English III Notes Conflict in Literature Slave Literature

1.Slave Narrative - An autobiographical account written by someone who endured the miseries of slavery. Example: Narrative of Frederick Douglass

2. Abolitionist writings - Literature written by free abolitionists declaring the inhumanity of slavery. Example: Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin

3. Antislavery Poetry Poetry meant to take a stand against the social and political institution of slavery, with a purpose of arousing the abolitionist cause. –Example: James Russell Lowell Stanzas on Freedom

4. Civil War Literature Literature focusing on events surrounding the Civil War Fiction – “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” – Ambrose Bierce - “The Red Badge of Courage” – Stephen Crane

5. Emancipation Literature Gettysburg Address – Abraham Lincoln

Harriet Beecher Stowe The 7 th of 13 children Native of New England Became interested in the Abolitionist cause after moving to Cincinnati Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 enraged her Wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin

Uncle Tom’s Cabin The most effective anti-slavery novel in the nation’s history. Written in the anti-slavery journal The National Era. Turned into a wild success Published in 1852, sold 350,000 copies in its first year.

“No literary work of any character or merit, whether of poetry or prose. Or imagination or observation, fancy or fact, truth or fiction, that has ever been written since there have been writers or readers, has ever commanded so great a popular success.”

Frederick Douglass A Maryland-born slave Mother was a slave, Father a free white man Educated as a house servant after his mother died at age 8 Was not taught to read. Became literate through self-teaching Escaped from the South disguised as a sailor Moved to New Bedford, Mass, married, and began to write

The Narrative of Frederick Douglass Published in 1845 Written as an abolitionist piece of literature by a former slave. Sought to prove his literary ability and humanity

Problems in the South: Literature after the War The culture of Southern Slavery was forced to change after defeat in the Civil War, but most Southerners still fought to identify with what they saw as the “romantic” days of the great Southern past. Segregation resulted. This desire to revert back to pre-civil war times was evident in Southern literature, and is illustrated through stories like Gone With the Wind and movies like Birth of a Nation, a story of the birth of the KKK.

Still other literature during this time period challenged this era of segregation, as many Southern black leaders, like W.E.B DuBois and Booker T. Washington wrote stirring accounts of the freedom and civil rights of black people in the South.

Many writings tell of the struggles and terrors of the segregated South. “Coming of Age in Mississippi” and “Ballad of Birmingham” are two examples