Narrative of William W. Brown, a Fugitive Slave, Written by Himself (Magill’s Choice: American Ethnic Writers)
At a glance:
- Author: William Wells Brown
- First Published: 1847
- Genres: Nonfiction, Autobiography
- Subjects: African Americans, Freedom, Traveling or travelers, Social reform, Abolitionists, Authors or writers, Escapes, Nineteenth century, Slavery or slaves
The Work
In his slave narrative, William Wells Brown assailed the prevailing notion of his time that slaves lacked legal or historical selfhood. His autobiography asserts that he has an autonomous identity. The Narrative of William W. Brown, a Fugitive Slave, Written by Himself, like many of the stories written by former slaves, does more than chronicle a journey from bondage to freedom. The work also reveals the ways in which the former slave author writes a sense of self, denied by the South’s peculiar institution, into existence.
So great was slavery’s...
[The entire page is 510 words long]
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