Up from Slavery (Masterplots II: Juvenile and Young Adult Biography Series)
At a glance:
- Author: Booker T. Washington
- First Published: 1901
- Time of Work: 1858–1900
- Setting: Virginia, Georgia, Washington, D.C., and Tuskegee, Alabama
- Principal Characters: Booker T. Washington, General Samuel Armstrong, Viola Ruffner, John, Mary F. Mackie, Lewis Adams, George Campbell, Fannie Smith, Olivia Davidson, A. H. Porter, Margaret James Murray
- Genres: Nonfiction, Autobiography
- Subjects: African Americans, Social action, Social reform, Blacks, Race, Authors or writers, Nineteenth century, Slavery or slaves, Education or educators, Schools or school life, Public speaking
- Locales: Virginia, Georgia, Washington, D.C., Tuskegee, AL, West Virginia
Form and Content
Up from Slavery: An Autobiography is a representative work in an important literary genre and was one of the last slave narratives to be written. The first chapters of the book briefly describe the impact of slavery on Booker T. Washington and other slaves in the South; Washington describes the slaves’ existence as one of poverty and ignorance. Washington thus condemns slavery as an institution established for selfish financial reasons. He describes how slaves were bought and sold as if they were farm animals, and he speculates that the purchase of his...
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