Middle Passage (Magill’s Choice: American Ethnic Writers)

At a glance:

The Work

Middle Passage is the story of Rutherford Calhoun’s life-changing journey aboard the slaver Republic in 1830. Like Charles Johnson’s earlier Oxherding Tale, this book is narrated by a young black man born into slavery but with a superior education, whose story is rooted in nineteenth century history but whose savvy, humorous voice bespeaks a twentieth century intellectual consciousness.

Rutherford’s adventures begin when he stows aboard a ship to escape a woman determined to bring him to the altar. The Republic, a slaver, ships...

[The entire page is 1472 words long]

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