"The engendering impulse of African American literature is resistance to human tyranny. The sustaining spirit of African American literature is dedication to human dignity. Aa resistance to human tyranny and dedication to human dignity became increasingly synonymous with the idea of America itself in the latter half of the eighteenth century, early African American writers identified themselves as Americans with a special mission. They would articulate the spiritual and political ideals of America to inspire and justify the struggle of blacks for their birthright as American citizens. They would also demand fidelity to those same ideas from whites whose moral complacency and racial prejudices had blinded them to the obligations of their own heritage" (Gates, et al. 151).
Proving One's Own Humanity
In his introduction to "The Literature of Slavery and Freedom," in The Norton Anthology of African American Literature, Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. points out many of the key issues facing the earliest African American writers of the eighteenth (and nineteenth) centuries, who were courageous enough to commit their stories to the page. During this time, the young nation was gradually becoming unified under the philosophies of Enlightenment and Christian Humanism, while gathering momentum toward a War of Independence from British rule. Meanwhile, those who had been subjected to chattel slavery were summarily left out of this bid for independence and were denied recognition of their humanity.
Proving one's humanity--and subsequently, his ability to produce intellectual output--became the task of the earliest document known as the slave narrative. Slaves and former slaves were not only discounted from regular citizenship, but mass movements toward christianizing slaves surged and ebbed because of the flagging consensus over whether slaves possessed an eternal soul to save. The twin philosophies of self-determination and independence--as well as the assertion of a soul became the driving force behind the early slave narratives of writers such as Olaudah Equiano, Jupiter Hammon, David Walker, and Phillis Wheatley. By the time Frederick Douglass penned his first narrative in the 1830s, white audiences had still not eased their demand for proof that a former slave could be capable of such eloquence. In fact, the incredulity of white audiences (even in the North, where Abolitionism took root), slave narratives had to be accompanied by an Authenticating Letter: a document in which its writer, usually a white progressive thinker or lecturer, foreswear the veracity of the contents, and that the former slave did in fact write the narrative. Other slaves told their stories through and amanuensis or ghost writer. Sojourner Truth's experience in slavery was transcribed by Olive Gilbert.
Influences on the Growth of the Slave Narrative
Two social influences shaped the early narratives: Literature and the Bible. The narrative of Equiano recalls an early childhood in Africa and the earliest memories of parents, community values, and traditions. Equiano's narrative traces these moments to the moment of capture and enslavement. Such narratives create an allegory that shows the transition from a biblical eden to the hell of slavery, as does the Old Testament mythos concerning the Fall of Man and the 18th century world-building literature of William Blake (Songs of Innocence and Experience).
Later narratives moved the mission of genre from memoir to propaganda. While no longer sufficient to tell the world of the horrors of slave experience, the slave narrative took on a decidedly political slant, and became the very tool of the Abolitionist's cause. Publications such as William Lloyd Garrison's The Liberator, featured stories of escaped slaves, and featured segments of the most popularized narratives, including that of Douglass. As the slave narrative gathered more political agency in the mid-nineteenth century, the genre itself began to assume recognizable elements. Emerging at a time of religious fervor and uncompromising views of gender roles and characteristics, the slave narrative emphasized abolition as the true Christian cause. Its sometimes graphic depictions of rape of the slave woman, her degradation in motherhood, and the slaveholders assumption of her sexual availability became recurring themes to touch the hearts of sensitive readers. One scholar identifies the following traits of the "classic" slave narrative:
1. Slave narratives are episodic: there is usually a brief summary of events that introduces each 'episode' of the teller's life.
2. The phrase "I was born..." asserts the fact of birth, but no record or recollection of the exact time or date.
3. Recollections of a grandparent, usually a grandmother, who raised the teller. Usually, the teller's parentage is mixed: s/he was fathered by a white man, usually the slaveholder, and a slave.
4. The author describes early abuse; particular attention is paid to the abuse of women.
5. The author recalls the arrival of a new African slave who is willful and resistant, suggesting that the purer, "African blood" is noble and resilient.
6. The author enumerates the various laws against educating a slave.
7. The author describes a self-professed "Christian" slaveholder whose cruelty was worse than those who professed no faith.
8. The author describes the living conditions of the slave: the food, clothing, medical conditions, the cabins, and community.
9. The author includes a description of the slave auction, stressing the forced separation of families.
10. The author describes the fate of the runaway slave.
11. The author describes the kindness of northern abolitionists.
12. The author describes a conversion to Christianity through literacy.
13. The author assumes a new name.
Proving One's Own Humanity
In his introduction to "The Literature of Slavery and Freedom," in The Norton Anthology of African American Literature, Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. points out many of the key issues facing the earliest African American writers of the eighteenth (and nineteenth) centuries, who were courageous enough to commit their stories to the page. During this time, the young nation was gradually becoming unified under the philosophies of Enlightenment and Christian Humanism, while gathering momentum toward a War of Independence from British rule. Meanwhile, those who had been subjected to chattel slavery were summarily left out of this bid for independence and were denied recognition of their humanity.
Proving one's humanity--and subsequently, his ability to produce intellectual output--became the task of the earliest document known as the slave narrative. Slaves and former slaves were not only discounted from regular citizenship, but mass movements toward christianizing slaves surged and ebbed because of the flagging consensus over whether slaves possessed an eternal soul to save. The twin philosophies of self-determination and independence--as well as the assertion of a soul became the driving force behind the early slave narratives of writers such as Olaudah Equiano, Jupiter Hammon, David Walker, and Phillis Wheatley. By the time Frederick Douglass penned his first narrative in the 1830s, white audiences had still not eased their demand for proof that a former slave could be capable of such eloquence. In fact, the incredulity of white audiences (even in the North, where Abolitionism took root), slave narratives had to be accompanied by an Authenticating Letter: a document in which its writer, usually a white progressive thinker or lecturer, foreswear the veracity of the contents, and that the former slave did in fact write the narrative. Other slaves told their stories through and amanuensis or ghost writer. Sojourner Truth's experience in slavery was transcribed by Olive Gilbert.
Influences on the Growth of the Slave Narrative
Two social influences shaped the early narratives: Literature and the Bible. The narrative of Equiano recalls an early childhood in Africa and the earliest memories of parents, community values, and traditions. Equiano's narrative traces these moments to the moment of capture and enslavement. Such narratives create an allegory that shows the transition from a biblical eden to the hell of slavery, as does the Old Testament mythos concerning the Fall of Man and the 18th century world-building literature of William Blake (Songs of Innocence and Experience).
Later narratives moved the mission of genre from memoir to propaganda. While no longer sufficient to tell the world of the horrors of slave experience, the slave narrative took on a decidedly political slant, and became the very tool of the Abolitionist's cause. Publications such as William Lloyd Garrison's The Liberator, featured stories of escaped slaves, and featured segments of the most popularized narratives, including that of Douglass. As the slave narrative gathered more political agency in the mid-nineteenth century, the genre itself began to assume recognizable elements. Emerging at a time of religious fervor and uncompromising views of gender roles and characteristics, the slave narrative emphasized abolition as the true Christian cause. Its sometimes graphic depictions of rape of the slave woman, her degradation in motherhood, and the slaveholders assumption of her sexual availability became recurring themes to touch the hearts of sensitive readers. One scholar identifies the following traits of the "classic" slave narrative:
1. Slave narratives are episodic: there is usually a brief summary of events that introduces each 'episode' of the teller's life.
2. The phrase "I was born..." asserts the fact of birth, but no record or recollection of the exact time or date.
3. Recollections of a grandparent, usually a grandmother, who raised the teller. Usually, the teller's parentage is mixed: s/he was fathered by a white man, usually the slaveholder, and a slave.
4. The author describes early abuse; particular attention is paid to the abuse of women.
5. The author recalls the arrival of a new African slave who is willful and resistant, suggesting that the purer, "African blood" is noble and resilient.
6. The author enumerates the various laws against educating a slave.
7. The author describes a self-professed "Christian" slaveholder whose cruelty was worse than those who professed no faith.
8. The author describes the living conditions of the slave: the food, clothing, medical conditions, the cabins, and community.
9. The author includes a description of the slave auction, stressing the forced separation of families.
10. The author describes the fate of the runaway slave.
11. The author describes the kindness of northern abolitionists.
12. The author describes a conversion to Christianity through literacy.
13. The author assumes a new name.
Some Famous Abolitionists and Social Reformers
Amy Post
Frederick Douglass
William Lloyd Garrison
John Brown
Lucretia Mott
Nat Turner
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Harriet Tubman
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