The Effects Of Slavery On Society From The Lives Of Frederick Douglass And Olaudah Equiano

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Examining the effects of Slavery on Society from the lives of Frederick Douglass and Olaudah Equiano "The White Man's happiness cannot be purchased by the black man's misery." (Douglas 4). Within Frederick Douglass autobiography, Narrative of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave and Olaudah Equiano's autobiography, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, both men speak about their experience as someone who has been enslaved. Douglass and Equiano begin with providing their reader with a brief introduction of where they were born as well as the year. This serves as the catalyst for the story in which they seek to tell about themselves, who they are and what they have experienced. However, there lays a distinct difference

In Douglass' narrative, he strongly believes in the power of education. Within his autobiography, he states, "Knowledge makes a man unfit to be a slave." (Douglass' 10) Douglass understood that the way to gain freedom was through knowledge. Many do not and have not educated themselves on the former issues as it relates to slavery and the black community. In today's society, many blacks still suffer from oppression because they do not seek knowledge. Once one has begun on a quest to understand and learn about their history it will become impossible for someone else to define them. Blacks struggle with caving into the idea of binary opposition, due to a lack of knowledge. In the article entitled "Keys to Freedom: Lessons from Frederick Douglass” by Leticia A. Fitts says that knowledge is the key to freedom, and that it gives one the ability and motivation to think, act and behave for themselves. One cannot be confined or defined once one has developed a deeper understanding. Not only does the power of education or the lack thereof control and play a large role in the way one's mentality is formed and their particular behavior patterns but religiously does as

Raboteau reads that Christianity had become the religion of many of those enslaved, however it also became another form of oppression. They were unable to choose, their religion, and what they practiced, being bound to sermons, and bible verses rather than being able to practice their own rituals and traditions. One’s religion and spirituality have much to do with how they grew up, their learned behaviors that ultimately make up their cultural identity. One reason why society experiences, inter struggle and dissatisfaction with self is that they do not know their history or who they are as individuals. Former Poet, essayist, and Novelist George Santayana formed a quote that best supports this notion of blacks within the community who fall into the repetitive cycle of being enslaved because of their lack of awareness. He states, “Those who don’t know their history are doomed to repeat it.” Everyone who does not inform themselves on their ancestral history will not know how to do the opposite. This is a common issue within today’s society and is one of the main reasons why many find that their growth and development as people are stunted. The way to grow is to know, and knowing only stems from the desire to discover the untold