Kelley Sanford

AML 3613-0M01
September 25, 2014
Assignment #3
Craft and Douglass Differing Style
Both Douglass and Craft boldly embrace honest portrayals of their oppressors; Douglass
doing so with a formal tone, while Craft uses an edgy, cheeky one. Craft portrays an old
slaveholding womans corrupt thought process mostly by directly quoting her nave logic on the
train, effectively degrading her through humor. This bids the question: realistically, how verbatim
would Craft be able to remember her speeches and therefore, how much does his edgy strategy
influence these quotations to call specified attention to her frivolousness? However, the few
words in the passage that were inherently Crafts were commentating statements like continued
the considerate lady and continued the good soul (Craft 64-5). A stark contrast is created
between the obviously bogus character of this woman and the sarcastic labels of sweetness,
making her example as a white slaveholder with nonsensical views even more obvious. By this
strategy, Craft calls attention to oppression by calling on the readers concept of the ridiculous
whereas Douglass calls upon the readers logical sense. Douglass formally states contradictions
within slaveholding piety, like He who sells my sister, for purposes of prostitution, stands forth
as the pious advocate for purity (Douglass 119), in order to de-elevate the Christian slaveholder.
The difference in audience reaction that could result from these two different tones would be
how the two writers gain agency with the reader. Douglass presents himself as a highly esteemed
intellectual and therefore is convincing in argument while Craft rallies support by being relatable
through a transparent, entertaining personality. Word Count: 249.

Works Cited
Craft, William and Ellen. Running A Thousand Miles For Freedom; or, The Escape of William
and Ellen Craft From Slavery. London: William Tweedie, 337, Strand, 1860.
Documenting the American South. 2001. University Library, The University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill. September 25, 2014
<http://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/craft/craft.html>.
Douglas, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. Written by
Himself. Boston: The Anti-Slavery Office, 1845. Documenting the American South.
1999. University Library, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. September 12,
2014 <http://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/douglass/douglass.html >.