Introduction to Jubilee
Transcript of Introduction to Jubilee
Answer this:
Have you written any papers, essays, that could possibly evolve into a book?
Would you be willing to write about the history of your family for a book to be assigned to an undergraduate English course?
What would you title it?
The Genesis of Jubilee
Based upon Walker’s maternal grandmother – Elvira Ware Dozier
Dozier told Walker stories about slave life in Georgia; Walker first used the stories for a class assignment
The collected stories grew into Walker’s dissertation
The dissertation became the book in 1966
“How I Wrote Jubilee” Essay written by Walker details the
process of writing the book From 1934-1966, the book was
written and worked on (rough drafts) The book was completed during the
Black Arts Movement (great timing for marketing)
Considered a slave narrative novel A reflective history: 1966 (author) to
1839 (character)
Basic Framework
Based on the lives of Walker’s maternal grandparents
Begins with a death-ends with a birth (significant and symbolic since death gives life reality)
Told from the point of view of a Black woman
Focus on family and life on the plantation
Consider this: How does Walker’s present history
impact the history that she writes about?
Does our present perspective alter the reality of the past truth?
Can Walker be truly objective or is fiction safer to be subjective?
Why NOT write a biography instead of a novel of grandma Dozier?
Ponder this….
What is the true difference between fiction and biography?
Are all biographies true? What then is the difference between an authorized biography and an unauthorized biography?
How do you know the content of a biography is accurate?
Walker states:
“I had always intended Jubilee to be a folk novel based on folk material: folk sayings, folk beliefs, and folkways…”
Note the title of her sections Note the epigraphs (old spirituals and
slave songs) Note the Biblical references Note the language, dialect of slaves
General format
Follows format for slave narratives Oral history of Vyry The protagonist is a slave woman (a
more modern premise); most protagonists were men
Historic references are important in this text; look for specific references in each section
Sections of the Book
Section 1 = 1839-1860 (Bondage) Section 2 = 1861-1865 (Escape) Section 3 = 1866-1870 (Freedom) Section 2 coincides with the Civil War Section 3 coincides with the
Reconstruction Period Notes the events that occur during
each period
Similar to:
Harriet Tubman (Do you know who she is?)
Maria Child – Incidents of a Life of A Slave Girl
Other slave narratives and oral histories of early African American writers
Alex Haley’s Roots