analyze the The Confessions of Nat Turner, Solomon Northrups, 12 Years a Slave and Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl within the context of the abolition movement. I argued in class that each one of these narratives represent three genres: captive narratives, slave narratives, and confessionals. Each, in one way or another, provide those who opposed slavery with evidence to indict the slavery as an institution (rather than simply a matter of one bad apple) for being cruel, inhumane, and a violation of the natural rights principles that were the foundation of American democracy.
In many ways, slave narratives did more for the struggle against slavery than all the petitions, demonstrations, and speeches put together. Why? How do these documents indict slavery by challenging the humanity of the institution? Furthermore, how do these narratives describe the way in which enslavers and overseers attempt to exhibit absolute power over those they held in slavery? Finally, how do these narratives demonstrate a fundamental problem with slavery in a democratic society rooted in Christian morals?
