Slave narratives

Question 1

Important genres of writing within American culture

Answer 1

135 confirmed real slave narratives
Originally rejected by historians because there was a belief the narratives were written by abolitionists and were biased

Question 2

White privilege is exposed in

Answer 2

Black history
Rise of new social history (history from below)

Question 3

Texts rely on broader cultural logic

Answer 3

To be persuasive and make a point
Broader logics are not under the control of any individual

Question 4

Night time work of the slave explored in the narratives

Answer 4

Established relationships that were explored in the evenings

Question 5

Frederick Douglass

Answer 5

The heroic slave
Leading historical figure in the 19th C

Question 6

Elkin’s book slavery
1950s

Answer 6

Argued against the view that slavery was a benign institution
Sambo-complex; idea that slavery destroyed the black man to the point of no return; ruined black masculinity

Question 7

Gender logic explored in Douglass’ text

Answer 7

Juxtaposition of slavery and manhood

Question 8

Religious logic in Douglass’ text

Answer 8

Description of conversion of slave holder (Covey) as a Methodist
Covey using religion as a shield for his deeds against slavery

Question 9

Economic logic in Douglass’ text

Answer 9

Celebration of free labour
Celebration of the north tied up in descriptions of the celebration of the economy

Question 10

Illegal for slaves to testify against slaveholders in court

Answer 10

“I was doomed to be a witness and a participant”

Question 11

Natural goodness of women in home is subverted by slavery

Answer 11

Mrs Auld was originally very kind to Douglass, started to teach him how to read and write
Eventually becomes mean; slavery corrupts

Question 12

Female voices silenced

Answer 12

Anna Murray helped him escape but does not include how this happened (didn’t want slaveholders to know how slaves escape)
Harriot Jacob’s narrative changes this

Question 13

Literacy as

Answer 13

Freedom

Question 14

People who have no education/believe in slavery

Answer 14

Written in plantation dialect

Question 15

“I have found that, to make a contented slave, it is necessary to make a thoughtless one”

Answer 15

Ironic
Douglass’ narrative is about developing thoughts and exploring one’s identity

Question 16

Language in the text reflects

Answer 16

The world around the slaves
Bound as language users

Question 17

Of the 135 known slave narratives, only

Answer 17

6 are written by women

Question 18

Harriet Jacobs

Answer 18

Believed female slaves had a worse time than male slaves
Both experienced physical abuse, but it extended to sexual abuse in women

Question 19

Harriet Jacobs’ narrative

Answer 19

Came out during Civil War (could be propaganda)
Era when female writers used male names in an attempt to get published

Question 20

Jacobs having autonomy in her life

Answer 20

Fell in love with a free black man (who she was banned from marrying)
To escape sexual harassment from her master, she entered into a consensual relationship with a white man (who fathered her children)

Question 21

Jacobs refused to escape

Answer 21

Slave women were less likely to attempt to escape slavery because they could not make the journey with their children
She hid in a crawl space in her grandmother’s house (her children were being cared for by her grandmother)