English 241

American Literature to 1860

Spring 2003

Paper #2: Literature of Slavery Paper

It is difficult to over-emphasize the presence and voice of slavery in early American literature and antebellum literary imagination. The purpose of this paper is to afford an opportunity to express and consolidate arguments about commonalities, inter-connections, and contrasts between course texts in relation to slavery. Choose any two course texts in order to write a conceptual argument concerning the interpretation of slavery within those texts. For example, interesting papers might address such questions as:

· What animating ideas lie within the writings of Benjamin Franklin or Ralph Waldo Emerson that Frederick Douglass implicitly references in his autobiographical self-construction in Narrative of the Life?

· How does David Walker’s Appeal to the Colored People of the World enunciate concepts of human freedom, and how might this contrast with Thomas Jefferson’s expressions in Notes on the State of Virginia concerning a racial hierarchy of human capacities and rights?

· What common political arguments find employment by both Tom Paine in Common Sense and Frederick Douglass in ‘What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?’ What are their differing argumentative perspectives on American independence and the nation-state as an underwriter of human freedom?

· How might the step-by-step gradualism of Angelina Grimké’s Appeal to the Christian Women of the South contrast with the call for immediate acts of conscience in Henry David Thoreau’s Resistance to Civil Government, and what differences in social position might underlie their contrasting advocacies as white progressives opposed to slavery?

· Consider the figure of Captain Delano in Herman Melville’s ‘Benito Cereno’ as an argument on the character of national debate concerning slavery, and what texts might illuminate Melville’s incorporative characterization of Delano? Or, how might Babo’s characterization as the revolutionary slave compare/contrast with the arguments of Wendell Phillips’ appreciation in Toussaint L’Ouverture and George Fitzhugh’s fear of blackness in Southern Thought?

These examples are suggestive. Create your own comparison/contrast, or modify these examples to your own writing purposes. While you may wish to reference a third text in your argument, remember that the limited length of this paper provides very little space for more than brief reference to a third text.

Your paper will be evaluated on the basis of (a) a clear and convincing argument that emerges from the first paragraph forward; (b) a sustained and focused examination of the implications of that argument throughout the paper; (c) appropriate use of brief citations (no more than 1-2 sentences) to provide evidentiary support for the argument; and (d) competence of writing skills and absence of technical errors. Unlike the first paper assignment, which concerned comparison or contrast of “some shared point, element, characteristic, image, trope or theme,” this paper specifically addresses a comparison/contrast of rhetorical argument embedded within two texts. This is a crucial difference, in that a successful paper will be expected to identify two conceptual arguments concerning race/slavery within two texts and make its own analytic argument by the paper’s conclusion.

This paper should total 1000 words, or four complete double-spaced pages plus a title page (assuming 250 words per page). Short papers will be marked down. Use 1-inch margins and 10-pt. Times New Roman type. Single-space citations and use parenthetical page references (no footnotes). Avoid unnecessary first-person reference (e.g. “I think…”).

Do not use any reference materials and do no library research. The object here lies in a close reading and interpretive engagement with the texts. Your ideas are what matter, not someone else’s opinion. For this reason, plagiarism will be treated in strict accordance with university policy guidelines.

Papers are due in section on Friday, May 2. Late papers will not be accepted without certified medical excuse.

This paper assignment will be web-published in a separate folder at the course website. Questions concerning the assignment can be posted in a discussion thread that Prof. Lockard will check regularly. If you wish to inquire privately concerning this assignment, we encourage you to contact any course instructor via e-mail or office hours.

The papers will be returned after final exams are handed in on Tuesday, May 13.