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Slave_Narratives Context and Examples.pptx
- 2. Contents Definition Historical Background Characteristics of Slave Narratives Examples of Slave Narratives Harriet Jacobs Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl Works Cited
- 3. Slave Narratives What are they? Autobiographical accounts of the life, or part of it, of a former or escaped slave that is written or orally told by him/her. It narrates the journey from slavery to freedom and exposes the cruelty of slavery. (Williams, Slave Narrative https://www.britannica.com/art/slave-narrative)
- 4. Historical Background The Transatlantic Slave Trade: Lasted from the 16th to 19th century. In 1510 the Spanish begin importing African slaves into the Caribbean. Between 25 to 30 million people deported from their homes and sold as slaves It was a triangular system. Goods were transported from Western Europe to Africa to be exchanged for slaves. After crossing the Atlantic slaves were sold in America and there slave traders bought mostly agricultural products produced by the slaves like tobacco, cotton, sugar and rice and brought them to Europe.
- 5. 18th Century Enlightenment or Age of Reason: The new focus on the rights of man helped initiate the abolitionist movements in Britain and America. Some of the most significant events of the 18th and 19th century: 1701- Samuel Sewell writes The Selling of Joseph, the first antislavery document published in America. 1775-83 -American Revolution. Independence War. 1789 Olaudah Equiano publishes in England The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano. - William Wilberforce introduces in the British Parliament twelve resolutions against the slave trade, but the regulation rather than abolition of slave trade is decided. 1823 - Britains Anti-Slavery Society formed. Members include William Wilberforce. 1833 - Britain passes Abolition of Slavery Act, ordering gradual abolition of slavery in all British colonies. 1845 Frederick Douglas publishes The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas, an American Slave. 1853 Salomon Northup publishes Twelve Years a Slave. 1861 Harriet Jacobs publishes Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (first slave narrative by a woman). 1861-65 American Civil War 1862 - U.S. President Abraham Lincoln proclaims emancipation of slaves with effect from January 1, 1863; 13th Amendment of U.S. Constitution follows in 1865 banning slavery.
- 6. Characteristics of Slave Narratives Some of the most salient characteristics of this genre have been listed in the article "I Was Born": Slave Narratives, Their Status as Autobiography and as Literature by James Olney. Not all examples contain these features, but many of them do. 1. A portrait of the author and his/her signature 2. The phrase Written by Himself on the title page 3. A poetic epigraph (a short quotation or saying at the beginning of a book or chapter, intended to suggest its theme) Andrews, Gates Jr. 2000, p. 35.
- 7. 4. Testimonials and one or more prefaces or introductions written by an abolitionist friend or editor actually responsible for the text (In order to be published, black authors had to be endorsed by whites who could testify to their credibility and the authenticity of their stories) Preface by William Lloyd Garrison, founder of the American Anti-Slavery Society
- 8. 5. Inside the narrative itself: a. A first sentence beginning, I was born. . . and then specifying a place but not a date of birth. b. A sketchy account of parentage, often involving a white father. c. Description of a cruel master, mistress, or overseer, details of first observed whipping and numerous subsequent whippings, with women very frequently the victims d. An account of one extraordinarily strong, hardworking slave often "pure African"-who, because there is no reason for it, refuses to be whipped e. Record of the barriers raised against slave literacy and the overwhelming difficulties encountered in learning to read and write f. Description of a "Christian" slaveholder (often of one such dying in terror) and the accompanying claim that "Christian" slaveholders are invariably worse than those professing no religion
- 9. g. Description of the amounts and kinds of food and clothing given to slaves, the work required of them, the pattern of a day, a week, a year h. Account of a slave auction, of families being separated and destroyed, of distraught mothers clinging to their children as they are torn from them, of slave coffles being driven South i. Description of patrols, of failed attempt(s) to escape, of pursuit by men and dogs j. Description of successful attempt(s) to escape, lying by during the day, travelling by night guided by the North Star, reception in a free state by Quakers who offer a lavish breakfast and much genial thee/thou conversation k. Taking of a new last name (frequently one suggested by a white abolitionist) to accord with new social identity as a free man, but retention of first name as a mark of continuity of individual identity l. Reflections on slavery.
- 10. 6. An appendix or appendices composed of documentary material bills of sale, details of purchase from slavery, newspaper items-, further reflections on slavery, sermons, anti-slavery speeches, poems, appeals to the reader for funds and moral support in the battle against slavery From The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas, an American Slave
- 11. Examples of Slave Narratives Britain Olaudah Equiano The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa, the African (1789) According to his account he was born in what is now Nigeria and enslaved at 11. He was later resold to a British navy officer who did not fulfill his promise to free him. Instead he resold him to West Indian slavery. Equiano was a clever businessman and managed to buy his freedom in 1766. He then traveled for commerce and later married an Englishwoman. There have been contradictions found between his account and historical documents, but some scholars think it might have been on purpose. He published his book by subscription. He convinced buyers to buy copies in advance to be able to cover his costs. The list of subscribers is part of the book. His narrative was used as part of a petition to Parliament to end the slave trade.
- 12. Andrews, Gates Jr. 2000, p. 267.
- 13. America Frederick Douglas The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas, an American Slave (1845) Born into slavery around 1818 in Talbot County, Maryland. Became an abolitionist leader and intellectual who advised presidents and gave lectures. He was asked by William Lloyd Garrison to write his autobiography and asked at many abolitionist meetings to tell his story. In his narrative he tells about his passing from master to master, work in the plantations and city and about learning to read and write, which made him aware of the abolitionist movement. Eventually he saves money and escapes to the North. Solomon Northup Twelve Years a Slave (1853) Harriet Jacobs Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (1861)
- 14. Harriet Jacobs Born 1813, died 1897 Born into slavery Two children with a white lawyer Fled to the North where she worked in the antislavery reading room Wrote several anonymous letters to the New York Tribune and other newspapers self-published Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl in 1861 under the pseudonym Linda Brent
- 15. Andrews, Gates Jr. 2000, p. 743.
- 16. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl Discussed during its time Authenticity long questioned Letters by Jacobs to Amy Post authenticated the novel (Yellin 1981) One of the first slave narratives published by a woman Reflects the horrors women faced during slavery But I do earnestly desire to arouse the women of the North to a realizing sense of the condition of two million of women at the South, still in bondage, suffering what I suffered, and most of them far worse. I want to add my testimony to that of abler pens to convince the people of the Free States what Slavery really is (Brent in Andrews, Gates Jr. (2000). p. 745.
- 17. Works Cited Transatlantic Slave Trade. UNESCO, Human and Social Sciences, 2017, http://www.unesco.org/new/en/social-and-human-sciences/themes/slave-route/transatlantic- slave-trade/. Accessed June 28 Andrews, William L., Henry Louis Gates Jr. Ed. (2000). Slave Narratives. New York: Literary Classics of the United States. Andrews, William L., Slave Narratives. American Literature. https://www.britannica.com/art/slave- narrative. Accessed June 26 2019. Archer, Jermaine O. (2009). Antebellum Slave Narratives: Cultural and Political Expressions of Africa. New York, Abingdon: Routledge. Burke, Kevin M., Henry Louis Gates Jr. (2017). Solomon Northup: Twelve Years a Slave. New York, London: W. W. Norton & Company Fisch, Audrey A. ed. (2007). The Cambridge Companion to the African American Slave Narrative. Cambridge: Cambridge UP. Equiano, Olaudah. The Interesting Narrative and Other Writings. Ed. Vincent Carretta. New York: Penguin Books, 2003. Print. Penguin Classics. Olney, James. I Was Born": Slave Narratives, Their Status as Autobiography and as Literature. Callaloo, No. 20 (Winter, 1984), pp. 46-73. JSTOR. Web. 25 June 2019.