Combining Fact and Fiction in the Writing of Frederick Douglass’ The He

Combining Fact and Fiction in the Writing of Frederick Douglass The Heroic break ones backAfter the successful publication of his autobiography, take flight slave Frederick Douglass decided to tell the story of a fellow ex-slave, capital of Wisconsin Washington, and his rebellion on board the Creole slave ship. Rather than writing a purely historical account of the events, Douglass chose to embellish and alter the truth, creating The Heroic Slave, unitary of the number 1 historical novellas and the first known piece of African-American fictitious literature (Andrews 11). Douglass choice to write the story as a lying made the novella easier for readers to relate to and, therefore, more(prenominal) appealing to their sympathies. The Heroic Slave is based on the historical 1841 slave rebellion led by capital of Wisconsin Washington aboard the young Orleans-bound slave ship, the Creole. In his coitus of the story, Douglass includes embellishments on, alterations to, and omission s of certain historical facts. By comparing his novella to other documents citing the demonstrable occurrences, we can analyze the changes Douglass made to the story and why he chose to denounce them.Douglass does not immediately discuss the Creole slave ship rebellion. Instead, the first three parts of The Heroic Slave concern the life of Madison Washington, the slave who would eventually become leader of that rebellion. In Part I, Douglass introduces us readers and Mr. Listwell, a white traveler, to Madison Washington. We overhear his soliloquy on the throe he must endure as a slave. In this vernacular we are given the reason for his upcoming flight from slavery I am galled with irons but even these are more tolerable than the consciousness, the galling consciousness of cowardice and indecision. Can it be that I... ...dom to suck many authorial choices that made the story of Madison Washingtons rebellion aboard the Creole a more effective case for the abolitionist cause. thr ough and through embellishments, alterations, and omissions, Douglass molded the history of the revolt to better serve his purposes. A simple, perfectly accurate telling of the story would not have been nearly as powerful to the abolitionist movement.Works CitedAndrews, William L. Introduction. Three Classic African-American Novels. Ed. William L. Andrews. New York, Penguin Books, 2003. 7-21.Douglass, Frederick. The Heroic Slave. New York, Penguin Books, 2003.Jones, Howard. The Peculiar Institution and National Honor The strip of the Creole Slave Revolt. Civil War History. Volume 21. Mar. 1975. 20-50.MacDonald, Robin. The Heroic Slave Frederick Douglass rotatory Revision. 1996. 20 Apr 2004.