Writing in any form is for the sake of deliverance, and In much of literature, including Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and Natasha Trethewey’s Native Guard, printed words convey moral beliefs and values. (Book of symbols)
In Trethewey's Native Guard poem, titled “Southern History,” she illustrates a clear expression of how the written word can easily mutate our beliefs to better suit one’s moral compass and agenda. Trethewey’s poem conveys this even in its first stanza, as a teacher quotes that “before the war; they were happy,” in reference to American slavery. The textbook he reads from describes slaves being “under a master’s care,” which blatantly neglects the human rights’ violations experienced by those same “clothed” and “fed” slaves (Trethewey 38). Moreover, it neglects the history of slavery and thus the very moral lessons American society has learned from it afterward. …show more content…
Trethewey declares that, during her mother’s ongoing abuse by her step-father, it was “not the fleeting bruises” and specifically not the “official document” as a testament of her abuse, truly mattered. What is more essential, however, is how her damaged body and self settle “a bit each day, the way all things do” (Trethewey 11). Her mother’s actual feelings and recovery are the most important in the situation, and the written document, divorce papers, can only legally resolve the