Reading the introduction today, it occurred to me that I've been ignoring the discussions within abolitionist circles regarding Liberian colonization and black assimilation, the former being Stowe's original position, the later being Douglass'. Delany originally was with Douglass but broke with him later and attempted to raise funds for black emigration to Central America. It might be interesting to look at the way those debates, particularly the ones surrounding Liberian colonization, reflect a sort of belated Middle Passage anxiety. And even if they don't, they provide a different kind of transatlantic context for the literature.
Delany's an interesting character. I know I've said I'm thinking of making the chapter primarily about Dred, but Blake raises interesting questions about literary representation of slaves and free blacks. Because he frames it as a response to Uncle Tom's Cabin, it might be interesting to look at the ways in which he plays with dialect, domesticity, and masculinity.
