Reality vs. Fiction

Have you ever heard heard the phrase truth is stranger than fiction? Well I have, and I think it applies here. The degradations that we imagine occurring to slaves do not come close to measuring the true damage slavery has done to an entire race. A novel detailing the effects of slavery would likely pale in comparison to the truth laid out by Harriet Jacobs. However, even if such a novel was written, it could still never have the impact of the slave narrative we are reading because it simply didn't happen. If I write a compelling story of how people x subjugates people y on planet z, people may feel sorry for them, but will of course laugh it off as fiction and never take action. When people x becomes whites, people y becomes blacks, and planet z becomes your backyard, the truth hits home and one cannot simply ignore it. Because it is true, one realizes the terrible conditions slaves must live in and one is called to action to try and right the wrongs that have been done. If the narrative is entirely fiction, or if pieces of it are changed, it loses its impact and becomes a useless piece of literature instead of a compelling rallying cry for the abolitionist movement.