For the final paper, students will select one of the following slave narratives:
1. Jacobs, Harriet. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl.
2. Northup, Solomon. Twelve Years a Slave.
3. Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass.
For the selected text, you will answer 1 question using the text as supportive evidence. In addition to the core reading text, you will do additional research and use many more sources to complete your paper. Essentially, you are making an argument based on the questions that I ask. This is an in-depth paper, and will be a very important task. I will explain more in class about what will be expected in the paper.
Reading Questions
For Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
1. What role does sexual relationships play in the work by Harriet Jacobs, and what does this say about the sexual relationships between slaves and owners?
2. Was Harriet Jacobs’ story more dramatic because she is female? Do you believe that slavery was more brutal to females as opposed to males? Explain in detail.
For Twelve Years a Slave
1. Why was Solomon Northup, a free born man, a slave for 12 years? What laws and traditions were in place that allowed for his legal enslavement?
2. Northup wrote, “It is not the fault of the slaveholder that he is cruel, so much as it is the fault of the system under which he lives.” Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Explain in detail why his statement is accurate or not.
For Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
1. Douglass defines freedom as more than escape from the slaveholders. What is freedom according to Douglass? Do you consider this a standard belief held by most slaves?
2. How does Frederick Douglass resist the institution of slavery? Describe violent and nonviolent resistance to slavery, and describe, in detail, Douglass utilized both.
Paper Guidelines
For your paper, there are some specific things I will require.
1. Your paper will need to be between 6 and 8 pages. Do not go under 6, and do not go over 8 pages. I want your paper to be double spaced. You will also include a title page, and a works cited page (These are NOT included in the 6 to 8 pages.)
2. Your paper will need a strong thesis statement, or argument. This is the answer to the main question I ask. If you need assistance with your thesis, let me know. I will not develop a thesis for you, but I will help you refine and tweak whatever you come up with.
3. You will be REQUIRED to set up an appointment with a writing tutor in the Link (which is located in the library.) They will help you edit your paper, and can assist you with structure and grammar. They can also assist you with developing your thesis. Here is a link for them:
Grading
I will focus on three main areas in determining your final grade:
1. How effectively did the student answer the question they selected?
2. What type of research and source materials did the student use to answer their question? Was this material effective in answering the question?
3. Is the paper written in a grammatically correct style and format? Does this represent the work of an honor student?