The Birth of American Literature in Antebellum United States

The Birth of American Literature in Antebellum United States

Thesis Statement

Slaves were often allowed throughout these vacations to proceed and visit relatives even though they dwelled far away from the plantation. The life of Fredrick Douglass differs substantially from the lives of most slaves in the Antebellum Period.

Introduction

The antebellum period was an age of racism and an age of suffering. The author of the account entitled "A Narrative" was William Wells Brown. Brown was one of seven children; however, no two of them were of the same father. Brown's mother was a woman by the name of Elizabeth, and his father was a Mr. George Higgins: a white relative of Brown's first owner. William Wells dark was born in Lexington, Kentucky. While his birth date was unbeknownst to him, the event was recorded in his master's records.

The American experience

1Mr. Brown's narrative starts in St. Charles, Missouri; the tale soon expands to St. Louis, Missouri; New Orleans, Louisiana; and the general Mississippi River Valley. Through out his journeys, Brown is treated both fairly and poorly, given responsibility and not trusted, and always a slave. During the story, Brown tells of other slaves' stories and fates, living out his life through the lives of others.

Expansionism

William Wells Brown does not fall under the average ante-bellum slave characterizations. While most black slaves were uneducated and illiterate, Brown's writing is both eloquent and well structured. He held an assortment of jobs and positions throughout his life and except in a few circumstances, did not work in the fields of a plantation. Brown was not rebellious, nor a troublemaker; he attempted an escape on one occasion, but the consequences cautioned him from making another attempt until much later in life. Brown does although; fit the distillation of an ante-bellum slave in some ways. He dreams of being free, toils during the day in the burning sun, and is separated from his family at a rather young age.

Brown's life as a slave is both adventuresome, and cluttered with positive and negative experiences. His jobs ranged from a steam boat servant, to a big city hotel slave, to a printing shop helper. Throughout the narrative, Brown does not talk of himself as being a human and always refers to himself as a slave.3

Brown performed his tasks so sound that he was put in charge of his fellow slaves on many occasions, this even occurred while he was still a teenager and was set as overseer for slaves during their transportation to New Orleans on his master's steam boat. He was rarely punished to the point of flogging, and for the most part was only whipped while a child on the "stricter" plantations.

Brown wrote his narrative in order to pass his stories and adventures down to future generations. I think that this piece is reliable and usable by historians today to learn more about slaves and the ante-bellum period in American history. Mr. Brown uses the narrative to pass on ...