Representations of Slavery in Slave Narratives, Historical Writings, and Contemporary Fiction

Abstract

The following thesis observes how slavery is represented in slave narratives, in historical writings, and in contemporary fiction. It introduces the reader to the history of slavery in Africa and how slaves were tormented on the Middle Passage. Then describes the situation of slaves in North America. With comparing abolitionsts' novels such as Frededirck Douglass and Harriett Jacobs, and Afrofuturist works of Rivers Solomon and Colson Whitehead, the thesis examines the similaritites between how the two genres portray slavery. The main topics discussed are the following: history of slavery, the Middle Passage, life on the plantation and escaping slavery.