Critical Introduction: Harper's vs. Douglass' Narrative.

The introduction to the Frederick Douglass's narrative was a lot different from the critical introduction that was offered for Harper's magazine. The introduction for this narrative was basically a summary of what was about to be read. It also filled in some things that may not have been included in the narrative regarding Douglass and his life. The paragraphs were clusters of quotations that gave the reader a preview of the main ideas and events that were going to be in the narrative.In the critical introduction to Harper's, it was a lot different from a summary. Since Harpers was a group of many articles that differed greatly it would have been difficult to summarize everything that was going to be presented to the reader. Instead the critical introduction focuses on why the information that is about to be read is important and hints about a few of the recurring themes that will be seen throughout the magazine. It never goes into specifics as the narrative does, though.
The tone of the introduction to the narrative is almost story-like. It is not very formal or insightful. Although, it does offer some conclusions that are drawn from the excerpts of the narrative that are presented.

Sarah Sawyer