Slavery in “Flight to Canada” Novel by Ishmael Reed Essay

Updated: Jan 23rd, 2021

Reading has always been my hobby, which enabled me to take fascinating journeys, visit new countries and learn about new cultures without leaving my room. By exercising my mind and using my imagination, I can experience a full range of feelings, such as sorrow, empathy, admiration, and joy when reading a book. Every book tells me a story about its author, his/her views, and cultural experiences to broaden my scope. For these reasons, I decided to take this African American literature course, which can benefit me with new knowledge of this unique culture and its phenomena. When reading the novel Flight to Canada by Ishmael Reed, I have learned the main features characteristic of a new black aesthetic and Reed’s individual style.

In his novel Flight to Canada, Ishmael Reed blurs the boundaries between the prose and poetry as well as the past and the present to express his satirical criticism of the legacy of slavery even after its official abolishment. By establishing the link between the narrative of Raven as an escaped slave and the late-twentieth-century practices of social, economic, and aesthetical discrimination of black artists, Reed combines his personal experience with the satire of the times.

From the opening pages of his narrative, Ishmael Reed uses the category of time to create a link between the historical condition of slavery and the oppressive cultural environment of then-contemporary culture, which discriminated against him as a black writer. The novel starts with a poem entitled “Flight to Canada,” in which the protagonist Raven Quickskill tells a story of his escape from slavery. “I flew in non-stop/ Jumbo jet this a.m. Had/ Champagne/ Compliments of the Cap’n/ Who announced that a/ Runaway Negro was on the/ Plane…” (Reed 3).

Raven, who acts as the author and the protagonist of the poem at the same time, tells about his past in an ironic key, making fun of the tragic episodes of history. This poem demonstrates Reed’s attempts to reconsider traditional slave narratives. By intertwining the story of Raven’s escape and his own searches for creative liberation, the author of the novel establishes the relationship between the subdual of African Americans under the system of slavery and the cultural practices of the twentieth century restricting the civil rights of black artists.

By comparing the cultural practices of commodification and exploitation of African Americans within the two historical periods, Reed juxtaposes his own destiny as an African American writer in the late twentieth century with Raven’s situation as a slave narrator. Thus, the author uses the category of time to create the link between the practices of material and spiritual slavery and criticize its legacy in the late-twentieth-century community.

In contrast to the classical historical novels depicting the antebellum South, such as Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell, for example, Reed in his Flight to Canada focuses on connecting the phenomenon of slavery with its aftermath in the form of contemporary discriminating practices. Criticizing the current legacy of slavery, Reed views the past in retrospection. On the other hand, the two distinct historical periods discussed in Reed’s novel are closely interrelated.

The depiction of nineteenth-century realities provides a valuable historical context, shedding light upon the preconditions of contemporary cultural practices. Reed’s novel can be defined as a post-modern narrative going beyond the historical representation of particular details towards a critique of the American slave system in general. In that regard, Reed’s work can be referred to as an example of new black aesthetics, confronting the traditional stereotypes characterizing middle-class blacks. Reed, as a black artist, does not allow his origin and cultural heritage to frame his destiny and tries to overcome the restrictions created by the dominant capitalist culture.

Analyzing the dangers posed by the commodity culture, Reed also discusses the ways in which this culture can be manipulated. For instance, Raven’s poem “Flight to Canada” becomes a commodity, bringing Raven as its author a celebrity status. This aspect of self-promotion is satirized in the poem: “Passengers came up/ And shook my hand/ & within 10 min. I had/ Signed up for three anti-slavery/ Lectures. Remind me to get an/ Agent” (Reed 3). Therefore, Raven is depicted as not only a slave narrator but also a cultural player who makes attempts to manipulate the existing commodity system to take advantage of it.

The quest for economic, social, and aesthetical liberty as the central theme of the novel Flight to Canada by Ishmael Reed produced a long-lasting impression upon me. By juxtaposing the narration of an escaped slave with his personal experience as a black artist, Reed blurs the lines between the past and the present to create a satirical critique of the dominant commodity culture and the preserved legacy of slavery. Fascinated with the novel Flight to Canada by Reed as an African American writer, I expect the African American literature course to satisfy my curiosity and aid me in my quest for knowledge of new literary genres and movements.

Works Cited

Reed, Ishmale. Flight to Canada. New York: Scribner Paperback Fiction, 1998. Print.

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