Slave Narratives In The 19th Century

Throughout the 19th century, slave narratives played a major role in documenting the brutality and injustice of slavery, especially in the South. By the 1840’s and 1850’s, regardless of the abolition of slavery in the North, former victims of this cruel institution began to write about the racism that existed in the North even after the Civil War. In fact, slave narratives written by African Americans had gained more popularity than novels written by African Americans at that time, like those by the renowned Frederick Douglass and Harriet Ann Jacobs. Though perceived as mere means of anti-slavery propaganda by many who supported slavery, these narratives were significant during the 19th century as they began to inspire open discussion about …show more content…
Former slaves who were literate and could write clearly, like Douglass and Jacobs, were effective in describing the injustice and immorality of slavery through convincing language and rhetoric. Hence, many slave narratives have shown us how literacy is “among the world’s most important sources of power and human self-worth”, like those written by Douglass and Jacobs. Slave narratives became even more important in the 20th century as they served as an accurate way for historians to study and gain a better understanding of slavery in the 19th century. They continue to be valuable even today, as they are used in literature curriculums of schools in the United States. Slave narratives are valued for ways of portraying the brutality of slavery, especially those of women; they display the importance of education and literacy during a time of racism and …show more content…
In Frederick Douglass’ Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, he not only depicts the hardships of being a slave, but also the importance of education as a slave. This is especially apparent when he portrays the greater effect that education can have on oppressed peoples: “She very kindly commenced to teach me…Mr. Auld found out what was going on, and at once forbade Mrs. Auld to instruct me further.” In this excerpt, Douglass refers to Mrs. Auld, the wife of his former slave master, who is forced to stop the educating of a younger Douglass as it was “unsafe, to teach a slave to read.” This preoccupation is justified when Douglass describes his experience reading The Columbian Orator. Douglass recalls how the slave in the story uses impressive speech to win the respect of his master in order to gain emancipation. Furthermore, he depicts the effects that the story has on him through his reading of Sheridan’s speeches. He claims that the speeches “enabled [him] to utter [his] thoughts” because they gave him the confidence to voice his opinions and realize the extreme immorality of slavery itself as an