Assignment Topic: Write a well-argued essay about Douglass’ Narrative. Your essay should include an original , 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. speak with me if you need help identifying a scholarly source or if you have any questions about citations.
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
Black man writing about his life and slavery? How does Douglass manage or address the complicated nature of Black authorship under white oppression (and with a mostly white reading public)?
- Open Question: Choose your own topic. However, if you choose your own topic, you must email me about it first.
