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The slave narrative is a literary form which grew out of the experience of enslaved Africans in Britain and the New World . Some six thousand former Slaves from North America and the Caribbean gave an account of their lives during the 18th and 19th centuries, with about 150 published as separate books or pamphlets. There are also slave narratives written by white Americans or Europeans captured and enslaved in North Africa , usually by Barbary Pirates . NORTH AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN SLAVE NARRATIVES Slave narratives were first produced in England in the 18th century, and they soon became a mainstay of African American Literature . During the first half of the 19th century, the controversy over slavery in the United States lead to impassioned literature on both sides of the issue. Novels such as '' Uncle Tom's Cabin '' (1852) represented the Abolitionist view of the evils of slavery, while the so-called Anti-Tom Novels by white, southern writers like William Gilmore Simms represented the pro-slavery viewpoint. To present the reality of slavery, a number of former slaves such as Harriet Jacobs and Frederick Douglass published accounts of their enslavement. Eventually some six thousand former slaves from North America and the Caribbean wrote accounts of their lives, with about 150 of these published as separate books or pamphlets. North American and Caribbean slave narratives can be broadly categorized into three distinct forms: tales of religious redemption, tales to inspire the abolitionist struggle, and tales of progress. The tales written to inspire the abolitionist struggle are the most famous because they tend to have a strong autobiographical motif, such as in Frederick Douglass 's Autobiography and '' Incidents In The Life Of A Slave Girl '' by Harriet Jacobs (1861). Tales of religious redemption From the 1770s to the 1820s the slave narratives generally gave an account of a spiritual journey leading to Christian redemption. The authors frequently characterized themselves as Africans rather than slaves. These first appeared in England . Examples include: A Narrative of the Most remarkable Particulars in the Life of James Albert Ukawsaw Gronniosaw, an African Prince Tales to inspire the abolitionist struggle From the mid-1820's the genre became much more the conscious use of the Autobiographical form to generate enthusiasms for the Abolitionist struggle. They became more literary in form often with the introduction of fictionalized dialogue. Between 1835 and 1865 over 80 such narratives were published. Recurrent features include: slave auctions, the break of families and frequently two accounts of escapes, one of which is successful. Examples include: The Kidnapped and the Ransomed, Being the Personal Recollections of Peter Still and his Wife "Vina," after Forty Years of Slavery '' Mary Reynolds (ex-slave) '' Louisiana , 1827 Tales of progress Following the defeat of the slave states of the Confederate South, the narratives lost their urgency and were less concerned with conveying the evils of slavery. Some times they even gave a sentimental account of plantation life and also often ended with the narrator adjusting to their new life of freedom. In this the emphasis frequently shifted conceptually more towards progress than Freedom . Examples include: WPA slave narratives During the Great Depression the New Deal Works Projects Administration (WPA) used unemployed writers and researchers from the Federal Writers' Project to interview and document the stories of surviving African-Americans who had been part of the American slave system up until the Thirteenth Amendment . Produced between 1936 and 1938, the narratives retell the experiences of more than 2,300 former slaves. NORTH AFRICAN SLAVE NARRATIVES In comparison to North American and Caribbean slave narratives, the North African slave narratives were written by White Europe ans and Americans captured and enslaved in North Africa in the 18th and early 19th centuries. They have a distinct form in that they highlight the otherness of their Islam ic enslavers, whereas the African American slave narratives call their fellow Christian enslavers to account. Examples include: CONTEMPORARY SLAVE NARRATIVES A contemporary slave narrative is a memoir published now, written by a former slave, or ghost-written on their behalf. Examples include: Escape from Slavery: The True Story of My Ten Years in Captivity - and My Journey to Freedom in America Slave :"Peter's story", by Peter Doyle, in ''A tribute to The Lost People of Arlington House '', The National Archives , London 2004 NEO-SLAVE NARRATIVES A neo-slave narrative is an account of slavery written in contemporary times. The authors use their imagination, oral histories, and already-existing slave narratives to construct these stories. They are not writing of their own experiences, or acting as an amanuensis for a former slave. Examples include: : Octavia E. Butler 's '' Kindred '' : David Anthony Durham 's '' Walk Through Darkness '' : Marie-Elena John 's '' Unburnable '' : Edward P. Jones ' '' The Known World '' : Toni Morrison 's '' Beloved '' : William Styron 's '' Confessions Of Nat Turner '' SEE ALSO
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