The Longest Memory
The Longest Memory: Overview
Source: Black, S., (2019), Digital montage. Additional images from the Tate and The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Enduring Understandings
Literature allows for a way to represent complex social and emotional realities and promotes empathy and understanding. Narratives are manufactured to present viewpoints that are culturally biased and are not neutral.
How can we create texts that provide a unique world view?
Jump to: Introduction | Keywords | Study guides | print & eBook
The longest memory | Introduction
In "the Longest Memory (1994),… Whitechapel, a veteran slave on a Virginia plantation…, blames himself for the whipping to death of his runaway son. We also hear from the boy himself, the plantation owner and his more questioning daughter, the vicious overseer, as well as early 19th-century newspaper editorials debating contemporary views of slavery and its claimed compatibility with Christianity. Traumatic incidents are at the book's heart, including the revelation of the boy's 'forced conception' through the rape of a black cook by the overseer's own father. The self-justifications of all concerned are recorded, enabling readers to make their own judgments." (British Council, n.d.)
The longest memory | Keywords
Click on the terms to access a simple definition from the Oxford Dictionary online.
Freedom, Hypocrisy, Justification, Liberty, Obedience, Plantation, Punishment, Racism, Slavery.
The longest memory | Study Guide
The longest memory | Plot Summary (LitCharts, n.d.)
Provides a short overview of the plot and main characters.
"The longest memory" Analysis, (LitCharts, n.d.)
Provides a step-by-step guide of the plot linked back to major themes.
The longest memory | Themes (LitCharts, n.d.)
Provides an overview of themes found in the novel.
"The longest memory" Quotes (LitCharts, n.d.)
Find quotes relating to characters and themes found in the novel.
The longest memory | Characters (LitCharts, n.d.)
Provides a description and background to the main characters in the novel.
The longest memory | Symbols (LitCharts, n.d.)
Provides an overview of the symbols used in the novel to highlight key themes.
The longest memory | Print book and eBook
Click on the following book covers to place a hold in the library catalogue or access the book online. If prompted, sign in with your School mConnect user name and password.
The Longest Memory [eBook] by Fred D'Aguiar
Written in taut, poetic language, THE LONGEST MEMORY is set on a Virginian plantation in the 19th century, and tells the tragic story of a rebellious, fiercely intelligent young slave who breaks all the rules: in learning to read and write, in falling in love with a white girl, the daughter of his owner, and, finally, in trying to escape and join her in the free North. For his attempt to flee, he is whipped to death in front of his family, and this brutal event is the pivot around which the story evolves.
The Longest Memory [Print] by Fred D'Aguiar
Call Number: DAG
From William Styron's The Confessions of Nat Turnerto Toni Morrison's Beloved, modern American fiction engaged with slavery has provoked fiery controversy. So will The Longest Memory, the powerful, beautifully crafted, internationally acclaimed fictional debut of prizewinning Guyanese poet Fred D'Aguiar. In language extraordinary for its tautness and resonance, The Longest Memorytells the story of a rebellious, fiercely intelligent young slave, who in 1810 attempts to flee a Virginia plantation - and of his father who inadvertently betrays him. The young slave's love for a white girl who slakes his forbidden thirst for learning and his painful relationship with his father are hauntingly evoked in this novel of astonishing lyrical simplicity. It is a measure of D'Aguiar's achievement and bravery that The Longest Memoryis informed not only by the complicities between black slave and white master but also by the tensions among slaves themselves - between stoic survivalists and passionate rebels.
The longest memory | Bibliographies
Fred D'Aguiar (British Council, n.d.)
"Poet, novelist and playwright Fred D'Aguiar was born in London in 1960 to Guyanese parents. He lived in Guyana until he was 12, returning to England in 1972." (British Council, n.d.)
The longest memory | Reviews
World Literature in Review: The Longest Memory
"Had the style of the several narrators been reflective of their educational and social levels, greater realism would have produced more differentiation of characters." (McLeod, 1995)
Reference / citation: McLeod (1995) or (McLeod, 1995)
Reference list / Bibliography: McLeod, A. L. (1995). World literature in review: Guyana. World Literature Today, 69(4), 851. Retrieved from https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=anh&AN=9512211094&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Black History and Women Timeline 1800-1859
Black History and Women Timeline 1800-1859 (Thought.Co)
An African American history and women timeline showing key events that occurred at the time of the Longest memory.
Reference / citation: Lewis (2020, February 11) or (Lewis, 2020, February 11)
Reference list / Bibliography: Lewis, Jone Johnson. (2020, February 11). Black History and Women Timeline 1800-1859. https://www.thoughtco.com/african-american-womens-history-timeline-1800-1829-3528296
The longest memory | Curriculum Alignment and Metadata
This Mentone Girls' Grammar School LibGuide supports the following Australian and / or Victorian curriculum outcomes.
Literacy [Australian General Capability.1]
The knowledge and skills needed to access, understand, analyse and evaluate information, make meaning, express thoughts and emotions, present ideas and opinions, interact with others and participate in activities.
Comprehending texts through listening, reading and viewing [Australian General Capability.11]
Using strategies for reading and viewing texts, including using applied topic knowledge, vocabulary and visual knowledge. Listening for information and to carry out tasks and participate in discussions. Using strategies for comprehending spoken, written, visual and multimodal texts, including retrieving literal information and making inferences.
Next: Background >>
URL: https://library.mentonegirls.vic.edu.au/the-longest-memory
Tags: American history [ScOT.1083], English literature [ScOT.5747]