Part II—Essay (100 points)
Instructions
Answer all two questions. Your responses should reflect close readings of the referenced texts. Avoid long or block quotes. Quote sparingly (a sentence here and a sentence there) and follow each quote with a synthesis that helps elucidate your thesis statement. No secondary sources are allowed for the essays; you should rely solely on the primary texts. Any material traced to an outside source (e.g., www.coursehero.com) would be considered plagiarism and may lead to a grade of zero on the exam. Use double-spacing and 12-font format. Two pages (doubles-spacing) is the minimum for each question, so it’s okay to go over, but not beyond three pages.
1) Thomas Jefferson made this comment about Ignatius Sancho: “Upon the whole, though we admit him to the first place among those of his own colour. . ., yet when we compare him with the writers of the race among whom he lived, and particularly with the epistolary class, in which he has taken his own stand, we are compelled to enroll him at the bottom of the column” (Notes on the State of Virginia).
a. With illustrative examples from Notes on the State of Virginia, explain how Jefferson’s notion of blackness is consistent with the portrayals of blacks during the time period.
b. With illustrative examples from Sancho’s Letters, explain how Sancho is rhetorically effective in challenging and/or correcting
establishment views of blackness in eighteenth-century Britain.
c. How differently and/or similarly does Oroonoko portray blackness?
(You must include two quotes from each text, and you should highlight all quotes)
