The Consequences of Slavery and Douglass’ Autobiography on the United States of America

Abstract

Slavery as a broad definition is a kind of foundation that is specialized in taking and possessing human beings forcing them to work without gaining anything. This system broke the entire world and touched particularly the United States of America where it was the main reason of several historical changes in the nation. Slave Narratives is a literary genre which saw the light in America. It was written by Americans from African descendants taking the form of an autobiography which narrated the personal experiences of those persons. The genre has its own models such as Harriet Jacobs and Frederick Douglass. Douglass’ autobiography The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slavewas considered as one of the most influential literary pieces of the 19th century in the United States. The author described his long journey from the horror of being a slave to the taste of freedom passing from different events that changed his life and several altercations with his former masters which contributed in building his identity and personality. In order to see the impact of Douglass’ Narrative on Contemporary America, this work is divided into two chapters: the first one will deal with Slavery and Slave Narratives, whereas the second chapter will delve into Douglass’ Narrative and see its impact on contemporary American society and mainly on music, cinema and literature.