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The Norton Anthology of African American Literature, 2e | StudySpace

Slavery and Freedom: Short Answer Exercises

1. Review the folktales of the Vernacular Tradition section of the anthology; then read A Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave. How does Douglass use the tropes and conventions of black vernacular folktales in his antebellum autobiography?

2. Summarize Douglass’s attitude toward antebellum spirituals as expressed in his 1845 autobiography. Does this attitude change in his later autobiographical writings?

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