Slave Narratives
Significance The passage is narrated by Linda Brent when she was walking by the remnants of the old meeting house and her desire to be free was resurrected as a result of the memories of her father. It was because of this rebirth of motivation that she attempted to leave her children behind and make a desperate attempt to acquire freedom.
2. Passage The calm, deliberate composure with which he spoke..... and my blood curdled in vain (Andrews and Gates 262).
Significance The passage is from Nat Turners narrations in his confessions. It has been narrated to describe Nat Turners state of appearance and mind. The narrator, having presented a long narration on the actions of Turner, speaks of his personal observations of the man and it is evident that the narrator was deeply disturbed by these observations and yet somewhat inspired by the sheer will and strength that Turner showed in the face of death.
3. Passage I now understand what to me had been.....the pathway from slavery to freedom (Andrews and Gates 303).
Significance The passage quoted above is of a great degree of importance because it is the expression of Frederick Douglass pleasure and joy when he realizes that his masters ranting on why a slave should not be educated gave him the perfect reason to acquire education. Douglass asserts that he was overjoyed with the oncoming of this realization. This is more clearly evident when he further states that that which to him was a great evil, to be carefully shunned, was to me a great good, to be diligently sought... (Andrews and Gates 304).
4. Passage And I wondered greatly at these miracles..... I had seen before in the heavens (Andrews and Gates 253).
Significance This passage is a narration given by Nat Turner of the time when he felt closer to the Holy Ghost than he had ever felt before. While describing his desire to feel the Spirit closer, he expresses a desire to serve the Spirit and to receive a sign from the Spirit to begin his cleansing of sorts. The excerpt quoted above is his narration of the sign that he received and the realization that it brought to him. It was because of this sign that Nat Turner saw the drawing of blood in light of Jesus and judged it fair to draw blood to serve the Holy Ghost.
5. Passage You have seen how a man..... slave was made a man (Andrews and Gates 326).
Significance The narration given above is from Frederick Douglass Narrative of the life. In this small expression, Douglass has suggested that his life underwent a complete transformation. In this transformation, Douglass revolted against the basic and most brutal principles of slavery. This can be seen in the paragraphs to follow in which he speaks of his battle (Andrews and Gates 331) with Mr. Covey and when his narration begins to refer to his employer as Covey instead of Mr. Covey as an indication of his newfound independence.
6. Passage But when I reflected that I was a slave..... my heart sank within me (Andrews and Gates 783) .
Significance The excerpt quoted above is from Linda Brents narration of her lover when she desired to marry her colored lover but this desire was shot down by the merciless nature of her mistress and the social norms of that time that looked down upon any slave woman who sought to marry a colored man while still a slave. She speaks of how she overheard her mistress coming down on a younger mullato child who wanted to marry a colored man but the very expression of her desire to do so led her to be threatened by her mistress.
7. Passage It was the first of a long series..... I was doomed to be a witness and a participant (Andrews and Gates 284) .
Significance The above excerpt is from Frederick Douglass narration of the overseer of the farms and slaves, Mr. Plummer. Douglass expresses that Mr. Plummer was a man with a heart of iron that would not even come close to melting as he would strike lash on the bare backs of slaves with his customary blood soaked cow skin. Douglass was a child at that time and in this statement he expresses his helplessness as he found himself in the middle of the bloody transactions in which Mr. Plummer would mercilessly whip whosoever disobeyed him.
8. Passage He is a complete fanatic, or plays his part most admirably (Andrews and Gates 261) .
Significance The passage elaborates over Nat Turner as he was found during his run from Mr. Phipps. The excerpt suggests that Nat Turner was a man completely lost in his world and who either chose to indulge himself completely in this world of his or put on a highly convincing act of doing so. Turner was close to frantic in his attempts to escape, and his decision to surrender when welcomed by the cocking sound of Mr. Phipps gun was one that was anything but what was expected from him. The excerpt from a passage in the discussion that speaks of his unusual behavior and his physical and emotional stature.
9. Passage There may be sophistry in all this..... the practice of them impossible (Andrews and Gates 801).
Significance In the context of the above excerpt, Linda Brent talks about her desire to be owned by a man who she could securely approach and depend upon for taking care of her and her child with compassion. She asserts that while it may seem that her intentions are far from those that they appear to be, it is necessary to note that her position as a slave did not leave her any room to channel concern towards the preservation of morality and it would therefore be unfair for her to be judged on these grounds.
10. Passage I have found that..... a thoughtless one (Andrews and Gates 349).
Significance In the context of the excerpt quoted above, the narrator speaks about how an improvement in the quality of life leads to the development of desires for freedom and independence. Frederick Douglass speaks of the days when his life got better as a result of improved employment conditions and how he came to realize that one of the few things that sustain slavery is the maintenance of conditions that support or allow the time or capacity to ponder. Douglass believes that a slave cannot be expected to remain loyal and devoted to his master until he is deprived of the right to think over himself and his life.
Part Two
1. Both Nat Turner and Douglass comment on the purposes, authorities and destinies of their narratives as ones given to do nothing more than communicate the sequence and series of their actions. Both of them showed no regrets over their actions in their narratives. However, it is also clear that both, Turner and Douglass, chose to criticize exploitation by Whites heavily in their narratives.
With regard to the relationship between the text and the para-text, it is apparent that the authors have made use of this relationship to ensure that the narratives given by Turner and Douglass are interpreted and perceived in the same light as desired by the central theme of the book. It is perhaps because of the same reason that the para-texts are placed to follow the narratives so that the reader is left with the impression that the author desires to leave on the readers mind.
Perhaps no para-text in the book provides a better example of this white exploitation than the part in which the author refers to Nat Turners narration of events and states that The calm, deliberate composure with which he spoke of his late deeds and intentions, the expression of his fiend-like face when excited by enthusiasm, still bearing the stains of the blood of helpless innocence about him clothed with rags and covered with chains yet daring to raise his manacled hands to heaven, with a spirit soaring above the attributes of man I looked on him and my blood curdled in my veins (Andrews and Gates 262).
References to actions through words such as unparalleled and inhumane massacre in the paratext serve to further clarify how the authors have chosen to present the main text to the reader.
However, it is essential to highlight that there is a rather strange absence of paratext in the case of the narration given by Douglass. It can therefore be inferred that that author has refrained from adding such para-texts in cases where the narrator in question has not taken on an aggressive role.
While the author had an opportunity to do so in the case of Douglass when he rebelled against the brutality of Mr. Coven, the text remain free of para-text and the narration continued without question or statement. There is no intervening para-text in this case and the author has chosen to let the chapter constitute nothing more than Frederick Douglass narration of events.
2. Linda invokes the memory of Nat Turner and her father when she passes by the wreckage of the old meeting house. It reminds her of the fundamental lessons that her father gave her and the inferences she made from Nat Turners struggles. The memory reminds her of the reasons because of which one should attempt to seek and pursue freedom and that there is nothing more valuable than the acquisition of the same.
It suggests that her revolt against slavery was one that was not initially one of her objectives or desires, but was a lesson she learned from her elders and those who had been enslaved before her. The desire to take action and revolt against slavery was somewhat absent until she found the motivation to revolt against it from the likes of Nat Turner and her father both of whom she revered.
Linda Brents plan was to hide herself at a friends house and to remain hidden in that house for a few days. The objective of her action was to bring her master, the doctor, to a standing where he would have no other option but to sell her. What makes Linda Brents plight and flight different from those of Turner and Douglass is the fact that throughout the time that she hoped struggled and prayed for freedom, it was hardly ever for the sake of her own being.
Her mind, body and soul appeared to be longing for independence and a better life only for the sake of her children. In contrast, Nat Turner was powered by his fanaticism and Douglass was motivated by a desire to somehow escape all the pain, suffering and misery that he had been observing from the days when he was a child.
Her intentions are far more selfless than those of Turner or Douglass and proof of this statement can be seen in the hesitation she showed in running away when her grandmother pleaded her to stay. She only ran once she felt that her master and mistress would never sell her children. This can be seen clearly when she states that before running away, she knelt down and kissed them, pouring forth a prayer to God for guidance and support in the perilous step she was about to take (Andrews and Gates 836).
Even after she had run away, her motivation remained her objective. This can be judged through her assertion when she states that she was daily hoping to hear that my master had sold her children for she knew who was on the watch to buy them... She was encountering dangers for the sake of freeing them (Andrews and Gates 847).
This can also be seen in the fact that in almost every issue she discusses, her priority appears to be nothing more beyond the safety and freedom of her children.
Linda Brent, upon the birth of her daughter, addresses the plight of being a slave woman clearly when she states that Superadded to the burden common to all, they have wrongs, and sufferings, and mortifications peculiarly their own (Andrews and Gates 823).
In this regard, enslaved womens efforts to redress their wrongs and to relieve their sufferings are peculiarly their own because as evident from Linda Brents attempt to escape, their priorities are different from those of male prisoners. To them, independence comes as the opportunity to exercise free will with regard to their children and husband. They do not hold desires for the sake of their own independence.
Furthermore, they do not want anything more than to be bought out of slavery by their husbands. This is in sharp contrast to the desires of enslaved men who choose to ponder over the intricate relationship between independence and slavery during their lives rather than over the role of women in their lives and the pleasures of having their own families.
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