...they are denied such a right. It would then be expected for those in bondage to strive to attain their desired freedom. As seen in Douglass’s slave narrative and Rowlandson’s captivity narrative, the deprivation of their freedom lead them to exceed racial and gender boundaries in order to struggle for power that was denied to them by their environment and cultural expectations. Wherever an individual may be, their surrounding environment serves as a constant reminder of their status or role in society. Frederick Douglass was born a slave in the state of Maryland. Being a slave state, Maryland served as a constant reminder to Douglass of his status in the “peculiar institution.” His environment also depicted the suggested racial inferiority of African-Americans to their white slaveholders. This would cause Douglass from an early age to exercise his agency and question why this was so; “The white children could tell their ages. I could not tell why I ought to be deprived of the same privilege” (Cain 1022). His location in Maryland, however, did reduce the obstacles involved with escaping from slavery. Maryland shared a border line with the northern free-states and it also had a harbor that would provide ships as a means of escape. The knowledge of the close proximity of free-states would help keep the notion of running away alive in Douglass’s mind. An environment can also serve to test an individual’s religious faith and role in society, as was the case with Mary Rowlandson...
Words: 1753 - Pages: 8
...be self-evident that all men are created equal” with one huge unwritten disclaimer, “except African Americans”. Sarcastically written, this doctrine inspired many activists and abolitionists during that era to fight for freedom and equality for all. Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth were two of the most prominent figures of the abolitionist movement in 19th-century America. Their speeches, “What, to the Slave, is the Fourth of July?” by Federick Douglass and “Ain’t I a Woman?” by Sojourner Truth, are iconic speeches that continue to resonate with audiences today. Both speeches influence their perspective on equality for African Americans through rhetorical appeals and devices. Truth successfully gains the empathy of...
Words: 1609 - Pages: 7
...Frederick Douglass was a slave in America until the age of 20. He wrote three of the most highly regarded autobiographies of the 19th century, while he only began learning to read and write when he turned 12 years old. After an early life of hardship and pain, Douglass escaped to the North to write three autobiographies, which spaced along decades. He wrote about his life as a slave and a freeman. The institution of slavery scarred him so intensely that he decided to devote his powers of speech and prose to fighting it. Douglass wrote three biographies about his life as a politician, slave, and abolitionist. However, the historical value of these works does not remain as important as the quality of the works themselves. Frederick Douglass’ writing deserves recognition in the canon of great American authors, because his work meets the chosen criteria for inclusion in a collection of important literature. Douglass influenced many famous abolitionists with his literary works, and this impact, coupled with his desire to write an expose about oppression in America, makes him a winning candidate. Although his published works, mostly autobiographies, received much acclaim from abolitionists, this paper explores the quality of Douglass’s work from a literary standpoint. To fully appreciate the impact of Douglass’s autobiographies, we must examine violent period in which he lived. Douglass, born in 1818, grew up as a slave on Colonel Lloyd’s plantation in eastern Maryland. At the time...
Words: 2240 - Pages: 9
...Frederick Douglass's Narrative is an autobiography and it's the story of his life from the time he was born to the time he ran away to freedom in the North. But it's also a good book with a political message. When Douglass wrote his autobiography in 1845, slavery was legal in a great range of the United States. Douglass was a public speaker and writer to try to stop slavery. He believed that if he showed people what slavery was really like behind the scenes, they would understand why it needed to be taken away and made illegal, and who better than an experienced slave to tell everything about slavery and the ins and outs? (Douglass) Frederick Douglass's Narrative is not just about slavery. It paints a picture of what it was like to be a slave,...
Words: 1080 - Pages: 5
...African American voice gained freedom and equality, leading authors to explain only one theme they have instead of the many that they face in their daily life. Frederick Douglass who faced slavery and the challenge of teaching himself to read and write, has more themes than that of Langston Hughes, who faced the burden of his faith. But both of these authors faced more challenges than Henry Louis Gates Jr. whose main grievance addressed in his writing is that of African Americans in the school systems. Because of the freedoms and equalities that the African Americans gained they...
Words: 1222 - Pages: 5
...English 200 Argumentative Synthesis DeAloia Length: 3—4 pages, formatted according to MLA style Audience: College-level reader familiar with the work of Frederick Douglass and of Erich Fromm at a general level Purpose: In this assignment you will use three skills fundamental to academic writing—summarizing, analyzing, and synthesizing. These skills will also help begin to build our theme, the tensions and complexities involved in the struggle between free will and obedience. Points: 100 Due Dates: 11:00 p.m., February 10: Send thesis paragraph & outline of rough draft—as a Word document formatted according to MLA style*—to instructor via UD email attachment Optional: on your own and as you wish, arrange to exchange rough drafts with a peer for feedback via Isidore Chat, visit the Write Place, and/or visit DeAloia during office hours with your questions* 11:00 p.m., February 12: Instructor provides feedback on thesis paragraphs & outlines of rough drafts via UD email attachment 11:00 p.m., February 14**: As an attachment in Word, submit final draft of Argumentative Synthesis to Isidore Assignments, “Argumentative Synthesis” *NOTE: For additional information on how to prepare...
Words: 997 - Pages: 4
...our Declaration of Independence from all aid except from God and our own souls” (1847, p.167). By being able to use first person in this report, the authors show that they are a part of the black community. This would show that they know what they are talking about because they have experienced firsthand the oppressions...
Words: 1073 - Pages: 5
...songs, even now, afflicts me; to those songs I trace my first glimmering conception of the dehumanizing character of slavery. “Without a formal education Frederick Douglass’s "the narrative of Frederick Douglass" was written to a level of perfection that its message resonated with both blacks and whites and gave a voice to the everyday struggle of a slave and in turn humanizing them emphasizing the intent of the abolitionist movement in that slaves are people, so...
Words: 565 - Pages: 3
...Frederick Douglass was born in slavery as Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey in new Easton in Talbot County, Maryland. He was not sure of the exact year of his birth, but he knew that it was 1817 or 1818. His mom died when he was about seven years old, and he doesn't remember much about her. All he knew about his father was that he was a white man, but many people thought his master was his father. Douglass was such an impressive speaker that many people doubted if he had ever been a slave. To prove to all, Fredrick Douglass wrote the "Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass, An American Salve." This story took place from 1818 to 1841. The setting was in a number of places, from Maryland, Baltimore, New York City, and New Bedford, Massachusetts. Being a slave resulted in always getting moved from slave owner to slave owner. Throughout this book, Frederick Douglass has demonstrated his struggles to free himself, emotionally and physically from slavery. Around age ten or eleven, Fredrick Douglass was sent to live in Baltimore with Hugh and Sophia Auld. During his time with the Aulds, Douglass learns how to read and write. When Mr. Auld found out that his wife was teaching him how to read, he made her stop. Douglass then overhears a conversation that Mr. Auld is having with his wife, about how white mans power over blacks is to keep them uneducated. Douglass is now determined that he has to educate himself and escape from slavery. Soon after hearing this, Fredrick Douglass...
Words: 868 - Pages: 4
...The main focus of the passage, Frederick Douglass Learning to Read and Write, is to explain the struggles that Frederick Douglass faced as he began to learn to become literate. Even though I am not a slave or not allowed to learn, I still struggled as a child when it came to learning how to read and write. I learn completely different from many other students since I am dyslexic. Dyslexia is a learning disability that causes people to have difficulty in learning, reading, and interpreting words or letter. However, dyslexia does not affect my intelligence or my appearance. My dyslexia detracts me from learning and understanding, and that sometimes making education hard. As a child my learning differences made me feel judged or misunderstood,...
Words: 344 - Pages: 2
...Frederick Douglass, a slave whom evolved to editor, public speaker and a leader in the abolitionist movement, expresses his own struggles of learning as a slave in the early 1800s in his piece “Learning to Read and Write”. As a slave, Douglass studies how to read and write with the help of those around him. He eventually succeeds in achieving his ambitions, yet, remains with the desire to become a free man. As he gains more knowledge, Douglass has to change the methods he acquires his education to elude the punishment from the slave owners; he resorts to enticing children to assist him in learning during his free time. Douglass uses complex vocabulary, strong diction and unique metaphors to provide his audience with a clear and undisputed perspective of his opinion on slavery. His determination, through his writing, encourages the audience to support the abolitionist movement to cease the horrid practice of slavery. Uniquely, Douglass uses metaphors to help convey a heightened sense of emotion and imagery to his piece. He has effectively expressed his inspiring devotion to acquire knowledge, and his undying determination to become a free man; however, his achievements became a dark pit of despair upon his realization of his grim reality....
Words: 572 - Pages: 3
...Revolution and “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” Thomas Jefferson first used the phrase, “all men are created equal,” in the Declaration of Independence which is something that has been criticized as an immortal declaration. It is also a popular phrase that is a popular theory prediction of the United States Revolutionary period with great continuing importance. The American Revolution would help lead to the national holiday of July 4th and the birth of a new nation that would be celebrated as a day that marked America’s independence. In the nineteenth century, many of the American communities celebrated Independence Day with a ceremonial reading of the Declaration of Independence, followed by a speech dedicated to the celebration of independence and the heritage of the American Revolution of its Founding Fathers. On July 5th, 1952, Frederick Douglass spoke to his black community about the meaning of the Fourth of July. His speech was not to praise the celebration of July 4th, but it was to inform the audience that freedom has not been applied to everyone like how America said it would be. There are connections between our Revolutionary Founder book and Frederick Douglass’ speech that show the struggle of African Americans fighting for freedom before and ongoing after the American Revolution. I chose Frederick Douglass’s document “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”, where he touches on the history of African Americans fighting for freedom and what the Declaration...
Words: 1068 - Pages: 5
...Conflict can affect people in many ways and the way one sees conflicts can also affect themselves internally. Some people that show how conflict can affect a person are Frederick Douglass and Sophie Scholl. Their conflicts are portrayed in the speech “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July” and the excerpt “Hitler Youth: Growing up in Hitler’s shadow”. Frederick Douglass lived through one of the worst violent and controversial times in U.S history. It was the time where slaves were still slaves and discrimination against another race, religion, and color was on the rise. Douglass was invited to speak at Rochester, New York on Independence Day. Douglass, a former slave, answered the question of, “What to the slave is the Fourth of...
Words: 616 - Pages: 3
...After you read the chapter on Frederick Douglass, answer the following questions and then respond to one other point that two other people have made in a conversational and investigative tone. Do everything in your power to elicit a response (I can tell if you are trying). In paragraph 2, Douglass describes Mrs. Auld as possessing "the fatal poison of irresponsible power." What are the ethical responsibilities of power in her relationship with Douglass? [By the way, did you notice there is NO comma after "possessing"? Jacobus moves straight into the quote. That is because "possessing" is not a verb of introduction like “writes.”] Mrs. Auld transform from a gentle sweet person to a very vicious slave owner. Assuming that she begins to own a slave, it makes her feel like she is in control over another human being without any moral responsibility. In what sense were the laws of Douglass's time immoral? How can a law be immoral? Have you ever thought a law in your lifetime was immoral?...
Words: 690 - Pages: 3
...Frederick Douglas is one of America’s well known black historical figures who helped paved the way for many young Black men and women who preceded him. Douglass is known for his influence in the promotion of social justice in United States. In other words, he helped to abolish slavery along with the help of other social activist. He aided the black population by advocating to eliminate discrimination. Frederick Douglass is still applauded for his contributions and support. As an African American, Douglass faced many obstacles before becoming a free man. Since slaves are treated as property to be bought and sold as a commodity. Douglass was moved away from his family. One thing that I was astonished by Douglass is his intuition of trying to...
Words: 773 - Pages: 4
