Master Narratives, Identities, and the Stories of Former Slaves


Book Description

This book is intended for researchers in the field of narrative from post-graduate level onwards. It analyzes the audio-recordings of the narratives of former slaves from the American South which are now publically available on the Library of Congress website: Voices from the days of slavery. More specifically, this book analyses the identity work of these former slaves and considers how these identities are related to master narratives. The novelty of this book is that through using such a temporally diverse and relatively large corpus, we show how master narratives change according to both the zeitgeist of the here-and-now of the interview world and the historical period that is related in the there-and-then of the story world. Moreover, focusing on the active achievement of master narratives as socially-situated co-constructed discursive accomplishments we analyze how different, inherently unstable and even contradictory versions of master narratives are enacted.




Slave Narratives


Book Description

Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States is a folk history of slavery collected based on interviews with former slaves. It is also known as the WPA Slave Narrative Collection and was undertaken by the Federal Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration from 1936 to 1938.




Mastering Slavery


Book Description

In Mastering Slavery, Fleischner draws upon a range of disciplines, including psychoanalysis, African-American studies, literary theory, social history, and gender studies, to analyze how the slave narratives--in their engagement with one another and with white women's antislavery fiction--yield a far more amplified and complicated notion of familial dynamics and identity than they have generally been thought to reveal. Her study exposes the impact of the entangled relations among master, mistress, slave adults and slave children on the sense of identity of individual slave narrators. She explores the ways in which our of the social, psychological, biological--and literary--crossings and disruptions slavery engendered, these autobiographers created mixed, dynamic narrative selves.




The Cambridge Companion to the African American Slave Narrative


Book Description

The slave narrative has become a crucial genre within African American literary studies and an invaluable record of the experience and history of slavery in the United States. This Companion examines the slave narrative's relation to British and American abolitionism, Anglo-American literary traditions such as autobiography and sentimental literature, and the larger African American literary tradition. Special attention is paid to leading exponents of the genre such as Olaudah Equiano, Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs, as well as many other, less well known examples. Further essays explore the rediscovery of the slave narrative and its subsequent critical reception, as well as the uses to which the genre is put by modern authors such as Toni Morrison. With its chronology and guide to further reading, the Companion provides both an easy entry point for students new to the subject and comprehensive coverage and original insights for scholars in the field.




Black Subjects


Book Description

Writers as diverse as Carolivia Herron, Charles Johnson, Paule Marshall, Toni Morrison, and Derek Walcott have addressed the history of slavery in their literary works. In this groundbreaking new book, Arlene R. Keizer contends that these writers theorize the nature and formation of the black subject and engage established theories of subjectivity in their fiction and drama by using slave characters and the condition of slavery as focal points. In this book, Keizer examines theories derived from fictional works in light of more established theories of subject formation, such as psychoanalysis, Althusserian interpellation, performance theory, and theories about the formation of postmodern subjects under late capitalism. Black Subjects shows how African American and Caribbean writers' theories of identity formation, which arise from the varieties of black experience re-imagined in fiction, force a reconsideration of the conceptual bases of established theories of subjectivity. The striking connections Keizer draws between these two bodies of theory contribute significantly to African American and Caribbean Studies, literary theory, and critical race and ethnic studies.




Mother Wit


Book Description

The Federal Writers' Project, created during the Great Depression of the 1930s, hired unemployed white collar workers to write guidebooks to each state and major city. Some projects interviewed former slaves. Although these slave narratives have been published, those of the Louisiana Writers' Project have lain dormant for almost fifty years. For the first time these narratives appear in print. They provide a graphic and moving portrait of life during and after slavery. The narrators describe punishment, marriage, religion, food, medical treatment and cures, funerals, war, education, witchcraft, spirits, and other subjects. The fascinating story that emerges is one that no novelist could contrive nor historian construe. Voices once mute, pens once stilled, leap to life. For it is their story - those former slaves, and their work - those members of the LWP - their most enduring legacy.




UNCHAINED - Powerful & Unflinching Narratives Of Former Slaves: 28 True Life Stories in One Volume


Book Description

UNCHAINED - Powerful & Unflining Narratives Of Former Slaves anthologizes the profound and varied experiences of individuals who endured slavery in the United States. This collection showcases an expansive range of literary styles, from autobiographical accounts to essays, each providing a unique lens through which the harrowing reality of slavery is examined and understood. These narratives, rich in historical and emotional depth, offer readers a comprehensive insight into the resilience and courage of those who lived through one of the darkest chapters in American history. The anthology stands out for its inclusion of seminal works that have significantly contributed to both the literary and cultural discourse on slavery, freedom, and human rights. The contributing authors and editors of this anthology bring a diverse array of backgrounds, from former slaves like Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs, who became leading voices in the abolitionist movement, to activists like Ida B. Wells-Barnett, known for her crusade against lynching. Their collective experiences and literary talents provide a multifaceted exploration of slavery and its lasting impact on American society and culture. Positioned at the intersection of various historical, cultural, and literary movements, this collection embodies a significant period in American history, offering perspectives that challenge, enlighten, and inspire. Recommended for scholars, students, and general readers alike, UNCHAINED serves as a compelling entry point into the complexities of slaverys legacy. This anthology not only educates its audience on the historical realities faced by these individuals but also highlights the enduring spirit of humanity in the face of unimaginable adversity. For anyone interested in understanding the nuanced and diverse narratives that compose the fabric of American history, this volume offers an unparalleled opportunity to engage with the voices of those who fought not just for their freedom, but for the recognition of their humanity.




Voices of Freedom


Book Description

Four of the most important and enduring American slave narratives together in one volume. Until slavery was abolished in 1865, millions of men, women, and children toiled under a system that stripped them of their freedom and their humanity. Much has been written about this shameful era of American history, but few books speak with as much power as the narratives written by those who experienced slavery firsthand. The basis for the film of the same name, Twelve Years a Slave is Solomon Northup’s heartrending chronicle of injustice and brutality. Northup was born and raised a freeman in New York State—until he was kidnapped and sold into slavery in the Deep South. Before returning to his family and freedom, he suffered smallpox, the overseer’s lash, and an attempted lynching. Perhaps the most famous of all slave chronicles, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass immediately struck a chord with readers when it was first released in 1855. After escaping to freedom, Douglass became a well-known orator and abolitionist, drawing on his own experiences to condemn the evils of slavery. One of the few female slave narratives, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl was originally published under a pseudonym by Harriet Jacobs. After she escaped to freedom in North Carolina, where she became an abolitionist, Jacobs described the particular suffering of female slaves, including sexual harassment and abuse. Published in 1850, The Narrative of Sojourner Truth is Truth’s landmark memoir of her life as a slave in upstate New York and her transformation into a pioneer for racial equality and women’s rights. These narratives serve as a timeless testament to the strength and bravery, and as a voice to the millions of people enslaved in this dark period of American history. This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.




The Classic Slave Narratives


Book Description

A seminal volume of four classic slave narratives, including Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, The History of Mary Price: A West Indian Slave, Incident in the Life of a Slave Girl, and The Life of Olaudah Equiano. Before the end of the Civil War, more than one hundred former slaves had published moving stories of their captivity and escape, joined by a similar number after the war. No group of slaves anywhere, in any other era, has left such prolific testimony to the horror of bondage and servitude. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., one of America's top experts in African American studies, presents four of these classic narratives that illustrate the real nature of black experience in slavery. Fascinating and powerful, this collection includes four of the best-known examples: the lives of Frederick Douglass, Harriet Jacobs (alias Linda Brent), Mary Price, and Olaudah Equiano (alias Gustavus Vassa). These amazing stories are not only first-person histories of the highest caliber, they are also a unique literary form that has given birth to the spirit, vitality, and vision of America's modern black writers. Updated with the ninth edition of The Life of Olaudah Equiano, the last edition he revised and published in his lifetime. With a Revised and Updated Introduction by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.




The Unchained: Powerful Life Stories of Former Slaves


Book Description

This unique collection consists of the most influential narratives of former slaves, including numerous recorded testimonies, life stories and original photos of former slaves long after Civil War: Recorded Life Stories of Former Slaves from 17 different US States Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass 12 Years a Slave (Solomon Northup) The Underground Railroad Harriet Jacobs: The Moses of Her People Up From Slavery (Booker T. Washington) The Willie Lynch Letter: The Making of Slave! The Confessions of Nat Turner Narrative of Sojourner Truth The History of Mary Prince Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom (William & Ellen Craft) Thirty Years a Slave (Louis Hughes) Narrative of the Life of J. D. Green The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano Behind The Scenes: 30 Years a Slave & 4 Years in the White House (Elizabeth Keckley) Father Henson's Story of His Own Life (Josiah Henson) Fifty Years in Chains (Charles Ball) Twenty-Two Years a Slave and Forty Years a Freeman (Austin Steward) Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Henry Bibb The Narrative of William W. Brown, a Fugitive Slave The Story of Mattie J. Jackson (L. S. Thompson) A Slave Girl's Story (Kate Drumgoold) From the Darkness Cometh the Light (Lucy A. Delaney) Narrative of the Life of Moses Grandy, a Slave in the United States of America Narrative of Joanna Life of Henry Box Brown, Who Escaped in a 3x2 Feet Box Memoir and Poems of Phillis Wheatley Buried Alive Sketches of the Life of Joseph Mountain Documents: The History of the Abolition of African Slave-Trade History of American Abolitionism from 1787-1861 Pictures of Slavery in Church and State Report of the Proceedings at the Examination of Charles G. Davis, Esq., on the Charge of Aiding and Abetting in the Rescue of a Fugitive Slave Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases The Duty of Disobedience to the Fugitive Slave Act Emancipation Proclamation Gettysburg Address XIII Amendment Civil Rights Act of 1866 XIV Amendment ...