Emerson had similar thoughts as Douglass, like Douglass Emerson believed that society was at fault limiting individual freedom of the people. Slavery was around for many years affecting how people saw others. Slaves did not have any rights at the time, they were treated like they were property. Being thought of as property, they were not given the chance to have a proper education. So as Douglass grew older and moved plantations, his thirst for becoming enlightened continued to grow. In the end leading him to escape and become a free man, finally years later ending his life having accomplished many things. Being born and raised in slavery, Douglass was only taught how to mind his owner and work. It was like this due to the fact that the slave owners were scared that is the slaves became educated …show more content…
it questioned their authority. While growing up, Douglass was subjected to seeing his aunt and other slaves being beaten. Douglass was about five years old he was sent over to a different plantation put to become a servant.
While at this plantation, his master wife taught him the alphabet and how to spell simple words. His master caught them one day and this is where Douglass learns that African American are not allowed to learn. This giving him the idea that if he became educated he would gain power. In Douglass’ struggle to continue his lessons he traded bread with the poorer white kids in his neighborhood in exchange they would help him continue to learn. Over the next seven years, Douglass’s mistress tender heart slowly turn to stone and became more “tiger-like fierceness.” (43) Douglass was not sure as to why he has deprived the same privileges as the white men. Only allowing envy and jealousy to develop within Douglass, that certain people had the privilege to know the unknown. This starting his educational journey to freedom. Emerson believed that everyone should have a developed understanding of life. Emerson's essay on Self-Reliance begins with a demonstration to believe in the true self, which is considered to be similar to the Universal Spirit. In the essay he urges the
readers to follow their own individual will instead of following what others do. He emphasizes that it is important to follow one’s own voice, rather than someone else such as a churches word. Emerson says “ To believe in your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men.”(1) The quote is what Emerson is trying to show others and what the meaning of “ Self-Reliance” is. If we do not listen to yourself, someone else can come along and change what we say and think. The difficulty people face in trusting their minds lies in the lies told by society itself. To be self-reliant, an individual must return to the neutrality of youth. Men should break away and not rely on secondhand information. Emerson believed that people from the past had an intimate and immediate connection with god and nature, creating their own understanding of life. Proving that every moment in life provides the chance to learn from nature and approach the understanding of life. To live in the present one must not worry about the past or the future, compare themselves to others, or rely on words and thought from others. One can then live in the present with nature and God. Lastly, Emerson believed that true prayer involves a hint of regret and discontent, which tells a personal infirmity of will, as well as sympathy for the suffering of others. At the ending of Emerson's essay Self-Reliance he argues that self-reliance must be applied to all aspects of a person's life. As Emerson once said “All men plume themselves on the improvement of society, and no man improves” (36) In regard to religion, Emerson believed a lack of self-reliance has led prayers to become “ a disease of the will.”(37) People would pray to an external source for something to be added into their life, where prays should be acts as a mean to a private end. Emerson and Douglass both said that gaining knowledge is what people should strive for throughout their lives. However, their ideas on the kind of knowledge that should be gained is where their ideas were different. Emerson is the one that encouraged people to develop their soul whereas with Douglass, it is to develop their mind. Both thought that everyone should have the ability to live their life the way they saw fit. As Douglass has said “My natural elasticity was crushed, my intellect languished, the disposition to read departed, the cheerful spark that lingered about my eye died; the dark night of slavery closed in upon me; and behold a man transformed into brute.” (63) Douglass was made into a slave from the time he was born. Within the first six months that he was with Mr. Covey, his slave breaking methods succeeded. However, that did not stop Douglass from coming up with a plan to escape. Out of all the masters Douglass his had, the religious masters were the worst. After finally escaping Douglass found himself in New York. In New York he was approached by a man (Mr. David Ruggles) a few days later after his arrival. Mr. Ruggles gave him advice and a place to stay before he sent Douglass and his wife off to New Bedford.
Frederick Douglass’s tone in his introductory paragraph of Learning to Read and Write is learned and reflective. Douglass begins his introduction with a brief background of how he “succeeded in learning to read and write” despite the difficulties presented by his masters. He does not use words or phrases that suggest remorse even the slightest bit of bitterness, instead he uses analytic descriptions of how his mistress “kindly” began to instruct him, but because of the disapproval from her husband, stopped and allowed no one else to teach him. Douglass then explains that his mistress, although was a strict slave-owner, “first lacked the depravity indispensable to shutting me [him] out in mental darkness.” Through reflection and analysis, Douglass concluded that his mistress treated him badly not out of heart but because she had become corrupted in attempts to receive the approval from society. This itself I find ironic because instead of having developed resentment towards his mistress, Douglass respectfully describes her as a woman who was simply following the norm. Also, because of the emphasis on her kindness, after he explained that she was deprived from teaching him,
In order for Douglass to reach his goal of becoming a free man he thought the only way out was education. He needed to learn how to read, write, and think for himself about what slavery was. Since literacy and education were so powerful to Frederick he persevered to get himself the education he wanted. …. Douglass knew it wouldn’t be easy, but that didn’t stop him. Douglass realized the “ conscious of the difficulty of learning without a teacher, I set out with a high hope, and
Many people take for grant of the freedom we have, but Douglass shows that having freedom means having the ability to control one’s own destiny. Douglass was a slave who like any other slaves cannot be educated. Douglass finds this out by accident when he overhears the reasons why it was illegal for them to get education- it because the white slave owners did not want slaves to gain knowledge as it will bring disorder and rebel against slavery. As a result of this finding, Douglass seeks out his own education. One of his methods of learning how to read is by exchanging foods for learning to read. During the slavery, poverty also affected all different people, so Douglass would give breads to poor children and for exchange teach Douglass some words. For Douglass learning meant punishments or even death, but he takes the risk and did all he can to gain knowledge because this is the only way he can be free. He demonstrates to people that education is powerful and the way one can truly be self-governed. Douglass story is a reminder to always appreciate education and to take the most out of learning because in the end no one can take away what’s in our
Slave owners in the South were some of the most cruel and inhumane human beings out there. They used many tactics to maintain a prosperous system of slavery amongst them. Like many, Frederick Douglass was born a slave. Deprived of as much as possible, Douglass knew not much more than his place of birth. Masters were encouraged to dispossess slaves of any knowledge and several of them did not know their birthdays or other personal details of themselves. The purpose of this was to keep slaves as misinformed of anything other than labor as possible. Slave owners knew the dangers that would upraise if slaves became literate and brave enough to fight for freedom.
Throughout his autobiography Frederick Douglass talks of the many ways a slave and master would be corrupted by the labor system that was so deeply entrenched in the south as a result of demand for cotton, and other labor-intensive crops. The master justified his actions through a self-serving religion and a belief that slaves were meant to be in their place. Masters were usually very cruel and self centered. Most had never been in the fields with the slaves. They didn’t understand the conditions that they were putting the slaves under. Being a slaveholder could make you inhuman and change your whole person. Frederick Douglass took a stand against it in his own way, he was self-reliant and believed what was happening. He stuck to himself and was always thinking about things. He never let things just pass him by, he took advantage of all of his opportunities. Being self-reliant especially in his time, is one of the greatest traits that someone can possess.
Literacy plays an important part in helping Douglass achieve his freedom. Learning to read and write enlightened his mind to the injustice of slavery; it kindled in his heart longings for liberty. Douglass’s skills proved instrumental in his attempts to escape and afterwards in his mission as a spokesman against slavery. Douglass was motivated to learn how to read by hearing his master condemn the education of slaves. Mr. Auld declared that education would “spoil” him and “forever unfit him to be a slave” (2054).
His main argument in the speech is that it 's unjust and hypocritical for a country to celebrate its freedom while it still has slaves. Now that in itself is a morally viable argument, and it has never been more relevant than today in our racially hate fueled world where every situation is turned into a hate crime. However, back in those days majority of slaves were sold into slavery by their own people. Most slaves were sold by rival tribes as prisoners of war, or trouble makers of the tribe, thus giving us the “bottom of the barrel” of the groups. Another counter to Douglass was that even though slaves were people, they were still considered property. A hard working farmer could have used his last penny in order to purchase that slave because he was unable to tend his farm and provide for his family. One common misconception was that all slaves were beaten and treated lower than swine, while to the contrary some were treated well being given a bed and meals every day in exchange for their hard work. While Douglass may have had a bad time under the ownership of Auld, most northern states did not treat their slaves in this manner. This is one of the main reasons Douglass learned how to read, yet no credit is given to his former owner. Most slaves developed a relationship with their owners, in which their owners taught them useful skills such as reading, writing, simple math and farming skills. Another argument brought into Douglass’ speech was that most churches were segregated, and in turn perpetuated the racism that helped keep slavery alive in well. He proposed that a God that wouldn’t allow such evil and disservice in this world would contradict everything the bible proposes and teaches. He praises the writers of the constitution, considering them his equal and thanking the signers of the Declaration of Independence, calling
When first introduced to Douglass and his story, we find him to be a young slave boy filled with information about those around him. Not only does he speak from the view point of an observer, but he speaks of many typical stereotypes in the slave life. At this point in his life, Frederick is inexperienced and knows nothing of the pleasures of things such as reading, writing, or even the rights everyone should be entitled to. Douglass knowing hardly anything of his family, their whereabouts, or his background, seems to be equivalent to the many other slaves at the time. As a child Frederick Douglass sees the injustices around him and observes them, yet as the story continues we begin to see a change.
Frederick Douglass’ source, “The Desire for Freedom” was written in 1845. He was born into slavery in 1818 and became an important figure in the fight for abolition. Douglass was also involved in other reform movements such as the women’s rights movement. He “experienced slavery in all its variety, from work as a house servant and as a skilled craftsman in Baltimore shipyard to labor as a plantation field hand” (Pg.207¬). “The Desire for Freedom” was meant to document how his life was within slavery and how his education could someday help him escape it. Douglass meant to speak to American slaves and those who did not really understand slavery in order to help persuade everyone that life was meant to be lived freely. In order to obtain this future, Douglass wrote about his own personal experience and how he believed that enslavers were “in no other light than a band of successful robbers, who had left their homes, and gone to Africa, and stolen us from our homes, and in a strange land reduced us to slavery” (Pg. 208). This source brings on the idea that slaves were willing to fight back, wanted to be educated, and, most importantly, wanted the chance to live life freely.
Auld, he was introduced to education which gives him a sense of humanity back. Mrs. Auld taught Douglass the alphabet and how to spell small words. However, Mr. Auld found out and disapprovingly said “ if you teach that n- - - - - how to read… it would forever unfit him to be a slave” which Douglass took note of to (250). Douglass realized the importance of his master being scared of him reading and spelling and noticed the value in having and education. Having an education and realizing the importance of that was a major building block in forming Frederick Douglass’s identity.
Douglass was not aware of what slaves were and why they were treated in a bad condition before he learns how to read. He was deeply saddened upon discovering the fact that slaves were not given the rights every human being should have. In an effort to clarify Douglass’s feelings of anguish, he states: “In moments of agony, I envied my fellow slaves for their stupidity” (Douglass 146). The fact that other slaves are content with their lives is what brings awareness to him because he knows that he is stripped of basic human rights. He envies his fellow slaves due to the reason that they are pleased with the life he cannot live to like anymore. Also, he is often wishing he never learned how to read because he doesn’t want to burden about his life. Douglass knows more about the disturbing conditions than most of the slaves around him, but he greatly regrets it. Before he started reading, he lived very much in contentment and now he cannot stand the fact of being
In “Self Reliance” by Ralph Waldo Emerson, he promotes the importance of self reliance as an individual, and in society. Individuality to Emerson Opposed the traditional ideas of society, and to him it meant to oppose the conformity and consistency in society. He believes that the majority of people have given up their self reliance because of their fear of judgement by society. To be an individual, Emerson stresses that one has to be a risk taker, and disregard all things external.
Slaves were forbidden to read and slave owners were forbidden to teach slaves to read and write. The existence of such a restriction on educating slaves is proof that the slaveholders felt a need to suppress the capabilities of slaves. As a slave, Douglass was given the opportunity to learn and elevate his status only to have all that, including the invitation to join "high" society snatched away. Such a tease and broken promise of a better day proved to be more than Douglass could bear. He devoted each of his idle moments to mastering the language arts. In addition, as if mastering it were not enough, Douglass meticulously educated other slaves in the English language of reading and writing. Douglass' action was indicative of the significance found in literacy. If he had not put literacy at such high esteem, he would not have taken the time to continue his education and persuade others to pursue theirs. Douglass knew first hand that education was a effective tool of empowerment especially to slaves—those who had spent their lives without any power. This separation of man from education was a control issue and reclaiming control meant education one's self and his or her peers. Through educating his peers, Douglass demonstrated his knowledge of the underlying power in literacy.
After twenty-eight years of slavery he was able to become more human. He states “that whenever my condition was improved, instead of increasing my contentment, it only increased my desire to be free, and set me to thinking of my plans to gain my freedom” (99). Douglass learned how to contract his caulking work through watching free people work. Language is a key component of how he developed to be more human. Frederick was now a free man and was helped by Mr. Johnson. Douglass compares him to Jesus because he would give him food and a drink when he was hungry. He told Mr. Johnson he wanted to keep the name Frederick because “I must hold on to that, to preserve a sense of my identity” (110). His life was constantly changing so he wanted something
He was a believer that education was the key to success. Without knowledge, there was no way he would have achieve freedom. In the self-made speech, he says “their earnest desire for the fullest knowledge of human nature on all its many sides. The importance of this knowledge is immeasurable, and by no other is human life so affected and colored” (Douglass 1) Douglass want to improve his life and improve the lives of others of the same race. He had the honor of meeting with President Lincoln to talk about unequal pay and poor treatment of the slaves and other minorities. Douglass passed away after doing something he loved to do, which was to support an issue he believes