Didactic Rhetoric in American Slave Narratives
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Jihočeská univerzita v Českých Budějovicích Pedagogická fakulta Katedra Anglistiky Diplomová práce Didactic Rhetoric in American Slave Narratives Vypracoval: Lucie Novotná Vedoucí práce: PhDr. Christopher Koy, MA, Ph.D. České Budějovice 2014 Prohlášení Prohlašuji, že jsem diplomovou práci na téma Didactic Rhetoric in American Slaves Narratives vypracovala samostatně pouze s použitím pramenů uvedených v seznamu citované literatury. Prohlašuji, že v souladu s § 47b zákona č. 111/1998 Sb., v platném znění, souhlasím se zveřejnění své diplomové práce a to v nezkrácené podobě elektronickou cestou ve veřejně přístupné části databáze STAG provozované Jihočeskou univerzitou v Českých Budějovicích na jejich internetových stránkách a to se zachováním mého autorského práva k odevzdanému textu této kvalifikační práce. Souhlasím dále s tím, aby toutéž elektronickou cestou byly v souladu s uvedeným ustanovením zákona č. 111/1998 Sb. zveřejněny posudky školitele a oponentů práce i záznam o průběhu a výsledku obhajoby kvalifikační práce. Rovněž souhlasím s porovnáním textu mé kvalifikační práce s databází kvalifikačních prací Theses.cz provozovanou Národním registrem vysokoškolských kvalifikačních prací a systémem na odhalování plagiátů. V Českých Budějovicích dne 3. 6. 2014 Lucie Novotná Acknowledgements I would like to thank my supervisor PhDr. Christopher Koy, M. A., Ph.D. for giving me the chance to work on such a remarkable subject, for broadening my knowledge in the field this diploma thesis is focused on. I would also like to thank him for his guidance and patience. Abstract This diploma thesis deals with the didactic rhetoric in the American slave narratives written predominantly in the first half of the nineteenth century. Among other sources for this purpose seven autobiographic books were selected and one literary criticism written by Koválová Karla in 2011. Each of the writings is individually analyzed. This diploma thesis is focused on revealing the rhetorical techniques and the examples used by authors to influence their readers. The main goal of slave narratives is to get the Northern white population to realize the irrationality of slavery and the importance of abolition. The introduction consists of the brief development of slavery, explanation what it means to be a slave and impact of these slave narratives on the Northern population. Anotace Tato diplomová práce se zabývá didaktickou rétorikou ve vyprávění amerických otroků, napsaných převážně v první polovině 19. století. Pro tento účel bylo vybráno sedm autobiografií a jedna literární kritika napsaná Karlou Koválovou v roce 2011. Každé z děl je jednotlivě rozebráno. Tato diplomová práce se soustřeďuje na odhalování rétorických technik a příkladů užívaných autory k ovlivňování svých čtenářů. Hlavním cílem vyprávění otroků je přimět severní bělošskou populaci, aby si uvědomila nesmyslnost otroctví a důležitost zrušení otroctví. Úvod obsahuje stručný vývoj otroctví, vysvětlení co znamená být otrokem a dopad těchto vyprávění otroků na severní populaci. Obsah 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 1 2 The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 ................................................................................. 3 3 Devastating effect of slavery on slave owners and slaves ......................................... 4 4 Fifty Years in Chains - Charles Ball .......................................................................... 6 5 Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl - Linda Brent..................................................... 8 5.1 Rhetorical Strategies of Brent’s Narrative ....................................................... 10 5.2 Brent’s family element in her narrative ............................................................ 13 6 The Narrative of William W. Brown – A Fugitive Slave......................................... 14 6.1 The Rhetorical Strategies of Brown’s Narrative .............................................. 18 7 Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written by Himself ............................................................................................................................ 21 7.1 Rhetorical Strategies of Douglass’ Narrative ................................................... 28 8 My Bondage and my Freedom – Frederick Douglass .............................................. 36 9 Autobiography of Josiah Henson ............................................................................. 42 9.1 Josiah Henson’s influence on Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel ......................... 50 10 Paternal role in slave narrative in the essay of Karla Koválová .......................... 52 11 Summary of Narrative of my Escape from Slavery - Moses Roper ..................... 55 11.1 Rhetorical Strategies of Roper’s narrative .................................................... 60 12 Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 63 13 Resumé ................................................................................................................. 64 14 Appendix .............................................................................................................. 66 Bibliography .................................................................................................................... 68 1 Introduction In the United States of America the institution of slavery already existed in the early beginning of colonization but the boom came in the 18th century to the second half of 19th century. First documented slaves were brought to Florida and Virginia, to be accurate to Jamestown colony in 1619 and around the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861 almost 4 million slaves existed in the southern United States. The system of slavery had an impact on American history and the evolution of several countries. The Revolutionary War opened the rapid growth of abolitionists in the Northern states and it led to the polarization in the United States of America. Those states were segregated into Free states in the North and slaves states in the South. The border was called Mason-Dixon Line which went between two sections, bordering between Pennsylvania and Maryland. Maryland was a slave state and Pennsylvania a state of liberty. A massive turn came when the Fugitive Slave Act was passed by Congress in 1850. It incensed so many people in the North that they commenced to revolt. It caused a lot of rebellions and in 1861 Civil War broke out. The Civil War lasted from 1861 to 1865, between the Union and Confederacy. The Union ended up winning and that determined the end of slavery. Slavery was abolished by Abraham Lincoln, the American president, in 1863 but that held only in the Union. The complete dissolution was in 1865 all over the United States and slavery was finally illegal. In the society people are categorized to different social classes. It occurs that proper or wealthy families, often inheriting slaves, while the other less fortune ones remained forever in poverty or slavery. Slavery was the lowest position. One was not considered as a human being but as property and was held in captivity against one’s will and compelled to work. At any time one could be bought or sold. For slaves, separation 1 from the closest members of the family was very common even though it was heartbreaking. They did not know if their family members were healthy or even alive. They did not hold any other alternative so they obligated to deal with it; they only hoped that one day they would see their mothers or siblings once more. Sometimes they endeavored to look for them but very few had any good fortune in finding their relatives and escaping. It depended only on a master’s approach or if the bargain was convenient enough for him. Slaveholders helped out each other by renting their slaves out for some period of time. One had to obey the master in every situation and if one did not there were always consequences. Killing a slave by his master was not against the law but when a master killed a slave belonging to another master, he had to compensate the debt so that they were settled. Slaves were actually the master’s asset so master could do with them what he desired, even execute them. Some occurrences of the slaves are so unbelievable that one wonders that the slave masters could be considered human beings and not as animals. A free man or woman could find a job and earned money rather than toiled for the master. Even though most slaves never escaped some of them had very strong will, determination and hope that maybe one day that bondage of enslavement would be somehow broken and they would set free. There were a few opportunities to abscond but not so often. It was very tempting though for any slave who lived in captivity for his or her whole life. Slaves could have confidence in nobody in that manner of telling about a plan to run away. It was too perilous. There were cases that turned well but mostly only their families kept the secret if they were lucky enough to have some family. In these narrative chapters it is also described what their first occupations were, what it was like to be a slave: their eating and sleeping habits, their daily clothes and sometimes even entertainment. 2 The slaves who escaped from slavery and became free citizens, wanted to spread their experiences among Northern Christian whites in the United States so that they realized how infernal