Frederick Douglass Narrative And Benito Cereno - 1577 Words

William Andrew Mullens English 209 Final Essay Compare and Contrast Between Frederick Douglass Narrative and Benito Cereno Early American Literature reflects many conflicting differences in the presentation of slavery during that time period. Through the two chosen texts, the reader is presented with two different perspectives of slavery; Frederick Douglass’s narrative provides a look at a slave’s life through the eyes if a slave while Benito Cereno showcases the tale of a slave uprising from the viewpoint of the slave owner.. Benito Cereno’s work shows the stereotypical attitude towards African-American slaves and the immorality of that outlook according to Douglass’s narrative. Cereno portrays the typical white slave owner of his time, while Douglass’ narrative shows the thoughts of the slaves. The two stories together show that white Americans are oblivious to the ramifications and overall effects of slavery. These texts assist a moralistic purpose in trying to open up America’s eyes to the true nature of slavery by revealing it’s inhumanity and depict ing the cruelty that was allowed. Both works were printed at roughly the same era in history: Douglass’ in May 1845 and Cereno’s in 1855. Both stories are non-fictional and based on true events, with Douglass’ being an autobiography of his own life as a slave and Cereno drawing inspiration from the captain of the Perseverance, Amasa Delano. Douglass’ narrative is written from the first person point-of-view which givesShow MoreRelatedHerman Melville s Benito Cereno Essay1840 Words   |  8 Pages Herman Melville s Benito Cereno (1856) and Frederick Douglass s The Heroic Slave (1852) provide social commentary on the evils, injustices and dehumanizing effects of slavery. Melville s Babo and Douglass s Madison Washington are similar in motive—the pursuit of liberty and destruction of slavery. The ways in which these characters are perceived, however, differ and stem directly from the author s construction of the narrative. By examining the slave uprisings within the both texts, it