The Unacknowledged Legacy of 19 th Century Slave Narratives
is relocated to Baltimore , for example , his new mistress begins to teach Douglass to read and provides the spark that helps him master this skill . His literacy proves both a blessing and curse : “ It had given me a view of my wretched condition , without my remedy ” ( 33 ). Had Douglass remained in Baltimore , his story might have had a simpler ending — with an easier escape — but he is returned to the country and leased to Mr . Covey , a notorious slave-breaker , for the purposes of re-education . In a climactic confrontation with Covey , Douglass both firmly renounces his enslaved status and asserts his right to ( white ) masculinity : “[ A ] t this moment — from whence came the spirit I don ’ t know — I resolved to fight ; and suiting my action to the resolution , I seized Covey hard by the throat ; and as I did so , I rose ” ( 50 ). This action , as Douglass explicitly claims , was “ the turning-point in [ his ] career as slave ” because it both “ rekindled the few expiring embers of freedom , and revived with [ him ] a sense of [ his ] own manhood ” ( 50 ). Soon after , Douglass returned to Baltimore and then escaped to the North .
For Douglass , then , the articulate hero ’ s progression is clear . Ignorance gives way to an understanding of one ’ s place in the world , and the hero “ rise [ s ]” and lays claim to their privileged position in order to secure their freedom . As discussed earlier , 19 th century slave narratives often gender this archetype , as it follows the Franklinian tradition of achievement from humble beginnings through a rejection of the past and embracement of education . In Westworld , the parallels to Douglass are clearest in Dolores , who for much of the season is the character that opens each episode . Like Douglass , Dolores ’ s own age is indeterminate and her paternity is in question . 1 Dolores ’ s journeys beyond her hometown , Sweet-
1 The first occurs earlier , in the episode “ A Woman ’ s Place ,” when June has a moment alone with the female ambassador of Mexico
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