Early Indigenous Literatures

Marrant Title Page Annotation 1

The title page frames and amplifies the literary genre and religion as necessary facets through the ordering and capitalization of certain words of the title itself. The title is A NARRATIVE of the LORD’s wonderful DEALINGS WITH JOHN MARRANT, A BLACK. First the literary genre is explicitly named, capitalized, and made apparent to the reader. The title then moves to the ranking of religion over a Black subject, as the “Lord’s wonderful dealings” are stated before John Marrant. This poses an important question; would the text have been published if Marrant did not have this religious conversion? Also, who titled the narrative, and could the phrase “the Lord’s wonderful dealings” be omitted? The word “with” connects the two phrases, but John Marrant still comes across as a secondary character in comparison to the Lord. Finally, John Marrant is noted to be a Black, which is italicized. The creator of this title is able to place an adjective and a noun together, as he does with the “Lord’s wonderful dealings,” yet it seems purposeful to only define Marrant by his color and not as a Black person and a human being.

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