A Narrative of the Uncommon Sufferings, and Surprizing Deliverance of Briton Hammon, a Negro Man (Masterplots II: African American Literature Series)
At a glance:
- Author: Briton Hammon
- First Published: 1760
- Type of Work: Autobiography
- Time of Work: 1747–1760
- Setting: Coastal Florida, Cuba, the Atlantic Ocean, and London
- Principal Characters: Briton Hammon
- Genres: Nonfiction, Autobiography
- Subjects: African Americans, Freedom, Escapes, Slavery or slaves, Spiritual life or spirituality, Native Americans or American Indians, Eighteenth century, London, Florida, Kidnapping, Atlantic Ocean, Adventure, Captivity, Cookery or cooks, Cuba or Cubans
- Locales: London, England, Oceans, Florida, Cuba
Form and Content
Briton Hammon’s narrative is the first known slave autobiography in American literature. Hammon dictated his factual story to a writer who probably recorded the account in almost the exact way Hammon delivered it. The narrative style is plain and straightforward and marked by many awkward and ungrammatical sentences.
The slave’s story is only fourteen pages long and, as Hammon himself states, deals mostly with matters of fact. His story is interesting, however, because he describes exciting adventures resulting from his captivities at the hands of...
[The entire page is 2339 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
See Also
