Douglass’ Narrative
Assignment Topic: Write a well-argued essay about Douglass’ Narrative. Your essay should include an original argument, effective supporting claims, and strong evidence—evidence that is analyzed and discussed in innovative ways. You are not required to do research for this assignment.
However, if you use sources, use scholarly sources. Do not rely on general research found online.
Write your essay about one of the following topics:
Resistance Literature. How is the Narrative resistance literature? How does it seek to represent and destabilize the system of enslavement?
Family: The Narrative is quite focused on the ways that enslavement affects families.
How does the book leverage ideas of the family to represent the damage of enslavement(consider discussing the figure of the mother, for example)?
Autobiography. Douglass’ Narrative is an autobiography, and so the authorial “I” is particularly important. But how is the authorial “I” a problem for a formerly enslaved with a mostly white reading public)?
Open Question: Choose your own topic. However, if you choose your own topic.
