The Enlightenment period was a time when the world opened its eyes to see that there was nothing different from the everyday man or woman compared to the King or Queen. During this period writers would put their feelings into literary pieces, though, some were not popular at that time, are still being read today. Two literary pieces that were written on the opposite sides of the world, one by Fredrick Douglass, and the other by Mary Wollstonecraft fight for similar rights. One is a slave in the eyes of the world, but the other is a slave in the eyes of man and whose only purpose is to do house work. Who is the true slave? Frederick Douglass was born into the life of a slave, and at an early age was ripped away from his mother Harriet. …show more content…
Born as a free woman in London, England Mary argued for education along with unjust laws for women that subjected them to a form of slavery. As the world around her at the time was facing a political breakthrough with the United States using idea’s formed by philosophers John Locke and Thomas Hobbes theories in the social contract, to break free from England, she hoped the French Revolution would create an era of equality and reason. Wollstonecraft places her opinion that the condition of adult women is caused by the neglect of education for girls. Most of the essay is based on her argument for education of …show more content…
In the time of Mary Wollstonecraft people believed reason was a gift from God, and that God was in favor of the social change. Mary questions how almost have of the population is without the capacity for rational thought which would make it a design flaw from God. In her first chapter Mary states, “Firmly persuaded that no evil exists in the world that God designed to take place, I build my belief on the perfection of God.” Mary refuses to believe that God would create a woman that is intended to be weak. Her belief that people not nature is the reason why women are the way they
Frederick Douglass was an enslaved person and was born in Talbot County, Maryland. He had no knowledge of his accurate age like most of the enslaved people. He believed that his father was a white man, and he grew up with his grandmother. Douglass and his mother were separated when he was young, which was also common in the lives of the enslaved people. This concept of separation was used as a weapon to gain control of the enslaved people. In short, despite the obstacles he had to endure, he was able to gain an education and fight for his freedom in any means necessary.
The issue of Slavery in the South was an unresolved issue in the United States during the seventeenth and eighteenth century. During these years, the south kept having slavery, even though most states had slavery abolished. Due to the fact that slaves were treated as inferior, they did not have the same rights and their chances of becoming an educated person were almost impossible. However, some information about slavery, from the slaves’ point of view, has been saved. In this essay, we are comparing two different books that show us what being a slave actually was. This will be seen with the help of two different characters: Linda Brent in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl and Frederick Douglass in The Narrative of the life of Frederick
Frederick Douglass’s narrative unveils a large number of ways in which African Americans suffered under the oppression of slavery. For instance, many slaves including Douglass himself, did not know their own birthdays or much of their own family history. This was most likely the result of slave children being separated from their actual blood relatives either at birth or due to being sold to different slave owners.
Frederick Douglass, who was born into slavery around 1818, will forever remain one of the most important figures in America's struggle for civil rights and racial equality. As an ex-slave, his inspiration grew beyond his boarders to reach the whole world. Without any formal education, Douglass escaped slavery and became a respected American diplomat, a counselor to four presidents, a highly regarded speaker, and an influential writer. By common consent Douglass’s Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave (1845) is recognized as the best among the many slave narratives that appeared before the Civil War. He amazed people when he spoke bravely in his Fourth of July speech. He spoke out against oppression throughout America and abroad, and his struggle for freedom, self-discovery, and identity stands as a testament for all time, for all people. Although some people accused him of lying, exaggerating, and using his narrative and his well-known Fourth of July speech as part of an abolitionist plot, Douglass was able to clearly demonstrate his talents, sensitivity, and intellectual capacity by revealing the truth about the lives, culture, and psychological struggles of American slaves.
Therefore, gender separated the two narratives, and gave each a distinct view toward slavery. Douglass showed “how a slave became a man” in a physical fight with an overseer and the journey to freedom. Jacobs’s gender determined a different course, and how women were affected. Douglass and Jacob’s lives might seem to have moved in different directions, but it is important not to miss the common will that their narratives proclaim of achieving freedom. They never lost their determination to gain not only freedom from enslavement, but also the respect for their individual humanity and the other slaves.
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 his influential autobiography, Frederick Douglass helps pave the way for the early abolitionist movement using his own life story to bring forth the evils of slavery. He illustrates the hardships of slavery during antebellum America, focusing not only on the historical and economic issues of slavery, but mainly on the innate morality of human beings. Although many readers during this period were skeptic of the works authenticity, it brought the proper awareness to an issue in which corrupted America for many years. Frederick Douglass’s account against slavery exploits the brutal nature of slavery in way that shocked those who had looked past its harsh nature. By putting the reader in first perspective on the everyday life of a child born into slavery, he successfully uses the transitions of his life to open the people’s eyes to the crime that is slavery.
Mary Wollstonecraft was as revolutionary in her writings as Thomas Paine. They were both very effective writers and conveyed the messages of their ideas quite well even though both only had only the most basic education. Wollstonecraft was a woman writing about women's rights at a time when these rights were simply non-existent and this made her different from Paine because she was breaking new ground, thus making her unique. Throughout her lifetime, Wollstonecraft wrote about the misconception that women did not need an education, but were only meant to be submissive to man. Women were treated like a decoration that had no real function except to amuse and beguile. Wollstonecraft was the true leader in women's rights, advocating a partnership in relationships and marriage rather than a dictatorship. She was firm in her conviction that education would give women the ability to take a more active role in life itself.
Harriet Jacobs and Fredrick Douglass are both very incredible and powerful writers who narrated their enslavement encounters in a passionate and compelling manner. Jacob’s narrative describes the abuses she had to go through personally especially because of her gender. She describes how the women slaves were exploited not only for their productive capabilities but reproductive ones as well. This is why she remarked, “Slavery is terrible for men but is far more terrible for women”. This is a clear indication that in addition to being enslaved, Jacob’s had to overcome the hurdle of being a female as well.
Frederick Douglass’ landmark narrative describes the dehumanization of African-American slaves, while simultaneously humanizing them through his moving prose. Douglass shows the dehumanization of slaves through depictions of violence, deindividuation, and the broken justice system. However, Douglass’ pursuit of an education, moving rhetoric, and critique of his own masters demonstrates to the reader that African-Americans are just as intelligent as white people, thus proving their humanity.
The first element of slavery that Frederick attacks is that slavery puts constraints on a slave’s individuality. In his narrative, he states that slaves were compared to animals by the way the slave owner treated them because slaves were considered as property and not as human beings. When slaves came into the new world, they were sold and given new names and over time were supposed to assimilate to the American culture. Since slave masters did not think slaves could assimilate to the American culture, slave masters kept them as workers; therefore, slaves were not given an education, leaving them illiterate, and thereby leaving them without any knowledge on how the American political system works. Slave owners thought that if slaves would become literate, that slaves would start to question the rights they have. Frederick argues that slaves l...
Frederick Douglass the most successful abolitionist who changed America’s views of slavery through his writings and actions. Frederick Douglass had many achievements throughout his life. His Life as a slave had a great impact on his writings. His great oratory skills left the largest impact on Civil War time period literature. All in all he was the best black speaker and writer ever.
Her book pushed women into wanting greater rights. She stated that what women needed to feel more inferior was education. Mary said that “Till women are more rationally educated, the progress in human virtue and improvement in knowledge must receive continual checks.” (Pettinger): meaning that women don’t get the same education opportunities as men therefore men see them as a person who doesn’t do anything but stay home and does what they say. She said that it was only the lack of education that made women seem to be intellectually inferior. Men will see them weaker if they don’t know how to do anything, if women did have the education that they need then they are able to speak their mind and change the way that men see women. Women shouldn’t think that they need men’s help in order to be someone in
Wollstonecraft, Mary. “A Vindication of the Rights of Women with Structures on Political and Moral
Mary Wollstonecraft was a self-educated, radical philosopher who wrote about liberation, and empowering women. She had a powerful voice on her views of the rights of women to get good education and career opportunities. She pioneered the debate for women’s rights inspiring many of the 19th and the 20th century’s writers and philosophers to fight for women’s rights, as well. She did not only criticize men for not giving women their rights, she also put a blame on women for being voiceless and subservient. Her life and, the surrounding events of her time, accompanied by the strong will of her, had surely affected the way she chose to live her life, and to form her own philosophies.