Slave Narratives

Firsthand accounts written or recounted by slaves.

Tales of harrowing journeys from the enslavement of the South to the freedom of the North

Detailed records of physical and mental oppression

They serve as historical documents that provide eyewitness accounts of slavery

They give a voice to the disenfranchised They constitute the beginning of the African-

American contribution to literature

Characteristics & Importance

Began in the Abolitionist movement: Speeches to educate people of conditions Anti-slavery publications such as journals and

newspapers Advocacy of public policies

WPA: The Works Progress Administration of the 1930s (this is way after the period we are currently studying) The Federal Writer’s Project employed writers

to interview former slaves and their descendants. These are documented in a large collection:

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/snhtml/

Origins

God knows Missus, glad to yeddy dat! Picture in Washington! You mean bout my fadder? Been in duh - lemme see now kin I remember - 'casionally he would drink a little 'sumpting. Gone to town. Come back. Drink. Bring Jug from town. Drop 'em. Broke 'em. To disencourage him from doing that again - (boss man lowing nobody to whip my fadder thout he do it!) - overseer, them men give my fadder a piece of the broke Jug (every time he share out rations) to disencourage him bout drink. Thought that a great way to broke him off. And he do so. Fadder have the three brudder - Daniel, Summer and Define

Ben Horry

African-American writers and politicians continue(d) to influence artists today: The Autobiography of Malcolm X Invisible Man Beloved The Confessions of Nat Turner

Legacy

Recounts a critical episode in his life as a slave

Asks the universal question What makes a man free: his mind or body?

Depicts the brutality of slavery and those who ruled as well as his reactions to these conditions

from The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

Writer’s Choice of Words

Diction (Style)

monosyllabic one syllable in length

polysyllabic more than one syllable in length (the higher ratio of polysyllabic words, the more difficult the content

colloquial slang

informal conversational

formal literary

old-fashioned words dated according to time period

denotative containing an exact meaning (dress)

connotative containing a suggested meaning (gown)

concrete specific

abstract general or conceptual

euphonious pleasant sounding (languid, murmur)

cacophonous harsh sounding (raucous, croak)

Word choice helps to convey tone, theme, and purpose. The assiduous plebian perspired under the

sweltering orb. The busy worker sweated under the hot sun.

Diction

Often writers use a variety of methods to convey purpose: Narration Description Exposition Persuasion

Douglas uses each of these techniques to convey theme or purpose

Author’s Purpose

Go to the following website and access one narrative:

http://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper/wpa/wpahome.html

Write a one-page response (hand-written) as to why it is important. Be sure to specifically reference the narrative.

Homework