2. Academic Resource Center
Slavery Narratives
Academic Resource Center

3. Slavery Narratives: The Basics
Genre that begins in 18th Century
Tell the story of a slave
Writers include:
Frederick Douglass
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Harriett Jacobs

4. Characteristics Include…

5. Anti-Slavery
Political texts that aim to cause and contribute to the abolition of slavery
Demonstrate the cruelty and inhumanity of the institution

6. Movement from Slavery to Freedom
Physical Freedom
Spiritual Freedom
Intellectual Freedom
Metaphysical Freedom
When the protagonist becomes free they are fundamentally changed

7. Christianity as a Tool Appeal to Christian Audiences
Emphasize spiritual emancipation
Show that religious education can be politically beneficial to the abolitionist movement.

8. Slave becomes Educated
Many slaves are taught to read in churches or church meetings
Knowing how to read and write threatened the institution of slavery
Slaves could learn about abolition and slave revolts
Humanized the slave in the slave holders eyes
Shifted their perspectives of themselves, their ability, and their identity