1. THE SLAVE NARRATIVE LEQ3: WHAT IS A SLAVE NARRATIVE AND WHAT ARE ITS ELEMENTS?

2. Previous Knowledge  What do you think slave narratives are?  What issues might be discussed?

3. Purposes  Attempted to arouse the sympathy of readers in order to promote humanitarianism.  Emphasized traditional Christian religious ideas.  Showed acceptance of the ideals of the dominant white society  Emphasized the cruelty of individual slave owners.

4. Reasons for Popularity  Lurid scenes of horror and violence that served as an acceptable gratification of the popular appetite for sensationalism.  Religious influence: didactic content  Interesting descriptions of life in the South  Propaganda weapons during abolition and Civil War

5. Traits of the Narrator  Is abruptly brought from state of protected innocence to confrontation with the evil of slavery and captivity  Suffers from forced existence in an alien society  Is unable to submit or effectively to resist  Balances yearning for freedom against the perils of escape.  Sees his or her condition as a symbol of the suffering condition of all the lowly and oppressed  Grows in moral and spiritual strength as a result of suffering and torment.

6. Common themes  Exposes physical and emotional abuses of slavery: scenes of whipping, sexual abuse, starvation, especially of women or children  Exposes (sometimes satirically) white owners' hypocrisy and inconstancy  Describes quest for freedom  Includes vignettes of other character types and the experience of slavery: those who succeed and those who fail  Makes overt appeals to imagined audience  Details loss of significant family member(s) and the destruction of family ties

7. Relevance to Reason?  How does this form of literature fit within the Age of Reason?  How might these narratives be similar to other narratives we have read?  Turn to the excerpt of “The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano” on page 22 (Academic) or page 188 (Advanced)

8. Slave Narratives  What have you noticed in the reading so far?  Why does this fit within the Age of Reason?  LEQ3: What is a slave narrative and what are its elements?