Text by William Wells Brown
1. "William Wells Brown, 1814?-1884." Collections. The Documenting of American South. 20 June 2007 < http://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/brownw/bio.html >.
The website is a digital publishing that provides Internet access to texts, images, and audio files related to southern history, literature, and culture. It is sponsored by the University Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and its development is guided by an editorial board.
The webpage provides a biography of the selected author, William Wells Brown. Brown was born in Lexington, Kentucky to a slave woman and a white relative of his owner. He escaped to freedom after 20 years of slavery. Although, this escape to freedom was a successfull attempt in contrast to a previous attempt of escape with his mother, only to be found by slave catchers and sold again, separating from his mother and never to see and hear from her again. Brown was born to the name of only William. Then afterwards as a free man, finding the help of a kind Quaker, adopted the Quaker's name of Wells Brown. Thus, he has been known by this name ever since. Brown became an abolitonist, working for the rights and equalityof the blacks. He taught himelf to write, finding help from little school children and signs he saw around where he lived. Brown soon afterwars, acting as a servant, helped fugitive slaves escape to Cananda, a place which slaves have found refuge and a home. He was a lecturer agent with the ability to arouse the attention of his audience to the great sin of slavery. He laboured in the Anti-Slavery cause in the American Anti-Slavery Society and the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society. Records from these society show evidence of Brown's success in his labours. He had gained the respects and esteem of the people who have heard his speeches and of all whom he met. Being a fugitive slave himself, Brown lectured with the utmost knowledge and experience, leaving an impression on the minds of the people.
William Wells Brown is a significant writer and abolitionist during the critique of slavery period. He has contributed to the people the awareness of cruelty in slavery and laboured to eradicate slavery. The page offers links to some of his work, which could be read to learn of the theme and literary term used by the selected author. -DR
Work Cited: Brown, William Wells. "Narrative of the Life and Escape of William Wells Brown." Three Classic African-American Novels. Edited with an Introduction by Henry Louis Gates.
New York:Vintage Classics, 1990.
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