The Heroic Slave

Writing Asgmt. 2

DUE: Wednesday, 2/10 by 11:59 PM

Assignment 2: In writing about The Heroic Slave, critic Richard Yarborough notes, “Black men were viewed as unmanly and otherwise inferior because they were enslaved; at the same time, they were often viewed as beasts and otherwise inferior if they rebelled violently.” Keeping in mind the (largely female) audience for whom Douglass produced the novel, we see that Madison is a man who is also capable of deep and tender emotion. 

Write a one (1) page paper with clearly defined terms, topic, and developed thesis in which you comment on how he may have been able to circumvent this negative representation of black men’s masculinity (as beastly) through his fictional portrayal of Madison Washington.

DRAW SPECIFICALLY FROM THE TEXTS. DO NOT REFERENCE OUTSIDE SOURCES (Google, Wikipedia, student guides, encyclopedias, dictionaries, etc.). DO NOT PLAGIARIZE. Plagiarism results in an "F" on the paper, and the paper and it cannot be re-done. A second instance of plagiarism results in automatic failure of the course.

USE STANDARD MLA STYLE (see MLA Style Sheet under "Class Information").

Always create your own title for your assignment (do not call it Assignment 1 or "Frederick Douglass") and double-space all writing.

Your writing must show that you have properly met the standards of what is considered acceptable for a 200-level literature course. It is YOUR responsibility to ensure that your papers are proof-read before you hand them in. Below is how I break down the points:

• Clear thesis, well-organized supporting points and conclusion: 60%
• Cited adequately and correctly from the texts:                           20%
• Demonstrated writing strength (structure, spelling, grammar):  20%