Brown’s novel, Clotel was made into four versions to reflect the events happening in a fourteen year span. Each version was carefully constructed to expose the true evils of slavery. Clotel, also known as Clotelle, Isabella, and Miralda, is the protagonist in the story tragically dies, but not before allowing the reader to understand the hardships of being a mulatto (white-slave), a woman in bondage, and a mistress to a white man.
Unlike Brown’s later novels, his 1853 version of Clotel immediately appealed to the emotion of his audience. He opened his novel with excerpt from a poem that described a young slave’s appearance and emotional state during a slave auction. The quotes stated, “WHY stands she near the auction stand, That girl so young …show more content…
He said, “They have tears to shed over Greece and Poland; they have an abundance of sympathy for poor Ireland” (Brown 1853). Brown pleaded with his English audience by asking for their aid to help free the slaves, while exposing the misbelief that America was the “cradle of liberty” (Brown 1853). Therefore, Brown omitted the previous quote from his later novels because his audience were no longer foreigners to the events happening in America. Brown closed his later versions of the same chapter by leaving the audience heartbroken by the loss of a character, displaying the true strength of a mother’s will to see her child free, and expressing the ilogic behind the institution of slavery. Brown says, “had she been born in any other land but that of slavery, would have been respected and beloved.”(Brown 1860) meaning how can an individual be hated in a country solely by his/her descendants skin color, but be loved and respected in another land. This line in text was useful to gain the support of his targeted audience because it showed slavery had no rational argument; it was merely an institution that gained support by manipulating the
Unlike Brown’s later novels, his 1853 version of Clotel immediately appealed to the emotion of his audience. He opened his novel with excerpt from a poem that described a young slave’s appearance and emotional state during a slave auction. The quotes stated, “WHY stands she near the auction stand, That girl so young …show more content…
He said, “They have tears to shed over Greece and Poland; they have an abundance of sympathy for poor Ireland” (Brown 1853). Brown pleaded with his English audience by asking for their aid to help free the slaves, while exposing the misbelief that America was the “cradle of liberty” (Brown 1853). Therefore, Brown omitted the previous quote from his later novels because his audience were no longer foreigners to the events happening in America. Brown closed his later versions of the same chapter by leaving the audience heartbroken by the loss of a character, displaying the true strength of a mother’s will to see her child free, and expressing the ilogic behind the institution of slavery. Brown says, “had she been born in any other land but that of slavery, would have been respected and beloved.”(Brown 1860) meaning how can an individual be hated in a country solely by his/her descendants skin color, but be loved and respected in another land. This line in text was useful to gain the support of his targeted audience because it showed slavery had no rational argument; it was merely an institution that gained support by manipulating the