Rewriting History: The Representation of Race in 19thCentury American Literature

Abstract

This paper explores the representation of race in 19th-century American literature, analyzing how racial identities, social hierarchies, and racial prejudices were constructed, challenged, and rewritten through literary works. Through an examination of texts by authors such as Frederick Douglass, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Herman Melville, and Mark Twain, this paper argues that literature in the 19th century played a crucial role in shaping both the public understanding of race and the broader social and political movements of the time. The paper will focus on the ways in which literature reflected, resisted, and ultimately contributed to shifting racial narratives during a period of profound social change.