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The Aftermath Of The Civil War Essay

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The aftermath of the Civil War shook the nation. A new way of life was beginning for the people of America. A way of life that was beautiful and free to some and absolutely devastating to the rest. The country had changed and nobody did a better job at documenting this change than the authors. The authors used this new world to explore new and unique stories as well as capturing what it was actually like living in the post-Civil War times. This paper will examine post-Civil War Literature and its importance to documenting this period in history.

One of the biggest effects of the period was the abolition of slavery. This obviously didn’t change the way that some African Americans were looked upon and treated. However, it did change the way that they interacted with the white people. Before the war African Americans were property and to be only viewed as property. After the war however they adopted more of a confidence and would talk to white people as equals. Author Charles Chesnutt captures this perfectly when portraying Uncle Julius in his book Tales of Conjure and The Color Line. Uncle is a classic trickster character who was a former slave on the plantation that John was looking to purchase. Julius talks to John the way no slave would ever talk to a white man. They talk as equals rather than as master and slave. Such as when John shows interest in buying the plantation and Uncle Julius says “Well, suh, you is a stranger ter me, en I is a stranger ter you, en we is bofe

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