Slave Narratives - Essay Example

American Literature Slave Narratives Introduction Slave narratives have shaped African-American literarythrough revealing the plight of Southern slaves under their masters. The issues of politics, gender and race are presented in the literary genre and the two narratives served their purpose since slaves ultimately attained their freedom. Douglass’s narrative demonstrates how he managed to escape from slavery and provides a first-hand testimony of slavery since the narratives mention their legal status and is signed by the writers.

Douglass outlines his pursuit of literacy therefore demonstrating that African Americans are committed to independence and intellectual accomplishments. Fredrick Douglass wrote his own narrative that outlined the unforgettable experiences of slaves and cruel treatment (Baym, Levine, Franklin, Gura, Klinkowitz, Krupat & Wallace, 2013, p 367). Both Douglass and Jacobs’s slave narratives emphasizes on the sufferings of slaves under their cruel masters and the endurance of the slaves to free themselves.

Douglass’s narrative reflects the political circumstances and differing literary at the time when Abolitionist movement was gaining popularity while Jacob’s Incidents in 1861 was published at the beginning of Civil War. Douglass was a well-known public figure since he was an orator and speaker of Massachusetts Antislavery Society while Jacobs was unknown in America. Accordingly, Douglass’s narrative is based on sermon and portrays himself as a struggling hero determined to exert his moral principles against a national evil (slavery).

On the other hand, Jacobs’s narrative is based on domestic setting since she was employed as a domestic servant in New York. The narrative includes themes of womanly modesty, family and marriage while Douglass combines selfhood, freedom, voice and manhood through telling his own story (Baym, Levine, Franklin, Gura, Klinkowitz, Krupat & Wallace, 2013, p 950). Jacob’s autobiography manages to show the sexual exploitation and oppression that Black women underwent during slavery. Jacobs’s managed to dispel some stereotypes that were applied on female slaves as victims through showing how she managed to fight for her freedom and that of her two children (Baym, Levine, Franklin, Gura, Klinkowitz, Krupat & Wallace, 2013, p 940-969).

Douglass’s and Jacobs’s narratives have similarities such as renaming of the self and the importance of literacy. One characteristic is the ‘literacy’ scene where the narrators explain how they came to read and write, something that proslavery writers considered impossible. Authenticity is critical and readers experience excitement due to the dramatic details of how the slave manages to escape from their masters. Jacobs’s and Douglass’s include details of good Christianity values.

Conclusion The slave narratives are written or orally related to the slave herself or himself and are influential in American literature. Slave narratives immensely contributed to national debate on slavery and abolitionist movements Reference:Baym, N., Levine, R., Franklin, W., Gura, P., Klinkowitz, J., Krupat, A & Wallace, P. (2013). In The Norton Anthology: American Literature, (8th ed., pp 354-387 and 934-971).