Final answer:
Phillis Wheatley refers to the biblical character Cain in her poem 'On Being Brought from Africa to America' as a critique of racism and prejudices.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the poem "On Being Brought from Africa to America," Phillis Wheatley makes one allusion to the Old Testament. She refers to "Negros, black as Cain." This is an allusion to the biblical character Cain, who was believed by many at the time to be the ancestor of African people. By associating black people with Cain, white people implied that they were inferior. This allusion serves as a critique of the racism and prejudices of her time.
Phillis Wheatley's reference to "Negros, black as Cain" in her poem "On Being Brought from Africa to America" is indeed an allusion with profound implications. In making this reference to Cain, Wheatley draws upon a prevalent biblical interpretation of her time that linked Africans to the cursed lineage of Cain. According to this interpretation, Cain, marked and banished by God for the murder of his brother Abel, was often associated with darker skin.
By incorporating this allusion into her poem, Wheatley not only acknowledges the prevailing racist beliefs of her era but also subtly challenges and critiques them. The association of blackness with Cain was a means of justifying racial hierarchies and discrimination. Wheatley, herself an enslaved African American poet, uses this allusion to confront and question the racist ideologies that sought to devalue and oppress her people. The poem serves as a complex commentary on race, identity, and the pervasive influence of biblical interpretations on societal attitudes.