Douglass depicts the negative effects of slaveholding on slaveholders through the characters of Thomas Auld and Edward Covey. Douglass shows that both these men must pretend that they are one thing while they are really another. Thomas Auld attempts to act the part of the privileged, powerful slave owner. Both the slaves and Auld himself recognize that he is only acting, and he becomes even more tortured and cruel because of his unconvincing performance. Edward Covey pretends to himself, and to God, that he is a Christian man—righteous and pious.
Slaves must seek knowledge and education in order to pursue freedom. It is from Hugh Auld that Douglass learns this notion that knowledge must be the way to freedom, as Auld forbids his wife to teach Douglass how to read and write because education ruins slaves. Douglass
A perfect example of this is when Mrs. Auld is told that if Douglass learns he will no longer be useful as a slave, at this time in the book she began to turn very mean and cruel towards her slaves and treating them more like property instead of being somewhat generous as before. Frederick’s family was forced to struggle through the hard times, and had to live a very unusual life, for example: Frederick’s mother was sold to another slave family so it was very hard for Frederick to see his mother, and eventually she passed away when Frederick was seven, although he didn’t seem very effected. Frederick also ends up proving that Covey was extremely two faced by bring up a very valid point, which was owning slaves was unnatural and unchristian like. As for Frederick’s Grandmother, that truly opened his eyes as to how these slave owners really feel about you, regardless as for what you do. She served her masters for years and then when she grew too old to serve them they just tossed her out like a piece of trash and left her for dead.
The comparison on Booker T. Washington and Frederick Douglass's views on slavery and prejudice are quite similar. They both were black slaves who hoped for a better future for blacks that did not include slavery. They both detested slavery and the prejudice of the whites and believed that everyone was equal. Booker T. Washington's book Up From Slavery is an excellent view of what he went through as a slave and how he views slavery and prejudice. Frederick Douglass also wrote a book "The Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass" which is also a great example of what slaves had to go through every day, confined to slavery.
Douglass has no “respect” because he is thrown into a world of slavery where he must tolerate the disrespect being shoved at him. It isn’t until his fight with slave-breaker Edward Covey that the beginning stage of “respect” starts to make its way to him. The fight is where I can see Douglass start to transform. He writes "You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man" (47). Brewton also brings to my attention that Douglass “devotes greater space in his first autobiography to the portrait of Covey than to any other character, black or white.” I think this is because the fight with Covey is a pivotal turning point for Douglass.
Douglass upholds Civil Rights, while Chopin upholds Women’s Rights; yet both essentially uphold the Right of the individual. Douglass and Chopin’s semiautobiographical Edna, display their “true-self” while revolting against the so-called traditions of society, while learning from there life experiences. In the narrative of Douglass, he explained that he is like many other slaves who do not know when they were born and many as well do not know who his parents were. Douglass states, “By far the larger part of the slaves know as little of their as horses know of theirs, and it is the wish of most masters within my knowledge to keep their slaves thus ignorant”(1). At that moment he knew that slave masters identified a way to control the minds of slaves and that was too not simply give them there age.
c.) The varying interpretations indicate the use of “presentism” throughout the periods in which the affair has been analyzed. During the civil rights movement, use of the term “blacks” to describe the slave population was seen as one of the main points of insensitivity, because African Americans of the time had such little cultural footing in America. After the 60s, students began to reflect on Jefferson’s unwillingness to see integration as an option, because African Americans were still struggling to integrate after the civil rights movements. Modern day, the concern lies in Jefferson’s blatant stereotyping of slaves as lesser and even as “musical”. These all reflect the current ideals of the time in
The narrative life of Frederick Douglass is a good example of why slavery should be abolished in the United States Of America. His narrative show’s three good reasons why slave should be free. They are given harsh environments and living quarters. They aren't provided with enough clothes or food to live with. They are constantly beat and moved and traded and sold its just not fair to them.
Despite these clashes of perspective, the main conflict between mother and son derives from Julian’s inability to put his pride aside, accept the sacrifices his mother made for him, and move on from his lack of success in the real world. Julian sees himself as a martyr for African-Americans. He fantasizes about bringing home a black girlfriend just to frustrate his mother mad and sympathizing with all the hardships she has to endure because she is black (O’Connor 1023). Julian’s mother admits that she believes blacks were better off as slaves and that “they should rise, yes, but on their own side of the fence” (O’Connor 1018). She exhibits the philosophy of “separate but equal.” This attitude might place her in the racist category, but there
3. Mr. Auld tells his wife, “if you teach that nigger how to read, there would be no keeping him. It would forever unfit him to be a slave. He would at once become unmanageable, and of no value to his master. As to himself… it would make him discontented and unhappy.” Do you think there is truth in Mr. Auld’s words?