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Different Perspectives
(How The Explorer, and Frederick Douglass differ through social and archetypal perspectives.)
Literature. The most accurate pieces of information that the world has today. There are millions of millions of book, or texts that have been written. Some are absolutely true accounts, while others are slightly falsified and then there are the out right lies that are written. Writing has developed to the point where authors have meanings behind their work, that are hidden in the words. Perspectives have also changed with the people of today. There are two perspectives that The Explorer by Gwendolyn Brooks, and Frederick Douglass by Robert Hayden can be read at: social and archetypal.
Both of the aforementioned texts were
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written in the mid twentieth century and can be compared and contrasted on many levels. First off, they were written by different genders. The Explorer was written by a woman, Gwendolyn Brooks; meanwhile, Frederick Douglass was written by a person of the opposite race, Robert Hayden. Although they were both from the same race, African American, they appear to have different ideas on how to explain how they feel their people are being treated. “Oh, no with statues' rhetoric, not with legends and poems and wreaths of bronze alone, but with the lives grown out of his life...” stated Hayden (pg. 1067, line 11). He was referencing to Frederick Douglass, the man who the poem is written after. The Explorer by Gwendolyn Brooks has both social and archetypal perspectives that can be applied.
This particular poem is relatively short, only fourteen lines; however, Gwendolyn says a lot in this piece. It starts out saying that the narrator would like to find some peace in the household. Searching, searching, not able to find relief from the human voices that follow them around. The narrator doesn't want to deal with the griefs and the choices especially. This can be related the the African American struggle of the time because not a hundred years earlier, slavery was a common practice. Slaves would do whatever the white man said. Never having been given any choice in the matter making them afraid to finally do so for themselves. “He feared most of all the choices, that cried to be taken,” (pg.1064, line 12). It can also be related to everyone else in that now that change of the treatment of African Americans was coming about, they demanded to be heard. Perhaps the average white man was seeking relief from the voices he heard and the decisions he was faced with everyday due to …show more content…
segregation. Robert Hayden plays a similar game in his poem, Frederick Douglass, with the social and archetypal perspectives seen.
Hayden's text deals more directly with freedom and liberty compared to Brooks. “When it is finally ours, this freedom, this liberty...” (pg. 1067, line 1). He talks of how these two concepts are and should be as necessary as those things of survival, like breathing. He also compares it to diastole and systole, the opening and closing of the heart and how that's involuntary, just as the mentioned rights should be for everyone. This can be related to African Americans because their rights at the time were currently lesser than that of white people. This shows the imbalance and difficulties it presented. It could also be related to everyone in that he compares it to pieces of survival that everybody needs in order to live. So it specifies no one in
particular. Truly Brooks and Hayden had an idea that what they were writing could be construed in different manners depending on who the audience is. One side could see them both relating their pieces to the suffrage of African Americans; however, it could also be seen as odes to human race in and of itself. This is key because they manage to include both black and white races in a single poem showing that although the people's coloration is different, their hopes and desires to be equal and live happy lives are the same.
I believe both clips would be a thorough way to help people understand the horrors of slavery. Clip 2 describes Douglass's two masters Captain Anthony and his overseer Mr. Plummer. Douglass states that Captain Anthony, "He was a cruel man, hardened by a long life of slaveholding. He would at times seem to take great pleasure in whipping a slave." (Clip 2) His overseer Mr. Plummer "was a miserable drunkard, a profane swearer, and a savage monster" (Clip 2) he was known to have cut and slash women's head so horribly that even the Master, the cruel man that he was, would at times be so outraged at his cruelty that he would threaten to whip him. They were terrible to their slaves and what they would do to them, Aunt Hester being an example. During
Douglass moves to attack the Christian beliefs of the American people, showing the great discrepancies between the ideals held in the Christian faith and the ideals held by slaveowners. Christians avoidance of abolishing slavery, yet worshipping a loving and peaceful God, may be the worse crime of them all. Douglass explains the hypocrisy of the American people by choosing to continue slavery while claiming the benevolent principles embedded in the Bible. At the moment he gives this speech, “they are thanking God for the enjoyment of civil and religious liberty, yet they are utterly silent in respect to a law which robs religion of its chief significance” (Douglass 12). The American people acknowledge and thank God for their freedoms, yet purposefully
Both Frederick Douglas and David Walker wrote against slavery. Frederick Douglas used his personal account as an enslaved man to share the evils of slavery and get his voice heard. His work is written like a novel with his commentary on the situations and his beliefs as the story continues. While the slave narrative was a large piece in the abolitionist movement, David Walker chooses a different approach than others. He wrote an Appeal, much like a legal document in which he argued his personal viewpoints against the institution of slavery but with a great deal of imagery. Although both works are abolitionist literature, the content and type of work are different from one another. The works have similarities and differences and also serve to
In some ways, the first part of the speech is a traditional patriotic speech. Identify these elements.
America, a land with shimmering soil where golden dust flew and a days rain of money could last you through eternity. Come, You Will make it in America. That was the common theme of those who would remove to America. It is the common hymn, the classic American rags-to-riches myth, and writers such as Benjamin Franklin and Frederick Douglass had successfully embraced it in their works.Franklin and Douglass are two writers who have quite symmetrical styles and imitative chronology of events in their life narratives.
In The Narrative of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass, an African American male describes his day as a slave and what he has become from the experience. Douglass writes this story to make readers understand that slavery is brutalizing and dehumanizing, that a slave is able to become a man, and that he still has intellectual ability even though he is a slave. In the story, these messages are shown frequently through the diction of Frederick Douglass.
Education is a privilege. The knowledge gained through education enables an individual’s potential to be optimally utilized owing to training of the human mind, and enlarge their view over the world. Both “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass” by Frederick Douglass himself and “Old Times on the Mississippi” by Mark Twain explore the idea of education. The two autobiographies are extremely different; one was written by a former slave, while the other was written by a white man. Hence, it is to be expected that both men had had different motivations to get an education, and different processes of acquiring education. Their results of education, however, were fairly similar.
Slave narratives were one of the first forms of African- American literature. The narratives were written with the intent to inform those who weren’t aware of the hardships of slavery about how badly slaves were being treated. The people who wrote these narratives experienced slavery first hand, and wanted to elicit the help of abolitionists to bring an end to it. Most slave narratives were not widely publicized and often got overlooked as the years went by; however, some were highly regarded and paved the way for many writers of African descent today.
Despite coming from vastly different worlds, both Frederick Douglas and President Abraham Lincoln had similar ideals and beliefs that ignited the beginning of the end of slavery. Even though Lincoln and Douglas had similar viewpoints on controversial issues during the nineteenth century, these two influential leaders differed in some regards, such as their styles and methods on handling specific situations during this time period.
The history of slavery dates back to the dawn of time, pre-dating any written records. We study our history and learn from our mistakes, this is how we grow as human beings. This essay is the comparison of two slaves who were able to write about their experiences and have their story heard. There are similarities in their retellings, but there are also many significant differences in the outcome of their time as slaves. Millie Evans tells of her life in a very upbeat and positive way, while Frederick Douglass endured and witnessed some very horrible things. While there does seem to be a “typical” slave experience, there are also certain factors that occurred in each authors life that made it anything but typical.
In this final research analysis, I will be doing a comparison between the “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass” and the “Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson” to show how both Douglass and Rowlandson use a great deal of person strength and faith in God to endure their life and ultimately gain their freedom.
Throughout the chapter I went on a rollercoaster ride of emotions from excitement for Frederick Douglas, to sadness, and then followed by further excitement. At first I was excited because I believed that Frederick was truly getting a better life. For example, Frederick had exclaimed that his mistress had not liked traditional gestures of a slave showing that he/she was inferior. Furthermore, I had finally felt that things would become good for Frederick when he said that his mistress had started to teach him how to read and write the letters of the alphabet. However, my heart had shattered as everything seemed to change in a matter of a few lines of a few text. For instance, his master had told his mistress that a slave is forbidden from
In “London, 1802” and “Douglass”, both Wordsworth and Dunbar critique the state of societal affairs in their respective eras and countries. They both lament the loss of leaders, Frederick Douglass and John Milton expressing great sorrow at the void of inspiration, guidance, and honor.
Frederick Douglass was born in Maryland where he was separated from his mother after birth and forced into slavery. The exact date of Frederick Douglass’ birth is unknown but it is estimated that he was born around 1817-1818. Douglass taught himself to read with the help from others. When Douglass was around the age of 21 he escaped to Massachusetts where he got married, changed his last name from Bailey to Douglass and started giving speeches to get rid of slavery. In 1845 Douglass fled to England because of the danger he faced since he was considered a criminal. Two years late he returned to the US where with the help of his British friends, he purchased his freedom for around $700. When in the US, he founded a newspaper, The North Star. He used this newspaper to support his abolitionist cause. During the Civil War, Douglass worked for the Underground Railroad and helped recruit African American soldiers for the union armies. In 1848 Frederick Douglass published an autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, which instantly became a best seller a...
“My poetry is a way of coming to grips with reality . . . a way of discovery and definition,” stated Robert Hayden. (Page 1065). Robert Hayden wrote many poems, but one that is wildly talked about is Frederick Douglass. The title is Frederick Douglass. This poem is fourteen lines and is basically about hoe Frederick Douglass should be remembered for a long time after he is dead. Robert Hayden and Gwendolyn Brooks are African-Americans and they wrote about freedom and liberty. Gwendolyn Brooks wrote The Explorer. Brooks reported, “I want these poems to be free.” (Page 1063). The Explorer is fourteen lines, as well. This poem is about finding out where you belong in life and in society. The Explorer by Gwendolyn Brooks and Frederick Douglass by Robert Hayden wrote poems that talk about the struggle of African- Americans and the universal longing.