Free Downloads The Classic Slave Narratives: The Life Of Olaudah Equiano / The History Of Mary Prince / Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass
These autobiographical narratives are the first texts in which black slaves began to proclaim themselves as human beings. The literature forms an intriguing personal tapestry, encompassing varied stories but inevitably depicting the horrors of human bondadge.
Mass Market Paperback: 536 pages
Publisher: Signet (September 1, 1987)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0451627261
ISBN-13: 978-0451627261
Product Dimensions: 4.1 x 1.1 x 6.9 inches
Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #1,229,087 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #67 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Historical > Short Stories & Anthologies > Anthologies #2569 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Historical > Biographical #6559 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Social Sciences > Specific Demographics > African-American Studies
The practice of enslavement in the Americas is a phenomenon of staggering proportions. It is also one of the most thoroughly documented systems of human rights abuse in history. "The Classic Slave Narratives" brings together four powerful testaments of individuals who survived enslavement in the Americas. The book also contains an insightful introduction by scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr.As Gates notes in the introduction, it has been estimated that more than 6,000 ex-slaves left some form of written testament between 1703 and 1944--an amazing body of literature. "The Classic Slave Narratives" is thus just a tiny part of a vast genre. Specifically, this anthology contains "the Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano," "The History of Mary Prince," "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass," and Harriet Jacobs' "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl."Each of the four powerful texts offers an effective complement to the others in the collection. In other words, each narrative illuminates at least one unique and important aspect of the American slave experience. Olaudah Equiano, for example, tells what it was like for a native African to be enslaved and transported across the Atlantic in a slave ship. Prince illuminates the life of a slave woman on the Caribbean islands. Douglass, born to a slave mother and a white father, describes in detail his quest for literacy. And Jacobs offers an incisive window into the sexual pathology of the slaveowning society.These four texts are both valuable historical documents and fascinating works of literature. Much American literature--autobiography, poetry, novels, essays, and other genres--demonstrates the influence of, or parallels to, these pivotal texts. "The Classic Slave Narratives" is a necessary text for those interested in United States and Caribbean history, in American literature, in literacy, or in human rights.
These are stories of courage against great odds, first-hand accounts of an incredible institutionalized holocaust that was standard operating procedure in this country for hundreds of years. Some of these writings were best sellers of their time, but today they are too much an ill-kept secret. Yet I bet the average person living in the U.S. today only knows the name of one of the authors of these narratives. Read a first-hand account of the middle passage. Learn about the woman who spent almost a decade in a crawl space to escape the life of a slave. Find out the story of a man who risked life and limb to give public lectures against slavery, while he himself was still not legally free. You will never know what has been hidden from you, you owe it to yourself, your mother, and your child to read these stories told by Black people who lived through, and fought against, slavery. I also highly recommend Beloved, both the movie and the book, as well as the recent PBS series on slavery.
Dr. Henry Louis Gates continues his important work in this volume. It should be mandatory in every middle school in America, without exception. Besides breathing emotional life into the lives of slaves - which is always missing in the broader historical context - one comes to realize how England, France, America and Portugal became such wealthy nations: through many generations of people consigned to labor from early childhood until they died. Dr. Gates doesn't need to make this political observation - the reader arrives at that conclusion from the narratives themselves. The narrators communicate how their minds and hearts stayed on freedom. Such thoughts occur while walking to the fields, while forced to observe others being brutalized, or when they have been promised freedom, only to find themselves sold to another owner and bound for the West Indies instead. When the last page is turned, not only does the reader feel a profound gratitude - for the narrators, for those whose stories were not recorded, for those who died on the middle passage or jumped overboard instead, and for our own relative freedom - but one understands that the issue of reparations from England, France, and the U.S. isn't far-fetched at all. It would have been the only decent thing to have done. I felt deep gratitude to Dr. Gates also for helping to ensure that this history is preserved, made available, and told over and again. The loving care with which this volume has been edited is evident.
Very moving and just kind of "tell it like it is". The writing style is very easy to read and understand. I had to purchase this for a college class, and found that I didn't have an easy time putting it down.Not for the very depressed or light of heart. Also, it's interesting to do some background research on the slaves in the narratives and see what happened to them and what happened to their owners.
This is such an important book. I truly believe that every person should read slave narratives in their lives and remain educated on the subject of slavery so humanity doesn't regress back to this type of evil. Although we're slightly better in 2016, there's still so many issues with racism, and I believe that if more people were educated or less ignorant, things could improve.
Henry Louis Gates provides readers with an important contribution to the many first-hand accounts of enslavement. His scintillating introduction ties together the life and times of four African Americans who narrated their own story of slavery: Olaudah Equiano, Mary Prince, Frederick Douglass, and Harriet Jacobs. The diversity chosen by Gates allows readers to gain a comprehensive perspective of the horrors of slavery: women/men, South/North, born in African/born in America. Readers desiring additional first-hand accounts are encouraged to consider compilations by Yetman of the slave interviews.Reviewer: Bob Kellemen, Ph.D. is the author of Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction , Spiritual Friends: A Methodology of Soul Care And Spiritual Direction, and Soul Physicians.
The Classic Slave Narratives: The Life of Olaudah Equiano / The History of Mary Prince / Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass : Autobiographies : Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave / My Bondage and My Freedom / Life and Times of Frederick Douglass (Library of America) The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano: Written by Himself Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave: (Library of America Paperback Classic) Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (Barnes & Noble Classics) Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written by Himself (Norton Critical Editions) Frederick's Journey: The Life of Frederick Douglass (Big Words) Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass and the Abolitionist Movement (Jr. Graphic African American History) When I Was a Slave: Memoirs from the Slave Narrative Collection (Dover Thrift Editions) Houses of Civil War America: The Homes of Robert E. Lee, Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, Clara Barton, and Others Who Shaped the Era Who Was Frederick Douglass? Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass: The Story Behind an American Friendship Friends for Freedom: The Story of Susan B. Anthony & Frederick Douglass Words Set Me Free: The Story of Young Frederick Douglass (Paula Wiseman Books) The Radical and the Republican: Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, and the Triumph of Antislavery Politics Picturing Frederick Douglass: An Illustrated Biography of the Nineteenth Century's Most Photographed American Frederick Law Olmsted: Plans and Views of Public Parks (The Papers of Frederick Law Olmsted) A Slave No More: Two Men Who Escaped to Freedom, Including Their Own Narratives of Emancipation (.)
