CHARLES CHESNUTT Eric Arnesen & Lamaris Reed

Biography  Born in Cleveland, Ohio. June 20 th, 1858  Son of two freed African- Americans  Moved to Fayetteville, NC where his father opened up a grocery store  Taught at a school for African-American children and later became the principal

Influence  Slavery  Racism during Reconstruction  Childhood

Writing Style  Wrote stories in “African-American dialect”  Realist style of writing  Uses character’s memories to vividly show what was going on in the south during reconstruction

Example "Do you live around here?" I asked, anxious to put him at his ease. "Yas, suh. I lives des ober yander, behine de nex san'- hill, on do Lumberton Plank-road.” -Goophered Grapevine

Works Cited  Library of America: Charles Chesnutt  Chesnutt, Charles W. Conjure Tales and Stories of the Color Line. New York, NY: Penguin Books, 1992.