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Combining Fact and Fiction in the Writing of Frederick Douglass’ The Heroic Slave
After the successful publication of his autobiography, escaped slave Frederick Douglass decided to tell the story of a fellow ex-slave, Madison Washington, and his rebellion aboard the Creole slave ship. Rather than writing a purely historical account of the events, Douglass chose to embellish and alter the truth, creating The Heroic Slave, one of the first historical novellas and the first known piece of African-American fictional literature (Andrews 11). Douglass' choice to write the story as a fiction made the novella easier for readers to relate to and, therefore, more appealing to their sympathies. The Heroic Slave is based on the historical 1841 slave rebellion led by Madison Washington aboard the New Orleans-bound slave ship, the Creole. In his telling of the story, Douglass includes embellishments on, alterations to, and omissions of certain historical facts. By comparing his novella to other documents citing the actual occurrences, we can analyze the changes Douglass' made to the story and why he chose to make them.
Douglass' does not immediately discuss the Creole slave ship rebellion. Instead, the first three parts of The Heroic Slave concern the life of Madison Washington, the slave who would eventually become leader of that rebellion. In Part I, Douglass introduces us readers and Mr. Listwell, a white traveler, to Madison Washington. We overhear his soliloquy on the suffering he must endure as a slave. In this speech we are given the reason for his upcoming flight from slavery: "I am galled with irons; but even these are more tolerable than the consciousness, the galling consciousness of cowardice and indecision. Can it be that I...
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...dom to make many authorial choices that made the story of Madison Washington's rebellion aboard the Creole a more effective case for the abolitionist cause. Through embellishments, alterations, and omissions, Douglass molded the history of the revolt to better serve his purposes. A simple, utterly accurate telling of the story would not have been nearly as powerful to the abolitionist movement.
Works Cited
Andrews, William L. Introduction. Three Classic African-American Novels. Ed. William L. Andrews. New York, Penguin Books, 2003. 7-21.
Douglass, Frederick. The Heroic Slave. New York, Penguin Books, 2003.
Jones, Howard. "The Peculiar Institution and National Honor: The Case of the Creole Slave Revolt." Civil War History. Volume 21. Mar. 1975. 20-50.
MacDonald, Robin. "'The Heroic Slave': Frederick Douglass' Revolutionary Revision." 1996. 20 Apr 2004.
Literacy plays an important part in helping Douglass achieve his freedom. Learning to read and write enlightened his mind to the injustice of slavery; it kindled in his heart longings for liberty. Douglass’s skills proved instrumental in his attempts of escape and afterwards in his mission as a spokesman against slavery.
a skill that would provide him with his passport to freedom. The narrative itself acts as a form of protest literature against slavery and also persuades the reader that Douglass has been transformed and is no longer a slave, but a free man.
Foner, Philip S. The Life and Writings of Frederick Douglass, Volume II Pre-Civil War Decade
Although Valenti and the Rating System's advocates claim that parents should have the final choice in what their children view, the system may, in practice, obstruct that purpose for parents who decide that their children should see some films. For films with the controversial NC-17 rating, the theatre is prevented from letting young John Small and his under-aged ilk from seeing a film despite his parents' permission. In fact, had John actually been accompanied by his parents, the theatre would have had every right -- some would even say responsibility -- to refuse his admission. The printing of the NC-17 rating often does not read -- as would be reasonable -- "Intended for Adults Only" but rather the more rigid "Not to be Attended by Children Under Seventeen.
The MPAA rating system is outdated. The recent advances in technology allow children to see movies regardless of the rating. The rating system worked well for the early years, but recently “kids slip into the movies they want to see. . . . They also see them at home on widely available DVDs, on cable, and via popular streaming services like Netflix and Amazon” (Ebert 2). Even when kids go to the theater to see movies they can “theater hop” or buy a ticket to a low rated movie and slip into the R rated film of their choice. DVDs and the Internet both provide ways for kids to watch movies that contain objectionable material. Websites that offer the o...
This victory, combined with the achievement of literacy and other factors, such as the will to escape and attempt to teach others, point to a sense of inner, "factual" freedom which develops while Douglass is still a slave according to the law and in the public eye. Just as the Narrative is a personal story set within a framework of social relevance, the striving for freedom is personal before it is physical and external. In spirit and sense of self Douglass becomes free while still a slave, even if that freedom makes his more tangible bonds all the more painful. Because he fought for this freedom long before being ranked among free Northerners, Douglass maintains, in his narrative for the white abolitionist movement, an inner independence of social and legal definitions of slavery and freedom.
The tone established in the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is unusual in that from the beginning to the end the focus has been shifted. In the beginning of the narrative Douglass seems to fulfill every stereotypical slavery theme. He is a young black slave who at first cannot read and is very naïve in understanding his situation. As a child put into slavery Douglass does not have the knowledge to know about his surroundings and the world outside of slavery. In Douglass’ narrative the tone is first set as that of an observer, however finishing with his own personal accounts.
Frederick Douglass is perhaps the most well-known abolitionist from American history. He is responsible for creating a lot of support for the abolitionist movement in the years before the Civil War. He, along with many others, was able to gain support for and attention to the abolitionist movement. People like him are the reason that slavery ended in the United States.
The church also helped the spread of the plague. The priests, from the catholic church, went from house to house visiting the sick. The priest would visit the sick person to anoint them before they died. This was a catholic belief and is still done today. It is called anointing of the sick, it is a sacrament in the catholic faith. This caused the disease to spread rapidly because the priest would visit a sick person and become infected. He then would ...
Douglass made friends of the white boys, knowing that their hearts had not yet hardened, and make all of them into his teachers. During this time, he noticed that when he told them that he was a slave for life, they were sympathetic to him (Douglass, 1845 39). It is not long after that when Douglass first uses the word abolition. In the sense that the slaveholders regarded any act of self-initiative on the part of a slave as being “the fruit of abolition” Douglass, p.41). Abolition, albeit in a negative sense, was a popular topic of conversation in Baltimore, and eventually it occurs to Douglass that “abolition” in this case refers to the abolition of slavery and it is soon after this self-revelation that he decides to run away. It is during one of his many relocations that he realizes that the ship is sailing in a north easterly direction and he deems this important as he resolves to run way as so as circumstances permit (Douglass, p.
Franklin, John Hope. From slavery to freedom: a history of Negro Americans. 3rd ed. New
Darryl F. Zanuck, a talented filmmaker and writer who had been highly involved in Baby Face, resigned his position as production head at Warner Bros Studios (Wilson 352). This was due to the fact that when it came to censoring Baby Face to please Will Hays and the censors, Zanuck protested because he believed that the film must remain impact to reflect the original theme. Jack and Harry Warner therefore accepted Zanuck’s resignation after assuring Hays the film would undergo the necessary cuts to make it acceptable (Wilson 353). It is amusing how Baby Face is known to give a real effect to the production code. In 1934, it was pulled from theaters by the production Code disregarding the censorship cuts that had been made. It was said that no amount of cuts or clean-ups could make the film appropriate enough to be released to the public(Leff and Simmons 58-62) . The Production code was continued to be enforced in Hollywood until 1966 when it was replaced. In 1968 the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) instituted the first iteration of the voluntary ratings system, still used today (Jefferson Center). This system had the support of the MPPDA and theater owners. In fact, the ratings system enforced then and now is not government mandated but actually another adaptation of self-censorship in order to prevent the government from intervening in production or censorship. Hollywood’s liking for self-censorship and filmmakers’ continual
Deviating from his typically autobiographical and abolitionist literatures, Frederick Douglass pens his first work of fiction, “The Heroic Slave,” the imagined backstory of famed ex-slave Madison Washington, best known for his leadership in a slave rebellion aboard about the slave ship Creole. An interesting plot and Douglass’ word choice provide a powerful portrait of slavery and the people affected by it.
In, “The Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass”, readers get a first person perspective on slavery in the South before the Civil War. The author, Frederick Douglass, taught himself how to read and write, and was able to share his story to show the evils of slavery, not only in regard to the slaves, but with regard to masters, as well. Throughout Douglass’ autobiography, he shares his disgust with how slavery would corrupt people and change their whole entire persona. He uses ethos, logos, and pathos to help establish his credibility, and enlighten his readers about what changes needed to be made.
...y afraid at first but finds out that there are many ex-slaves willing to take a stand and risk their lives to help their own. Douglass realizes that with the help from the ex-slaves he could also help his fellow slaves.