Theslave narrative is a type ofliterary genre involving the (written) autobiographical accounts of enslaved persons, particularlyblack Africans enslaved in theAmericas, though many other examples exist. Over six thousand such narratives are estimated to exist;[1] about 150 narratives were published as separate books or pamphlets. In the United States during theGreat Depression (1930s), more than 2,300 additionaloral histories on life during slavery were collected by writers sponsored and published by theWorks Progress Administration,[2] aNew Deal program. Most of the 26 audio-recorded interviews are held by theLibrary of Congress.[3]
Some of the earliest memoirs of captivity known in the English-speaking world were written byEuropeans colonists and later onAmericans, captured and sometimes enslaved inNorth Africa by local Arab Muslims, usuallyBarbary pirates. These were part of a broad category of "captivity narratives". Beginning in the 17th century, these included accounts by European colonists and later American settlers in North America who were captured and held by American Indian tribes. Several well-known captivity narratives were published before theAmerican Revolution, and they often followed forms established with the narratives of captivity in North Africa.[citation needed] North African accounts did not continue to appear after theNapoleonic Era; accounts from North Americans, captured by western Indian tribes migrating west continued until the end of the 19th century.
The development of slave narratives from autobiographical accounts to modern fictional works led to the establishment of slave narratives as a literary genre. This large rubric of this so-called "captivity literature" includes more generally "any account of the life, or a major portion of the life, of afugitive orformer slave, either written or orally related by the slave himself or herself".[4] Whereas the first narratives told the stories of fugitive or freed slaves in a time of racial prejudice, they further developed into retrospective fictional novels and extended their influence until common days. Not only maintaining the memory and capturing the historical truth transmitted in these accounts, but slave narratives were primarily the tool for fugitive or former slaves to state their independence in the 19th century, and carry on and conserve authentic and true historical facts from a first-person perspective. They go further than just autobiographies, and are moreover "a source for reconstructing historical experience".[5] The freed slaves that wrote the narratives are considered as historians, since "memory and history come together".[6] These accounts link elements of the slave's personal life and destiny with key historical phenomena, such as theAmerican Civil War and theUnderground Railroad.
In simple, yet powerful storylines, slave narratives follow in general a plot common to all of them: starting from the initial situation, the slave in his master's home, the protagonist escapes in the wilderness and narrates the struggle for survival and recognition throughout his uncertain journey to freedom.[7] After all, these narratives were written retrospectively by freed slaves and/or their abolitionist advocate, hence the focus on the transformation from the dehumanized slave to the self-emancipated free man. This change often entailed literacy as a means to overcome captivity, as the case ofFrederick Douglass highlights. The narratives are very graphic to the extent as extensive accounts of e.g. whipping, abuse and rape of enslaved women are exposed in detail (seeTreatment of slaves in the United States). The denunciation of the slave owners, in particular their cruelty and hypocrisy, is a recurring theme in slave narratives, and in some examples denounced the double standards (e.g. in Douglass's narrative, his slave owner Hopkins is a very religious, but also brutal man).
According to James Olney, a typical outline looks the following way:
A. An engraved portrait, signed by the narrator.
B. A title page that includes the claim, as an integral part of the title, "Written by Himself" (or some close variant: "Written from a statement of Facts Made by Himself"; or "Written by a Friend, as Related to Him by Brother Jones"; etc.)
C. A handful of testimonials and/or one or more prefaces or introductions written either by a white abolitionist friend of the narrator (William Lloyd Garrison, Wendell Phillips) or by a white amanuensis/editor/author actually responsible for the text (John Greenleaf Whittier, David Wilson,Louis Alexis Chamerovzow), in the course of which preface the reader is told that the narrative is a "plain, unvarnished tale" and that naught "has been set down in malice, nothing exaggerated, nothing drawn from the imagination"—indeed, the tale, it is claimed, understates the horrors of slavery.
D. A poetic epigraph, by preference from William Cowper.
E. The actual narrative:
- a first sentence beginning, "I was born ... ," then specifying a place but not a date of birth;
- a sketchy account of parentage, often involving a white father;
- description of a cruel master, mistress, or overseer, details of first observed whipping and numerous subsequent whippings, with women very frequently the victims;
- an account of one extraordinarily strong, hardworking slave often "pure African"-who, because there is no reason for it, refuses to be whipped;
- record of the barriers raised against slave literacy and the overwhelming difficulties encountered in learning to read and write;
- description of a "Christian" slaveholder (often of one such dying in terror) and the accompanying claim that "Christian" slaveholders are invariably worse than those professing no religion;
- description of the amounts and kinds of food and clothing given to slaves, the work required of them, the pattern of a day, a week, a year;
- account of a slave auction, of families being separated and destroyed, of distraught mothers clinging to their children as they are torn from them, of slave coffles being driven South;
- description of patrols, of failed attempt(s) to escape, of pursuit by men and dogs;
- description of successful attempt(s) to escape, lying by during the day, travelling by night guided by the North Star, reception in a free state by Quakers who offer a lavish breakfast and much genial thee/thou conversation;
- taking of a new last name (frequently one suggested by a white abolitionist) to accord with new social identity as a free man, but retention of first name as a mark of continuity of individual identity;
- reflections on slavery.
F. An appendix or appendices composed of documentary material bills of sale, details of purchase from slavery, newspaper items-, further reflections on slavery, sermons, anti-slavery speeches, poems, appeals to the reader for funds and moral support in the battle against slavery.[1]
There is no consensus about what exact type of literature slave narratives are, whether they can be considered as a proper genre, comprised in the large categorycaptivity narrative, or areautobiographies,memoirs,testimonials, ornovels; nonetheless, they play a big part in keeping up the memory of slavery and in approaching a topic that was considered as a taboo for a long time – especially since many denied and still deny the existence of slavery.[8] Given the participation in the 19th century of abolitionist editors (at least in the United States), influential early 20th-century historians, such asUlrich B. Phillips in 1929, suggested that, as a class, "their authenticity was doubtful". These doubts have been criticized following better academic research of these narratives, since the late 20th-century historians have more often validated the accounts of slaves about their own experiences.[9]
Slave narratives by African slaves from North America were first published inEngland in the 18th century. They soon became the main form ofAfrican-American literature in the 19th century. Slave narratives were publicized byabolitionists, who sometimes participated as editors, or writers if slaves were not literate. During the first half of the 19th century, the controversy over slavery in the United States led to impassioned literature on both sides of the issue.
To present the reality of slavery, a number of former slaves, such asHarriet Tubman,Harriet Jacobs, andFrederick Douglass, published accounts of their enslavement and their escapes to freedom.Lucy Delaney wrote an account that included thefreedom suit waged by her mother inMissouri for their freedom. Eventually some 6,000 former slaves from North America and the Caribbean wrote accounts of their lives, and over 100 book-length accounts were published from formerly enslaved people worldwide.[10]
Before theAmerican Civil War, some authors wrote fictional accounts of slavery to create support for abolitionism. The prime example isUncle Tom's Cabin (1852) byHarriet Beecher Stowe. The success of her novel and the social tensions of the time brought a response by whiteSouthern writers, such asWilliam Gilmore Simms andMary Eastman, who published what were calledanti-Tom novels. Both kinds of novels were bestsellers in the 1850s.
From the 1770s to the 1820s, slave narratives generally gave an account of a spiritual journey leading to Christian redemption. The authors usually characterized themselves as Africans rather than slaves, as most were born in Africa.
Examples include:
Some more recent narratives, such asPetro Kilekwa'sSlave Boy to Priest: The Autobiography of Padre Petro Kilekwa (1937), followed a similar theme.
By contrast, some slave narratives demonstrate the resiliency of Muslim spiritual identity while enslaved by Christian masters. These narratives tend to highlight the civilised, often aristocratic and scholarly background of their subjects, to emphasise their respectability and defy efforts at racialdehumanisation; and similarly, also tend to discuss their subjects' African Islamic (usuallyFulani) background, to demonstrate that they have a civilisation of their own (in contrast to Christian redemption narratives, who answer racist dehumanisation by having black people achieve redemption through white Christians).
The slave narratives ofAyuba Suleiman Diallo are one such example. Educated as anIslamic scholar in theFulani state ofFuta Toro, Diallo was captured and sold to theRoyal Africa Company in 1730, and thereafter brought toMaryland as a slave. During his enslavement, Diallo continued to practice Islam; and his aristocratic blood, education, literacy in multiple languages, and cultivated manner impressed elite audiences in America and Britain, challenging efforts to dehumanise him and his race. He was freed and returned to his homeland in 1734.James Oglethorpe—once governor of theRoyal Africa Company—was moved by Diallo's suffering; and when he foundedGeorgia, he introduced a ban on slavery in 1735 (known popularly as theGeorgia Experiment). Two contemporary slave narratives of Diallo's life exist: a biography byThomas Bluett, titledSome Memories of the Life of Job, the Son of the Solomon; and a firsthand memoir, withinFrancis Moore'sTravels Into the Inland Parts of Africa.
Other examples include:
From the mid-1820s, writers consciously chose the autobiographical form to generate enthusiasms for theabolitionist movement. Some writers adopted literary techniques, including the use of fictionalized dialogue. Between 1835 and 1865 more than 80 such narratives were published. Recurrent features include: slave auctions, the break-up of families, and frequently two accounts of escapes, one of which is successful. As this was the period of the forced migration of an estimated one million slaves from theUpper South to theDeep South through the internalslave trade, the experiences of auctions and separation of families were common to many.
Examples include:
Following the defeat of the slave states of theConfederate South, the authors had less need to convey the evils of slavery. Some gave a sentimental account of plantation life and ended with the narrator adjusting to the new life of freedom. The emphasis of writers shifted conceptually toward a recounting of individual and racial progress rather than securingfreedom.
Examples include:
During theGreat Depression of the 1930s, theNew DealWorks Projects Administration (WPA) employed writers and researchers from theFederal Writers' Project to interview and document the stories of African Americans who were former slaves. Most had been children when theThirteenth Amendment was passed. Produced between 1936 and 1938, the narratives recount the experiences of more than 2,300 former slaves. Some interviews were recorded; 23 of 26 known audio recordings are held by theAmerican Folklife Center of theLibrary of Congress.[3][15] The last interview of a former slave was withFountain Hughes, then 101, in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1949.[3] He was a grandson of a slave owned by PresidentThomas Jefferson atMonticello.
Slave narratives inherently involved travel and form a significant type oftravel writing. As John Cox says inTraveling South, "travel was a necessary prelude to the publication of a narrative by a slave, for slavery could not be simultaneously experienced and written." Where many travel narratives are written by privileged travelers, slave narratives show people traveling despite significantlegal barriers to their actions, and in this way are a distinct and essential element in how travel narratives formed the American character.[16]
In comparison to North American and Caribbean slave narratives, theNorth African slave narratives in English were written by British and Americanwhite slaves captured (often at sea or throughBarbary pirates) and enslaved in North Africa in the 18th and early 19th centuries. These narratives have a distinct form in that they highlight the "otherness" of theMuslim slave traders, whereas the African-American slave narratives often call slave traders to account as fellow Christians.[citation needed]
Narratives focused on the central themes of freedom and liberty which drew inspiration from the American Revolution. Since the narratives include the recurrence of themes and events, quoting, and relying heavily upon each other it is believed by scholars that the main source of information was other narratives more so than real captivities.[17] Female captives were depicted asGothic fiction characters clinging to the hope of freedom, thus more relatable to the audience.[18]
Examples include:
Narratives by enslaved women include the memoirs of Harriet Jacobs, Mary Prince, Mattie J. Jackson, and "old Elizabeth," among others.
In her narrative, Mary Prince, a Bermuda-born woman and slave discusses her deep connection with her master's wife and the pity she felt for the wife as she witnessed the "ill-treatment" the wife suffered at the hands of her husband.[22] Prince was taught to read byMoravian missionaries.[23] Literacy, however, was not a common theme for all enslaved women. The life story of "old Elizabeth" was transcribed from her oral account at the age of 97.[24]
As slavery has been practiced all over the world for millennia, some narratives cover places and times other than these main two. One example is the account given byJohn R. Jewitt, an Englisharmourer enslaved for years byMaquinna of theNootka people in thePacific Northwest. TheCanadian Encyclopedia calls his memoir a "classic of captivity literature"[25] and it is a rich source of information about theindigenous people ofVancouver Island.
Macuncuzade Mustafa Efendi, an Ottomanqadi, poet, and slave owner who was captured by theHospitaller fleet off Cyprus in 1597 and was enslaved inHospitaller Malta until he was ransomed in 1600, wrote a narrative entitledBaz Kest-i Hakiri-i Malta Sergiizess-i Esiri-i Malta based on notes and poems he had composed while imprisoned. A manuscript copy of it made by a scribe named Omer in 1602 is preserved at the Hacı Selim Ağa Library inÜsküdar, and its text was published in the 20th century. It is regarded as an important primary source aboutslavery in Malta.[27]
During the 19th and 20th centuries, the Embassies and legations of the Western countries on the Arabian Peninsula had secured the right to manumit any fugitive slave who sought refuge on the grounds of the embassy. Many fugitive slaves used this opportunity to seek freedom from slavery. When they applied for manumission, they provided a mini biography, which was a small slave narrative of their time of enslavement. One such example is from a fugitive fromslavery in the Trucial States who sought manumission at the British Agents Office inSharjahon 23 March 1925 (year 1343 by theIslamic calendar):
These slave narratives were registered by the British Agents Office.
A contemporary slave narrative is a recent memoir written by a formerly enslaved person, orghost-written on their behalf. Modern areas of the world in which slavery occurs include the Sudan.Escape from Slavery: The True Story of My Ten Years in Captivity – and My Journey to Freedom in America (2003) byFrancis Bok and Edward Tivnan, andSlave byMende Nazer and Damien Lewis, describe slavery experiences in the Sudan.[29]
The Underground Railroad byColson Whitehead takes place in analternative version of the 19th century. Cora, a slave on a cotton farm in Georgia escapes via theUnderground Railroad.[30] The novel was well received. It was said to possess "the chilling, matter-of-fact power of the slave narratives collected by the Federal Writers' Project in the 1930s, with echoes of Toni Morrison'sBeloved" and could be considered as a modern-tale fictional slave narrative.[31]
A neo-slave narrative — a term coined byIshmael Reed while working on his 1976 novelFlight to Canada and used by him in a 1984 interview[32] — is a modern fictional work set in the slavery era by contemporary authors or substantially concerned with depicting the experience or the effects of enslavement in the New World.[33] The works are largely classified asnovels, but may pertain to poetical works as well. The renaissance of the postmodern slave narratives in the 20th century was a means to deal retrospectively with slavery, and to give a fictional account of historical facts from the first-person perspective.[34]
Examples include:
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