The Bondwoman’s Narrative, written by Hannah Crafts was uncovered in 2001 and published in 2002 by a man named Henry Louis Gates, Jr. The narrative is modeled on sentimental novels, borrowing structure from Dickens, Scott, and Brontë, as well as from slave narratives such as that of Frederick Douglass and numerous Biblical passages.
The Other Side of the Bridge by Mary Lawson is a book that depicts two different people, that mainly focuses on jealousy, rivalry and the power of obsession over half a century. There are many characters in the novel and they build relationships with one another that eventually become intertwined. The relationships that are built end up having an effect on the character, and contributes something different to his understanding of himself and the decisions he makes. Ian in the novel is an example of that, where the relationships he builds with the others, helps him find who he is as a person and affects the decisions he makes. Specifically through the relationships with Pete, his father, and Jake, he gains something different from each character which proves to be vital to who he is. Without these characters, Ian would be very different, as each character contributed something to Ian’s ultimate understanding of himself.
Ernest J. Gaines book, The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, used many historical events to connect to the characters story. The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman was published by Bantam Books in 1972 and has 259 pages. The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman is a classic fictional book. The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman is the story if a women’s life told when she was over one hundred years old. The novel goes over 3 main periods of time: war years, reconstruction, and slavery. In The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman it is the time of reconstruction and the novel really connects with the history of the time.
Jacobs, Harriet. "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl." The Classic Slave Narratives. Ed. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. New York: Mentor, 1987.
Seventh Day Fourth Story: [The Woman Who Locked Her Husband Out] Looking at the story, The Woman Who Locked Her Husband Out, first glance it seems sounds to me like a story about an unfaithful husband named, Tofano. But low and behold, it is the wife, Monna Ghita, with another man. This marriage started off on the wrong foot with Tofano, promptly growing jealousy of his new wife without a reason.
Frederick Douglass's Narrative, first published in 1845, is an enlightening and incendiary text. Born into slavery, Douglass became the preeminent spokesman for his people during his life; his narrative is an unparalleled account of the inhumane effects of slavery and Douglass's own triumph over it. His use of vivid language depicts violence against slaves, his personal insights into the dynamics between slaves and slaveholders, and his naming of specific persons and places made his book an indictment against a society that continued to accept slavery as a social and economic institution. Like Douglass, Harriet Jacobs was born into slavery, and in 1853 she published Letter from a Fugitive Slave, now recognized as one of the most comprehensive antebellum slave narratives written by an African-American woman. Jacobs's account broke the silence on the exploitation of African American female slaves.
In 1861, Harriet Jacobs published her book “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl.” The story is based in Southern United States of America during the time before Jacob escaped from slavery in 1835 (Reilly 649). Jacobs uses the name Linda Brent as a pseudonym (Reilly 649) and describes her experience as a female slave through a first person narration. The purpose of the selections featured in Kevin Reilly's, “Worlds of History,” is to show the victimization and emotional suffering female slaves feel against their white masters vs. the physical pain a male slave endures.
Harriet Jacobs’ Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl is one of the few narratives depicting the degradation’s endured by female slaves at the hand of brutal masters. Jacobs’ narrative is sending a message to women to come together and end the unfair treatment all women are subjected to. By bringing images of slavery and the message of unity of women to the forefront, Jacobs is attempting to end the tyranny over women perpetrated by men and the tyranny over blacks perpetrated by whites. Integrity and agency are ideals that Americans have fought for over the years. Jacobs reshapes these ideas and makes decisions and takes full reposibilities for her actions to become the ideal and representative image of womanhood.
The author writes in the preface of Bondwoman's Narrative, "In presenting this record of plain unvarnished facts to a generous public I feel a certain degree of diffidence… to those who regard truth as a stranger than fiction it can be no less interesting than on the former account," (Crafts 3). Bondwoman's Narrative is titled as a "novel," meaning there is no sustainable ground to prove this story to be an accurate biography. Then what aspects of this novel can be deemed true and verified with evidence? Within the narrative told by the main character, Hannah Crafts, there are certain themes and concepts that historical evidence authenticates, such as the distinctive marital constructs that were apparent during the 19th century. The couples that played significant roles within the narrative—The Master and Mistress, The Henry's and Charlotte and Henry— represent the different types of social paradigms that surrounded a marriage at the time the book was drafted. Through Hannah's religiously opinionated narrative and interactions with these different couples, this novel portrays historically cohesive accounts of marital constructs relative to its setting in the antebellum South and thus defying the fictitious air that surrounds it claim of being a novel.
Two slave narratives that are noticed today are “ The Narrative Of Frederick Douglass” written by Douglass himself, and “ The Incidents in the life of a Slave Girl” written by Harriet Jacobs. Both of these works contain the authors own personal accounts of slavery and how they were successfully able to escape. Although their stories end with both Douglass and Jacobs being freed, they share a similar narrative of the horrifying experience of a slave.
Relationships are often difficult and messy, especially in the world Tayari Jones presents in her 2011 novel Silver Sparrow, chronicling the lives of the two daughters of bigamist father James Witherspoon. Jones depicts the complicated the world of Dana Yarboro the secret daughter, her father’s attempts to hide her from the prying view of the world and her refusal to stay hidden. While Chaurisse Witherspoon the public daughter James proudly presents to the world for all to see, enjoys the luxury of suburban life. Throughout the novel Jones’ character, Dana tries to reconcile how she can be part of her father’s family, but not truly a part of his life. While Chaurisse moves through the world with blissful ignorance of the secret life that lay
The Change of Bond Girls In Adams' article Bond Girls:gender, technology and film she says that
After reading Diane’s story I can say I have never been more shocked and surprised by a book than this one. Just by being told that this was Diane Guerrero’s story and from me knowing she was an actress I thought it would be your basic coming to fame story. I was completely wrong in every single way. It really goes to show that there’s always more to the person you see on-screen and that they started off a normal human being who has lived through their fair share of struggles.
Jacobs, Harriet A. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself. 1861. Ed.
Susan Glaspell chose protagonist as a married woman Minnie Wright who challenged expectations as a female by murdering her husband. While events unfolds it becomes understood
Pamela details the story of a young, servant girl whose dearest possession, her virtue, faces peril from a somewhat anonymous assailant. The title character’s journey is related to the reader using the epistolary format, and each letter or journal entry slowly pulls the reader into the story as the reader forgets that Pamela is not writing directly to him/her. This format allows the protagonist to seem as if she is appealing directly to the reader as she pleads for help and begs for prayers. And so, this personal, emotional appeal, which does not usually appear in a traditional first person narrative, seems to speak to the reader. The epistolary format creates a more personal and complex narrative perspective that causes the reader to blur