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Definition of Motif
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of related symbols, help develop the central themes of a book... read full definition
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of related symbols, help develop the... read full definition
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of... read full definition
Chapter 14
Explanation and Analysis—Light and Dark:
Several times throughout his memoir, Solomon uses imagery of light and dark to communicate feelings of hope and despair, forming a motif. For example, after a white steamboat captain refuses to help Solomon find freedom in Chapter 14, Solomon expresses his hopelessness as so:
I was compelled to smother the sudden flame that lighted up my bosom with sweet hopes of liberation, and turn my steps once more towards the increasing darkness of despair.
Later, in Chapter 16, Solomon burns the letter that he was going to give Armsby to mail for him (after Armsby betrays him by telling Epps about his plan). He again communicates his hopelessness with similar imagery:
The hope of rescue was the only light that cast a ray of comfort on my heart. That was now flickering, faint and low; another breath of disappointment would extinguish it altogether, leaving me to grope in midnight darkness to the end of life.
Both these passages include similar language—in the first he describes a “sudden flame” turning into darkness, while in the second he writes of a light “flickering, faint and low” that will soon be extinguished, leaving him in “midnight darkness.” Moments like this encourage readers to visualize Solomon’s despair and also to feel it, as both descriptions of the light also communicate the light as a warm flame or fire.
These moments help white readers understand the precarity of Solomon’s situation—if one of the few white people he comes into contact with refuses to help him, he is genuinely left without options. These descriptions also encourage white readers to reflect on their position as people who could free enslaved Black people like Solomon by helping to abolish slavery.
Related Themes:
Chapter 16
Explanation and Analysis—Light and Dark:
Several times throughout his memoir, Solomon uses imagery of light and dark to communicate feelings of hope and despair, forming a motif. For example, after a white steamboat captain refuses to help Solomon find freedom in Chapter 14, Solomon expresses his hopelessness as so:
I was compelled to smother the sudden flame that lighted up my bosom with sweet hopes of liberation, and turn my steps once more towards the increasing darkness of despair.
Later, in Chapter 16, Solomon burns the letter that he was going to give Armsby to mail for him (after Armsby betrays him by telling Epps about his plan). He again communicates his hopelessness with similar imagery:
The hope of rescue was the only light that cast a ray of comfort on my heart. That was now flickering, faint and low; another breath of disappointment would extinguish it altogether, leaving me to grope in midnight darkness to the end of life.
Both these passages include similar language—in the first he describes a “sudden flame” turning into darkness, while in the second he writes of a light “flickering, faint and low” that will soon be extinguished, leaving him in “midnight darkness.” Moments like this encourage readers to visualize Solomon’s despair and also to feel it, as both descriptions of the light also communicate the light as a warm flame or fire.
These moments help white readers understand the precarity of Solomon’s situation—if one of the few white people he comes into contact with refuses to help him, he is genuinely left without options. These descriptions also encourage white readers to reflect on their position as people who could free enslaved Black people like Solomon by helping to abolish slavery.
Related Themes:
