...The novel, the narrative of the life of Fredrick Douglass was written by Fredrick Douglass himself to help the audience better understand slavery. What I found amazing is that within the novel Fredrick Douglass broke down the essences of slavery by putting in assorted details on how it effect both blacks and whites, Knowledge was the key for freedom and that the use of ignorance as a tool for power is still being used today. In the context of the novel, the author is trying to tell the reader that white slave owners used ignorance as a tool of slavery. During the time Douglass wrote his narrative, many people believed that slavery was a natural state of being. In the narrative the author explains the strategies and procedures that whites...
Words: 388 - Pages: 2
...In the United States of America during the period of the Civil War, the flag of the South called the Confederate flag was a representation of a culture that the south was trying to preserve. After the war ended, with the south losing, the flag began to take on a controversial meaning due to the connection it had to slavery. The connection the Confederate flag had towards slavery in the past is why using it today, as a southern heritage symbol is controversial. Due to the nature of the meaning of the confederate flag and it connection to slavery during the civil war, its meaning becomes blurred when when it flies anywhere except a museum dedicated to the civil war. When it is displayed elsewhere, it begins to represent a reminder and celebration...
Words: 1399 - Pages: 6
...Henry Thoreau and Frederick Porcher both felt America was not heading in the right direction. However, they had different reasons for suggesting this. Thoreau thought slavery and those who ignored it were the problem while Porcher thought the conflict between capital and labor was the problem. Thoreau believed that government ignorance was the reason slavery still existed and Porcher believed that capitalism was the cause of the conflict between capital and labor. They each wrote of possible remedies to fix America from heading down a road from which it would never return. Henry Thoreau considered slavery and ignorance what was wrong with the United States. He believed slavery was immoral and the activism of John Brown at Harper’s Ferry...
Words: 958 - Pages: 4
...effects those slaves felt being known as property and not as a human being, or being considered as one. Those are just a few of many things that Douglass talked about in this book. Douglass was born right into slavery, but then later achieved freedom, mainly by teaching himself and relying on himself rather than others. One of his first masters was probably one of the only men that Douglass listened to as a slave. His first master didn’t treat him exactly like a slave, he made him do slave things, but at the same time he educated him about things, like how to write and the alphabet. His second master was not the same at all. He didn’t educate him at all; he treated him like what most other slave holders tried to do with slaves. And that’s to treat them ignorance, and have them be ignorant. Slave holders mainly wanted to do that so the slaves would not succeed in society or be able to participate, because with ignorance, you really can’t get that far. This is one of the things that Douglass writes about in this book, with this ignorance that these slaves learn they don’t know their natural rights; all they knew about was slavery. These ties in with the Thomas Jefferson’s book, in that book, Jefferson points out that if you’re enslaved then all you know about is just slavery, which means you...
Words: 987 - Pages: 4
...states, Eastasia, Eurasia, and Oceania, all in a continual state of war and changing alliances. Throughout the novel, the Party, which is the main governing power of Oceania, is constantly falsifying documents and rewriting history to fit past predictions and political promises of the government. These lies and double standards are illustrated by the Party’s three slogans: War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, and Ignorance is Strength. The doublethink of War is Peace is exemplified in these words, "The very word 'war', therefore, has become misleading. It would probably be accurate to say that by becoming continuous, war has ceased to exist...War is Peace" (Orwell 164). In the novel Oceania is in a perpetual state of war with ether Eurasia or Eastasia. Whenever a new alliance is made or a new enemy obtained, the Party revises past publications to make it seem that they have always been at war with the same foe. These contradictions go unnoticed by the vast majority of the population, and those who do take note are easily swept up in the frenzy of war. The Party slogan, Freedom is Slavery; even in itself contains two opposing viewpoints that conflict with each other. This process of doublethink is basically the “power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them” (Orwell 155). The Party enslaves the people of Oceania, not literally, but in every action they perform from their morning “jerks” to walking down the street. They are constantly...
Words: 699 - Pages: 3
...Political Ignorance: Hatred amongst African Americans in US History Tia Taylor Eth 125 Political Ignorance: Hatred amongst African Americans in US History Thanks for visiting the Blogsite again. You may think this will be just another opinionated article on African American culture being posted because it’s voting season. In fact, you’re correct. This article was dedicated to provide a realistic inside look into the history of the African American culture because there is a trend of American citizens stating they are voting for Obama because he is black. There are quite a few who have no other reason as to why they are voting for him other than that and since they may not be able to explain their answer, maybe this will help those that are angry and/or confused. Yes, it is quite simple minded to say you’re voting for Obama because he is black. It is also quite simple minded to say a person who said that is ignorant. In fact, we must remember that those who state that may have happened to grow up under a long ancestry of racism and hate just as the white kid down the street who draws Nazi symbols on his desk at school. Just like him and his older brother who might be a prejudice employee at his job, it’s not their fault they are that way. It was their environment and maybe if you understand a person’s environment and their background, you will understand why statements like this are being made all over social media websites. I’ll make these breakdowns as short and simple...
Words: 1679 - Pages: 7
...After the events in Nazi Germany, there is a history for the Jews that is deeply painful and a part of their heritage. The people group as a whole has long been persecuted, stigmatized, and marginalized. In her portrayal of the Lubavitches, Smith often calls upon the idea of ignorance. In her portrayal of the anonymous preschool teacher, she points out both the ignorance of the woman and the Black boy. The preschool teacher makes automatic assumptions of the little black boy in that “he couldn’t possibly be Jewish”. The boy, in turn, has no knowledge of the Jewish Sabbath laws and does not understand why she could not turn off her own radio. This seems to show that the Jewish find their religion or culture to be superior and exclusive to those of a certain race. It is clear that the two have had little to no previous interactions with the other group, and the ignorance on both sides causes each to have a negative perception of the other. Again with Rivkah Siegal, Smith emphasizes the ignorance of outsiders to understand the Jewish culture and traditions of wearing a wig. This lack of understanding leads to ostracizing which is not conducive to building relationships. Rather, it only builds tension between the groups that could explode in any given...
Words: 794 - Pages: 4
...Douglass writes “I have found that, to make a contented slave, it is necessary to make a thoughtless one. It is necessary to darken his moral and mental vision, and, as far as possible, to annihilate the power of reason.” Douglass uses dull words to describe the ignorance to the world which slaveholders feel is necessary. Slaves were forbidden from learning to how read and write, for they would gain knowledge and try to escape, or revolt. For example, when Ms. Auld was caught teaching Frederick how to write, her husband says “Learning would spoil the best nigger in the world. Now,” said he, “if you teach that nigger how to read, there would be no keeping him. The ignorance that Douglass had to go through compares to the dehumanization of slaves. Today, selfishness exists in many places such as companies, businesses, and even in the government. It is important to eliminate selfishness, or else something as bad as slavery can happen again. Greed and selfishness were the two main driving forces for the beginning and continuing of...
Words: 531 - Pages: 3
...totalitarian regime can acquire and maintain. In such regimes, notions of personal rights and freedoms and individual thought are pulverized under the all-powerful hand of the government. Orwell exercises contradictions and paradoxes to display the dangers that could come in the future. The world of 1984 is a dark and morbid place, this theme of darkness helps carry the dystopian feel throughout the book. Orwell takes the events he was living through and magnifies them to a dystopian setting. The Party slogan “War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength” (pg. 26) appears several times throughout the book and it is an example of how opposite the society is. This slogan is a clear indicator of the mind corruption of the party but at the same time each phrase bears a terrifying truth. War is Peace, without war, there can be no peace. Freedom is Slavery, without slavery we would not know of and crave freedom. Ignorance is Strength, in ignorance, you find the ability to create your strength. These contradictions are accompanied by many others, such as the four Ministries. The Ministry of Truth focuses on bending the past through destroying and rebuilding it, this would be considered lying but what the party claims is the truth ends up becoming the truth. The Ministry of Peace handles something completely opposite of peace, war. The Ministry of Love practices the infliction of misery, fear, and torture. The Ministry of Plenty maintains a state of constant poverty and handles...
Words: 640 - Pages: 3
...watched by the government and people had to be very careful in everything they do. The Government used to control people. The main leader of this government was Big Brother. Newspeak was the official language of Oceania. INGSOC is English Socialism according to Newspeak language. There are three principles of INGSOC: War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery and Ignorance is Strength. War is peace is a belief that when a country is at war with some other country, the people and the states of the country get united to fight against their common enemy. In this novel, government used this principle to maintain peace in their country by being at war with Eurasia. This united the people of Oceania to fight with Eurasia. There are also some other examples of War is peace in this novel; during the two minute hate, when the face of Goldstein appeared on the screen and hate started, there were pictures of some Eurasian soldier and of the war. At that time the whole crowd got united against the enemy: “At this moment the entire group of people break into a deep slow rhythmical chant of B-B! . . . B-B! . . . B-B!” (Orwell 16) Freedom is slavery means when people have the freedom to do and think whatever they want, the potential to oppose the government exists. And if one opposes the government they create a state of fear for the population. So the party will give freedom to people, which will rebel to enslave others to their fear. For example, in this novel people of Oceania...
Words: 831 - Pages: 4
...Frederick Douglass, his Pursuit of Freedom, and the Abomination of American Slavery Frederick Douglass's autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (1845), reveals a multitude of ways in which African Americans suffered under slavery. The Narrative captures the universality of slavery and its many abuses such as the separation of family and friends, daily beatings, backbreaking labor, scarcity of sleep, suppression of individuality, crushing oppression, and intense racism. The turning point in Douglass’s slavery is his stay with slaveholder Covey. The fight with Covey forms the central moment of the text where he is able to symbolically break free from bondage and become an autonomous human being thus enabling his later escape....
Words: 1212 - Pages: 5
...with Winston Smith having so much control, but by the end he does not have any control. He did what he could do to rebel from Big Brother, which makes him a hero in this case. In the beginning of 1984, it shows that Smith is in a dystopian society. The slogan that everybody lives by “war is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength”. This slogan Contradictory itself which is an important tribute to the power of the society's mass campaign of psychological control. In a theory, the society maintain “War Is Peace” because they have the same enemy and it keeps everyone in Oceania together. The other saying “Freedom Is Slavery” because people doing their own thing independently will eventually fail in doom. The last thing is “Ignorance Is Strength” because if people cannot recognize these contradictions cements the power of the controlling regime. When Smith bought his diary this was his first step to go away from the motto. He went against that “War Is Peace” because his new enemy was Big Brother. He continuously wrote in his diary “down with big brother” which say whom his new enemy is. He then became a free man with his diary, which is against “Freedom Is Slavery”. He was...
Words: 1124 - Pages: 5
...Although not considered at the time, slaves were also people with human rights. Slavery represented a dark time in American society. Most of the population in the North was ignorant to all the injustice and atrocious horrors that were being committed due to slavery. As a slave, one would be suppressed of their freedom, not being able to express yourself in any way. This is where Frederick Douglass came in. As Douglass was able to overcome all sorts of adversity he somehow was able to escape with his freedom. By discovering that knowledge was the key to freedom, he was eventually able to deduce why and how slavery works. By articulating a voice, he exposed slavery for what it...
Words: 1206 - Pages: 5
...Modern Day slave labor George orwell said it best when he said “War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.” The exact opposite of that is happening in modern day. Many people though slavery ended in the 1800’s but it did’nt in fact it is still going on today. An estimated 20.9 million people are victims of forced labor. One of the major types of enslavement is forced labor. Business owners some time force worker to do stuff and they don't get paid or very little. Forced labor is most like historic American slavery, often physically and without pay. All other categories of slavery are a subset of forced labor and can include domestic servitude, child labor and bonded labor. “Forced labor is the type of enslavement used across...
Words: 264 - Pages: 2
...were dominant in America. The most afflicted people were the Africans and the African Americans. However, not everyone supported the idea of slavery in such a first-class nation. Some were against it, and they struggled to ensure that the inhuman act was stopped. Thomas Jefferson was against the institution of slavery in America. His personal views can be well traced from notes and letters he sent to various leaders. For one, Jefferson was against slavery because he believed that all men were created equal. No man is superior than the other, and hence slavery was an inhuman act that set the victims to pain and torture. He thought that white man was just as equal to black man and there should be no difference in the manner that the two are treated. In his reply letter to Mr. Benjamin Banneker on August 30, 1791, he expressed how a black man has equal talent as a white man (Letter to Benjamin Banneker). None of these individuals should live in degraded conditions. Color does not justify slavery of the Africans and African Americans. To Jefferson, the institutions of slavery were a source of division. The white men intended to retain and enslave black men in American so that they would save the...
Words: 606 - Pages: 3
