How African American Literature Shows Its Influence from Vernacular Tradition
How African American Literature Shows Its Influence from Vernacular Tradition Vernacular tradition was a way of passing down information from generation to generation and recording history for slaves who were denied the right to read. Vernacular tradition proved useful to slaves in many ways, from remembering their past in Africa to somehow understanding with surprising accuracy contemporary issues, such as information about the Civil War. When African Americans were granted the right to read, the influence of vernacular tradition appeared in their literature. Specifically, the references to vernacular tradition in Harriet Jacobs’ and Booker T. Washington’s story reflects the influence vernacular tradition had on African American Literature. Harriet Jacobs’ choice of speech in different dialogues shows that “vernacular speech” in African American literature portrayed the socioeconomic classes of different American classes. Throughout most of her story, Harriet Jacobs ...