Passing of Grandison” ends, our final image is of a man “waving his hand derisively” (202) at the man who enslaved him.

Although it is easy to laugh at the outwitted Colonel and cheer for the freed slave, there is something unsettling about the surprise which the reader feels as the boat takes Grandison and his family to freedom.

Grandison vs.DickGrandison vs.Dick

By concealing Grandison’s elaborate plan under the pseudo-plot of “what a man will not do to please a woman”, the narrator occupies the reader’s mind with the trivial and comical actions of the indolent Dick Owens while merely objectifying Grandison as simply the price that must be paid to obtain Charity Lomax.

From the story’s beginning, the burning question seems to be, “Will Dick accomplish his mission and marry the fair Charity?”, not, “Will Grandison be freed?”.

Certainly Grandison’s background role is far from being the protagonist, but in stories about the antebellum South is it common for a slave to be the hero?

Grandison vs.DickGrandison vs.Dick

Through Grandison’s passive comedic façade, the reader is able to see in the end the duality of an existence where a very brave, intelligent, and loving man must demean himself by posing as the very model of a subservient slave in order to obtain freedom.

While we see Dick treating a man’s freedom like roses on Valentine’s Day, the more important task of Grandison is hidden until the very end to show that although both men accomplish their respective missions, the clown is actually the protagonist and the protagonist is actually the clown.

“The Passing of Grandison" debunks the myth of the faithful slave retainer of the Old South, revealing beneath the mask of the docile slave a crafty and determined individual much more committed to the welfare of his family and himself than to his supposedly beloved master.

"The Passing of Grandison" is a literary piece that tells how the white plantation owners looked upon their slaves and how they saw them as too dumb to ever consider escaping. This story shows that the negro slaves were not as dumb as the master's thought.

  "The Passing of Grandison" is a clever satirical treatment of

the paternalist slave owner and the old faithful slave who outwits his master to earn his and his family's freedom.

In the conclusion of "The Passing of Grandison," did Grandison run away on his free will? Or did Dick Owens pay an abolitionist to set up the entire situation?

Irony operates as the central literary device of this story. The irony of the ending forces the reader to go back and re-examine the entire tale.

It gives the story's theme its power. Chesnutt uses irony to create much of the impact of its humor and theme.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jc1RbUxQv4E