Here is the synopsis of our sample research paper on Stereotypes in Frederick Douglass’s Narrative
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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
This 5 page paper argues that Frederick Douglass was not describing stereotypical slave behavior in his “Narrative,” but ordinary behavior which later came to be considered stereotypical. Bibliography lists 1 source.
Page Count:
5 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_HVdugnar.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
of one of the most famous of all African-Americans, Frederick Douglass. The prompt for this essay notes that in literature, the American Negro seems to be more of a stereotype
than a human being. The paper discusses the way Douglass depicts slaves in his Narrative, and whether or not he upholds or refutes the stereotypes. It asks if the stereotypes
may have a basis in reality. Discussion Its probably better to say that it wasnt so much that Frederick Douglass wrote about stereotypes, as that what he wrote later came
to be considered stereotypical behavior. He describes slaves singing in the fields, trying to run away, enduring beatings, sneaking off to learn to read and write and so on. These
were simply the things he saw as a boy and young man and described so as to make it apparent to everyone how truly ghastly slavery is. It may be
that the things he described struck such a responsive chord in readers that they began to believe all slaves did these things, and that the behaviors were stereotypical. In other
words, readers (especially whites) created stereotypes from what Douglass described. There are a number of instances where this interpretation makes sense. First, in Chapter 1, Douglass reveals two facts that
have come to be considered typical of slaves: he doesnt know how old he is, and his father is a white man (Douglass). He is, in fact, the owner of
the plantation where Douglass is enslaved. This image, of the white owner having sexual relations with his slaves, is typical of the times. In this chapter, Douglass also reveals that
his family was torn apart and his mother hired to work at another house about 12 miles away (Douglass). This circumstance too, where the family is ripped apart, is common
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