Matthew Gazaille Gazaille 1

ENGL- 2201
Salvant
5/8/20
Religious Hypocrisy in the Slave Narrative Genre

"Thou devil, sooner or later, somewhere in the course of eternal justice, thou

shalt answer for this sin!"

In the late eighteenth century, James Albert Ukawsaw Gronniosaw published one

of the first slave narratives, a unique literary tradition that helped lay the framework for

what would eventually become the African American literary canon. His narrative, aptly

titled A Narrative of the Most Remarkable Particulars in the Life of James Albert Ukaw-

saw Gronniosaw, an African Prince, would go on to become one of the most famous

works of its kind. The narrative details the life, captivity, and deliverance of Gronniosaw,

a young man from Bornou. This particular narrative -- and many like it -- were centered

around the spiritual education of its subject, borrowing many tropes from the historically

significant genre of the spiritual autobiography. By making religion a major focal point in

the literary genre, writers were able to -- whether intentionally or not-- highlight the ways

in which religious hypocrisy ran rampant in a pre-abolition America.

While the African American literary canon would later evolve to include anti-slav-

ery sentiments, this was simply not the case for many early transatlantic and African

American writings. While this might seem strange to some, there is a reasonable expla-

nation as to why these narratives were not condemning of the practice of slavery in the

first place. Simply put, due to the lack of both personal and creative freedoms, along-

side a muted sense of self-expression, writers of such narratives were extremely limited

in what they could say about the institution of slavery. Instead of dwelling on the ethical-

ity of slavery as a whole, many of these narratives were more concerned with the reli-

gious implications behind the plight being faced by the author and those around them.
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Nearly one hundred years following the events of Gronniosaw’s narrative,

Solomon Northup had published his account of being sold into slavery in the incredibly

popular and enthralling novel entitled Twelve Years a Slave. Unlike other captivity

narratives, Northup’s is unique due to the fact that he was born a free man in New York.

As a free man, Solomon had lived the majority of his life knowing what it meant to pos-

sess a small amount of agency, but agency nonetheless. Due to Solomon’s extremely

limited status in society, he relied heavily upon and was extremely trusting of white men.

Because of this, he was ultimately enticed into accompanying Hamilton and Brown, the

two evil slave traders who were responsible for Solomon’s eventual bondage. This

novel, unlike the account supplied to us by Gronniosaw, does in fact condemn and high-

light the cruelty of slavery. Through recounting the vehemently evil actions of his op-

pressors, Northup was able to effectively convey the horrors of slavery to a -- mostly--

ignorant white readership.

Both Gronniosaw and Northup possessed strong Christian values during their

time as captives, albeit, their respective faiths can be said to have stemmed from differ-

ent places. In either case, their strong devotion towards the teachings of Christianity

highlights the hypocrisy of religion found in the antebellum south. In addition to this, reli-

gion was used as a means to provide our narrators with hope, granting them the

strength that they needed to persevere through even the most abhorrent circumstances.

The unwavering religious convictions held by the narrators show that, even though they

were viewed as less than human, they were able to follow the word of God closer than

their masters ever could. Specifically, Northup argues that God cares for all of his chil-

dren equally, and does not discriminate on the basis of race. We then see people like
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Epps, who attempt to skew their religious teachings in order to justify the cruel act of

slavery. In the latter portion of the narrative, Bass attempts to show Epps that he is act-

ing immorally in the eyes of God; “If they are baboons, or stand no higher in the scale of

intelligence than such animals, you and men like you will have to answer for it. There’s

a sin, a fearful sin, resting on this nation, that will not go unpunished forever. There will

be a reckoning yet—yes, Epps, there’s a day coming that will burn as an oven.”

(Northup, 166). After saying this, Bass expands upon his stance by explaining why he

thinks slavery “ought to be abolished”, which inevitably falls upon the morally deaf ears

of his racially bigoted employer.

Although Gronniosaw was not as outspoken against religious hypocrisy to the ex-

tent that Northup was, there are a few key excerpts from his narrative that would sug-

gest he felt as if some of the white Christians surrounding him were behaving in an un-

scrupulous manner; “I soon perceived that I was got among bad people, who defrauded

me of my money and watch; and that all my promis'd happiness was blasted, I had no

friend but GOD and I pray'd to Him earnestly. I could scarcely believe it possible that the

place where so many eminent Christians had lived and preached could abound with so

much wickedness and deceit.” (Gronniosaw, 25). After being taken advantage of, Gron-

niosaw asks himself how his fellow Christians could him in a way that is clearly against

their shared religious values.

By distorting the core principles of the Christian faith, proponents of slavery were

able to both justify their ungodly wrongdoings, and dehumanize their victims. Through

possessing a stronger sense of faith than their captors had, both Gronniosaw and
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Northup were able to prove triumph over their situations and ultimately prove that slav-

ery was a result of racial contempt and hatred, and not a consequence of religion.