Summary of Slave: My True Story

English

Cindy Hicks

Summary of Slave: My True Story

A summary is a concise restatement in the writer’s (that’s you in this case) own words of an author’s main ideas. When summarizing a narrative, which, as a memoir, Slave: My True Story, is, you will relate the major events of each chapter, the events that help your reader (that’s me in this case) get a sense of what the theme of Slave might be. (The theme is the statement an author is making. Often the theme is the author’s statement or reflection on some human condition. In any event, the theme is the point the author wants to get across.)

In the first sentence of your summary state the author’s full name and the title of the book, and the chapter you are summarizing. After this, you can refer to the book by the author’s last name only.

When you are referring to Mende Nazer as the author, refer to her by her full name the first time and by “Nazer” after that. When you are referring to Mende Nazer as the main character in the memoir, you may refer to her as “Mende.” NEVER REFER TO AN AUTHOR BY FIRST NAME ONLY, though.

Example: In Chapter 1 of Slave: My True Story, Mende Nazer recalls her childhood in the Nuba Mountains, setting the scene for the loss and enormous change she will experience later.

In Chapter 2, Nazer tells about….

After you have finished writing the summary of the assigned chapters, choose ONE sentence or short section from the chapters you read that stood out to you. Write the sentence or short section—put it in quotation marks if it’s no more than three lines; block it if it is longer than three lines*—and reflect on why this quote stood out for you and what you think it means in the context of the book. Be sure to state how the quote relates to what is happening in the book.

Your summary and the reflection on a quote should be typed, double space. It should be about two-to-three pages long.

*Examples:

Short quote. (Page number of quote goes in parentheses.)

“My father was a funny man.” (2).

Quote that is more than three lines: indent 5 spaces from the margins. Single space the lines of the quote. No quotation marks. Page number in parentheses.