Frederick Douglass Narrative blog - Sterling

The Summary of the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass gives a brief description of his life in connection to American History. Although his story, as he claims, is not unique compared to the lives of other slaves, this narrative provides insight to today's generation of the hardships of African Americans at that time. In comparison to the introduction to Harper's, this narrative by Frederick Douglass strikes emotion within the reader; sympathy for what he went through as a slave, and pride for how he overcame such oppression. The tone of Frederick Douglass' narrative does not make him sound like he was the only one who experienced such hardships. He uses his story to speak for all of those who did not have the opportunity to learn and share their experiences themselves. This contributes greatly to the understanding of American history.

The Harper's introduction covers a wide range of topics which outline the main purpose of the magazine, which is to educate intellectual readers on a breadth of many diverse topics. Douglass' narrative focuses on one main theme - how a man was made into a slave, and then how a slave was made a man. This personal narrative is inspirational and might typically attract more modern readers. I was more interested and entertained while reading this narrative than I was while reading Harper's.

Frederick Douglass' Narrative

Well, to begin with, the introduction to Douglass' piece is much shorter and to the point than the introduction to Harper's. The introduction to Douglass' piece includes a broad outline or summary of what is going to occur in the piece and includes background information not included in the piece in order for the reader to understand Douglass' story better. In the part of the introduction we read to Harper's, the part only includes background information and a bit of history, it does not yet include a summary of what is to come. This, is most likely due to the length of the compilation of Harper's Magazine compared to that of Douglass' biography.

In the introduction to Douglass' narrative the author very apparently supports Douglass' position and his feeling. The author uses language that praises Douglass, and condemns his captors.

Critical Introduction on Frederick Douglass' Narrative

Patrick Horn's critical introduction for The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass discusses the significance of the escaped slave's autobiography and the impact it has on American history. This critical introduction is a detailed yet brief summary of Frederick Douglass and his journey to freedom. Surprisingly, the writer focuses primarily on the plot of the narrative rather than the literary elements and rhetorical strategies that Douglass is famous for using. The critical introduction for Harper's Magazine did not summarize as much. This may be a result of having an array of subjects to write about, as opposed to the single subject of Douglass' life. The tone for both critical introductions are informational because they tell the reader what to expect in each writing. There is also a sense of excitement as the writers discuss the each work.

Frederick Douglass Critical Intro

It is interesting to me that the critical introduction to Frederick Douglass' autobiography is pretty much just a summary of the book and therefore a summary of his life. It doesn't provide any kind of analysis of the subject matter, only a re-counting of it. There is no talk of Douglass' language or rhetorical strategies and almost no discussion of how he interacts with the reader. For an autobiography it makes sense that most of the information in the intro is historical background, but I feel like the writer could have included some other information. In the intro to Harper's, which I have to admit I haven't finished reading yet, they also provide a good amount of historical context, but they also include other information about the magazine itself and the articles within it.

The tone of the writing in the intro to this autobiography is sympathetic and praising, but not overly. It seemed that in the Harper's intro the writers were really pushing the founders of the magazine up on a kind of pedestal. Well, it wasn't that severe, but they were praised a lot. The writer of the Douglass intro is appreciative and respecting of everything that Douglass accomplished and seems to have a lot of respect for him and is trying to convince the reader that they should too.

Frederick Douglass - Introduction

The inclusion of quotes from the actual text were the first thing that stuck out to me in the introduction to Frederick Douglass' Narrative. The introduction we read last week about Harper's New Monthly Magazine did not include direct quotes from the text. In my opinion, the inclusion of quotes made this introduction much more interesting than the Harper's introduction. However, I think that the quotes also resulted in the introduction closely resembling a summary as the quotes work to tell the short version of the story from beginning to end. The Harper's introduction focused on the history of the magazine largely and why the magazine was so successful (reputation), with ultimate hopes of creating readership. The introduction to Frederick Douglass' Narrative focused on the story and the content iteslf hoping that the plot would lure the reader to continue.

The Harper's introduction had a much more formal tone than the Frederick Douglass introduction, due partially to the differences in information included in the two introductions. The Frederick Douglass introduction feels largely like a short story, which typically are easy to read and fairly entertaining. The Harper's introduction was more informative and used more formal language to reflect the reputation of the magazine, which is publishing pieces with literary merit. Also, the tone of the writing of Frederick Douglass' introduction can also be described as colloquial because it is so easy to understand, which in the case of telling a story is a positive. The tone is also inviting to the reader because it tells the main points but leaves out enough details to make the reader want to know the rest of the story, accomplishing the typical goal of an introduction.

The Life of Frederick Douglass and Harper's Magazine Introduction

Both the "Summary of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass" and the Introduction to Harper's Magazine called "Hazards of New Fortune" provide the reader with information regarding the reading material. But in the summary of the Life of Frederick Douglass, the information that is included is used to make the reader become more aware of what Douglass went through in his life time. The tone of this summary shows determination and a sense of reality and hardship. It is used to appeal to the readers and inform them of the experiences that many people had to endure during a time of slavery.
The introduction of the Harper's Magazine by Lewis H. Lapham, is also informative, but it provides information about the makers of Harper's magazine and what sorts of stories and writings that Harper's Magazine may include. The tone was amuzing, and not as deep as the Douglass introduction.

-Margaret Neville

Outline from Khayla, Margaret, and Nicole

· Leigh Hunt

-(who was this person?.....) author’s biography

-what did he write? (themes)

-why was he famous (why was he picked for Harper’s?)

· Events occurring in 1850s

-America’s relation to the world (international relations)

-“A Paris Newspaper”

-“Ignorance of the English”

-education

-tensions leading up towards the Civil War

· The atmosphere, did it affect the tone and writing of the authors

-“Peace”

-“The Uses of Sorrow”

· Family

· The Miner’s Daughters

· Death of an Infant

-role of women in the family in 1850s

-typical family

· Traveling

· Scenery of the Erie Railroad

-feeling of movement (railroads, canals, steamboats, etc…)