Essay On Martin R. Delany's Blake Or The Huts Of America

Martin R. Delany’s Blake or the Huts of America did not solely bolster the notion of slave rebellion for the sake of freedom but aimed to educate slaves and free blacks of the world of their personal roles in fostering their captivity. Delany’s fictional hero, Henry has returned to his home to discover that his wife, Maggie has been sold and sent to Cuba. After confronting his plantation Master, Colonel Franks in a fury he explains to Mammy Judy and Daddy Joe how he will no longer, “be made a fool by false preaching,” (Delany, 20). Daddy Joe tells Henry not to lose his religion and he responds: “Religion!...That’s always the cry with black people. Tell me nothing bout religion when the very man who hands you the bread at communion has sold your daughter away from you!” (Delany, 20)

Henry’s powerful words put his fury of the religious slave into perspective. His effort to awaken his brethren from
The novel delves further into how religion has shaped slave mentality when Henry sets out to travel the United States in an effort to inspire slaves to rebel. The slaves respond with a chorus of, “thank God,” and “praise God,” for his arrival. Their initial praise to God for Henry’s arrival to their huts offers insult to Henry as he is portrayed as one of the few who set aside white Christianity in an attempt to break his people from the spell of a religion that has been ironically cruel to their people. From a realistic perspective, it is not God that is giving them the hope and strength to rise up but Henry. He alone should be the one that they rally behind. The Biblical teachings instruct them to be patient, peaceful and to wait for a savior such as Jesus. It weakens their resolve and it is Delany’s fictional character, Henry who encourages them to recognize that they themselves are their own