Analyzing a Story Through Writing a Character Sketch: The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates. Freedom's Passage "In adversity’s turmoil, a human spirit forms, shaped by hardship’s flame and evolved by winds of transformation. In the depth of sorrow there arises a glimmering ray of hope that leads one from enslavement to salvation." Within the pages of "The Water Dancer," Hiram Walker emerges as a figure of profound depth and resilience, navigating the treacherous waters of slavery with unwavering resolve and quiet strength. Ta-Nehisi Coates' narrative weaves a tapestry of Hiram's journey, inviting readers into a world where the human spirit shines brightest amidst the darkest of times. Hiram is intrinsically motivated by his quest for freedom in spite of being in captivity, as his relentless efforts would show. His strong desire to escape from Rose (his mum) whom he accidentally saw, as well as his various escapade plans, depict determination that will not back down or get discouraged. Regardless of constant fear for pain or hurt being inflicted upon himself, Hiram does not want any limitations placed upon him through chains of slavery, which he proves by showing bravery that is fueled by despair mixed with revolt. Hiram’s quiet strength and resilience comes through his interactions with others. Although he speaks cautiously, his experiences …show more content…
He grew up in an environment where slavery was a prevalent reality; consequently, he had to reflect and be strong enough to understand issues related to family relationships and norms. As a result, his mother’s name Rose mattered most to him right from when she held him on her laps, even though this did not mean that their journey shall be easy until they reached freedom land (Psalm 34:8-10). Time after time, Hiram’s course has been marked by periods of deep self-examination as well as development stemming from his past
“The way [one] expresses both the agony of life and the possibility of conquering it through is the sheer toughness of the spirit. They fall short of
Multiple examples within the novel are uses to represent this person vs. society conflict of this time period. Tom Joad becomes a leader and shows this by organizing the migrants into a union. Ma finally learns to accept her commitments to those people not in her family. Rose of Sharon loses her child, but understands the concept of “we” and gives milk to the starving man, thus giving him life (Levant, "The Grapes of Wrath”). Steinbeck makes his message clear with these examples, and through the analysis of the theme of selflessness, it is apparent that the change in character is caused by the selfishness and immorality of society, and the Joads decision to go against the grain of their peers and come together as one unit as well as helping those suffering just like them, or even worse.
Statement: The ability for an individual to endure hardship is a testament to the endurance of human spirt. The ability to defeat hardship isn 't something everyone has but I assume that having that ability is something that should be an essential human quality.
––––Life for Douglass improved a bit when he was sold to the Auld family. The wife, Sofia Auld, treated Douglass very kindly and taught him the alphabet and read the Bible to him. Mrs. Auld wasn’t prone to slavery because she had grown up in a poor family before marrying her husband, Hugh, so she didn’t know that she wasn’t supposed to teach Douglass how to read. Once her husband found out Douglass was learning to read, he was enraged. He told his w...
It is not light that we need, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake. --Fredrick Douglass “If the Lion told the Story” In "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass", Douglass uses his trials and tribulations to show that mental strength can overcome physical abuse while also showing us how faith is something that one must have to stay true to one’s self. “I was covered with blood.
Even though there is tragedy there-what Steinbeck seems to be saying is that the human spirit can and will endure despite immense privations. The will to live and endure will always overcome defeated hopes.
After reading Frederick Douglass’s narrative of slavery, I couldn’t help but stop and try to gather my thoughts in any way possible. It was not the first time I had read the narrative, but this time around Douglass’s words hit me much harder. Perhaps, it was that I read the narrative in a more critical lens, or possibly it was just that I am older and more mature now from the last time I read it, but whatever the reason, I can confidently say reading the narrative has changed my heart and opened my eyes in many ways. I have always been aware of the injustices that slavery encompassed and of course like many other people, I have been taught about slavery in a historical narrative my entire life. But, Frederick Douglass’s narrative does more than just provide a historical perspective in seeing the injustices in slavery. His narrative asks the reader to look directly into the eyes of actual slaves and realize their very heart beat and existence as humans. Douglass humanizes the people of whom the terrible acts we acted upon that we learn about as early as elementary school. It is because of this that I decided to write this poem. Reading the narrative made me really think about Douglass’s journey and the story he tells on his road to freedom. I felt as if he was really speaking to me and, and in turn I wanted to give Douglass a voice in my own writing.
“There is only one way in which one can endure man’s inhumanity to man and that is to try, in one’s own life, to exemplify man’s humanity to man.” by Alan Paton
Brown, William Wells. From Fugitive Slave to Free Man: The Autobiographies of William Wells Brown. 1st ed. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina, 1996. Print.
In the passage of the Narrative of Fredrick Douglass, the author masterfully conveys two complimentary tones of liberation and fear. The tones transition by the use of diction and detail. The passage is written entirely in first person, since we are witnessing the struggles of Fredrick Douglass through his eyes. Through his diction, we are able to feel the triumph that comes with freedom along with the hardships. Similarly, detail brings a picturesque view of his adversities. Since the point of view is first person, the reader is able to be a part of the Douglass’ struggles with his new freedom. With diction, detail, and point of view, the reader is able to get a rare glimpse into the past of Fredrick Douglass.Fredrick Douglass’ diction is powerful as he describes his life as a slave and with his new freedom. Fredrick Douglass calls being enslaved an act of “wretchedness,” yet he was able to remain “firm” and eventually left the “chains” of slavery. Fredrick Douglass expresses that being enslaved is a wretched act and that no man should ever deserve such treatment. Despite being a slave, he kept strong and eventually broke the chain of society. However, Fredrick Douglass experienced great “insecurity” and “loneliness” with his new freedom, and was upon a new “hunting-ground.” His new freedom brought other devastating factors, being a new state without any friends, which caused his loneliness. In this new state, he grew insecure for he was in a new danger zone where at any time his freedom could be rejected. With new freedom come new obstacles, which are described in the diction of Fredrick Douglass.
“There were a large number of people with nothing to do. Nobody was at fault. Work could not be found for them. But they must be relieved. Their children must be saved; and they cannot save themselves.”
...details the transformation of a slave to a man. The institution of slavery defined a slave as less than human, and in order to perpetuate that impression, slaveholders forbade slaves the luxury of self definition. Therefore, when Douglass finally rejects the notions about his identity forced on him by slavery, and embraces an identity of his own creation, he has completed his journey from slave to man. He no longer defines himself in terms of the institution of slavery, but by his own thoughts regarding what his identity is. Through the metamorphosis of his identity as “an animal” to an author who fights for the abolitionist movement, Douglass presents his narrative not simply as a search for freedom, but also a search for himself.
I thought angrily. How do You compare to this stricken mass gathered to affirm to You their faith, their anger, their defiance? What does Your grandeur mean, Master of the Universe, in the face of all this cowardice, this decay, and this misery? Why do go on troubling these poor people’s wounded minds, their ailing bodies? … Blessed be God’s name? Why, but why would I bless Him? Every fiber in me rebelled. … But look at these men whom You have betrayed, allowing them to be tortured, slaughtered, gassed, and burned, what do they do? The pray before You! They praise Your name! … I was the accuser, God the accused. My eyes had opened and I was alone, terribly alone in a world without God, without man.” (Wiesel
“I pitied thee, took pains to make thee speak, taught thee each hour one thing or another.”
My decision to pursue a PhD is derived from my passion for science and engineering paired with my abilities in the field of machine learning and applied statistics. I consider myself fortunate to be part of the Department of Computer Science, University of Florida for my master studies. More importantly, I am glad to have two excellent professors in this field as advisors, Dr. Pader and Dr. Jilson, who are guiding me throughout my graduate studies. They assisted me to decide and pursue the courses and topics that interested me. During my first semester, I took the course Mathematical methods for Intelligent Systems that gave me a strong base for applied mathematics in the field of intelligent systems. Similarly, the research course Computational Neuroscience gave me an insight into applications of statistics, neural networks, and linear dynamical systems in a biological perspective.