William Wells Brown: The Importance of the Slave Narrative

William Wells Brown: The Importance of the Slave Narrative

by Alala McDowell and Colleen McLaurin

William Wells Brown

William Wells Brown was an African American male born in Lexington, Kentucky, in 1814. At the age of 20, he was able to escape slavery by fleeing from a steamboat on the Ohio River; from there, he traveled across the state of Ohio to Cleveland. Brown is well known for his many literary contributions, such as Clotel and his biography William Wells Brown: An African American Life. Brown is also well known as a political activist and anti-slavery abolitionist. To help the fight against slavery, Brown regularly attended meetings of the Western New York anti-slavery society, where he would give many speeches. Stemming from this, Brown would travel to other local abolitionist gatherings to speak. William Wells Brown impacted the 19th century and brought about change by indeed publishing his own narrative of his life and the trials and tribulations he endured, as well as writing and publishing books about black history.

The Slave Narrative of Brown's Escape

William Wells Brown wrote his own autobiography, retelling his life through the slave narrative that displays the losses and triumphs he experienced. During his period as an enslaved person, Brown attempted to escape three separate times. His first attempt was as a child, fleeing the abuse he suffered, but unfortunately he was forced to return or be killed. The second time, Brown was older and had been working around St. Louis on his master's steamboat. Brown tried again to leave with his mother, traveling for nearly eleven days to obtain freedom. However, he was caught and forced to serve again. Both times, Brown was beaten and mistreated for seeking his freedom, regardless of his age at either time. This did not deter him, for on his third try, Brown finally obtained freedom with the help of others along his journey. However, throughout each escape and later life, Brown had to run from slave catchers continuously in order to obtain or keep his freedom. Brown risked his re-enslavement to spend two years working on a steamboat, helping to bring other fugitives to Canada in safety he did not have. He later married Elizabeth Spooner, a free black woman, and had three daughters. William Wells Brown displays the horrible side of enslavement throughout his narratives, including through his autobiography. Thus, allowing the slave narrative to speak for itself through his story and others that followed.

Clotel: A Fictional Tragedy and Truth

As a well-known figure within the slave narrative, focusing on the brief fictional story Brown writes about, Clotel helps to further the importance of the slave narrative. Although fictional, Clotel’s story is no less important, for through her story, an understanding of how corrupt and exploited this system was prevails. Clotel, one of the main characters of Brown’s story Clotel: Or, The President’s Daughter, is born of a mixed relationship between an African American woman, Currer, and her master, Thomas Jefferson. Clotel, with a few drops of her mother’s blood, is unable to escape the abuse of the slavery system for many years, regardless of her father’s standing. She loses her mother and sister, her daughter is forcefully taken from her, and she is unable to stop it at all. Until she is offered the opportunity to escape through disguise, she escapes from Vicksburg, Mississippi, as far as Cincinnati. However, she returned to Richmond, Virginia, in search of her daughter, only to be arrested and sent away for the last time. Clotel, like Brown’s, escapes one last time but is chased and cornered on Long Bridge. Nevertheless, she jumps, preferring death to slavery.

Works Cited

Brown, Williams Well. Clotel, Or, The President’s Daughter. New York, The Modern Library, 2000 edition.