Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
How does social class influence education
How does social class influence education
How does social class influence education
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: How does social class influence education
Knowledge is power. This concept has survived generation after generation because of the timeless truth behind it. In his autobiographical novel My Bondage My Freedom, Frederick Douglas wrote about his realization of the power that knowledge brings. He disclosed an intimate account of his experiences and thoughts surrounding the atrocious acts permeating the practice of slavery. As a slave, Douglas did not experience power in the stereotypical positional sense. He did, however, experience increased power gained from knowledge in other ways. Douglas knew how to behave as a slave, and that knowledge allowed him the ability to make wise decisions that protected his life; although there were laws in place to protect slaves against unjust treatment, these laws were “utterly incapable of being enforced” (Douglas 127). The role of a slave was to obey without question and to not even think about questioning his master. Douglas watched and had interactions with the powerful men and women in his life that demonstrated that knowledge was power. Douglas realized that knowledge was power in relation to his journey from slavery to freedom; the concept that knowledge is power is timeless and can be applied on an individual, social, and innovative level.
Power is a byproduct of an individual gaining knowledge. One can acquire an abundant amount of knowledge throughout his college years for example, and not realize the amount of power he has stored within himself. The subject matter does not disqualify the existence of power as a byproduct; all of the thoughts and decisions of a person are directly powered by the knowledge he has subjected himself to. Douglas chose to live in a submissive manner towards his master because of the knowle...
... middle of paper ...
..., Douglas used his knowledge to yield the innovations of personal freedom, and eventually, the abolishment of slavery. His publications educated society about the brutal reality of being a slave; with this knowledge, society was powerfully burdened to make a change. The relationship of knowledge to power is evident on the individual, societal, and innovative level, and will continue to exist as a timeless concept despite circumstantial variation.
Works Cited
Anyon, Jean. “Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work.” Journal of Education 162.1 (1980): 67-92. Web. 1 Oct. 2011.
Coutu, Diane. "The Science of Thinking Smarter." Harvard Business Review 86.5 (2008): 51-54. Business Source Complete. EBSCO. Web. 1 Oct. 2011.
Douglass, Frederick. My Bondage and My Freedom. Project Gutenberg, n.d. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). EBSCO. Web. 1 Oct. 2011.
Douglass, Frederick. “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave: Written by Himself (ed. John Blassingame) Yale University Press, 2001.
The narrative enables Douglass to flaunt his hard-earned education. As stated before, his diction brings pathos to his work. He describes his experiences in a way that lets his audience feel the indignity of being owned by another person. For example, D...
Once Douglass learns to read, and gets his first book, “The Columbian Orator” he is immediately exposed to arguments against the suffering he is experiencing. Among the speeches in “The Columbian Orator” there is a dialogue between a slave and his master in which the slave convinces the master to grant him freedom. Douglass is like Adam and Eve after then ate the apple. He is enlightened, and he can never go back. Not only is he isolated from his brothers because of his intelligence, but he is also guilty of a serious crime. It is no wonder that Douglass views his knowledge as a curse, it has so far caused him nothing but pain, and isolation. Ignorance is bliss.
Douglas, Frederick. Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (The Harper Single Volume American Literature 3rd edition) 1845:p.1017-1081
...fred D. “Frederick Douglass.” Encyclopedia of African-American Literature. New York: Facts on File, 2007. 144-146. Print.
Society is formed into a hierarchical format demonstrated by the relationship between slaves and slave owners. Douglass refers to this concept of racial formation in the following statement, “my faculties and powers of body and soul, are not my own. But property of a fellow mortal” (199). This statement refers to the master who has power to compel his slaves in any format that he or she may desire to a point of controlling every single movement the slave makes. Douglass utilizes his knowledge of language to expose the psychology of the slave masters and the complex mechanisms that are created in order to systematically enslave African-Americans. Douglas refers to this idea as being “a slave for life” which underlies the issue that society is being organized hierarchically (157). Take for instance, when Douglass’ master Thomas chose not to protect him as a man or as property from the brutal treatment of Covey (171). This relationship demonstrates how masters willingly objectify their slaves as replaceable commodities. Many slave owners took advantage of the power they had over their property without any regards to the repercussions. Instead, African-Americans were belittled and coerced into being oppressed to a point where they accepted being a puppet in a master’s
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.
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, brings to light many of the social injustices that colored men, women, and children all were forced to endure throughout the nineteenth century under Southern slavery laws. Douglass's life-story is presented in a way that creates a compelling argument against the justification of slavery. His argument is reinforced though a variety of anecdotes, many of which detailed strikingly bloody, horrific scenes and inhumane cruelty on the part of the slaveholders. Yet, while Douglas’s narrative describes in vivid detail his experiences of life as a slave, what Douglass intends for his readers to grasp after reading his narrative is something much more profound. Aside from all the physical burdens of slavery that he faced on a daily basis, it was the psychological effects that caused him the greatest amount of detriment during his twenty-year enslavement. In the same regard, Douglass is able to profess that it was not only the slaves who incurred the damaging effects of slavery, but also the slaveholders. Slavery, in essence, is a destructive force that collectively corrupts the minds of slaveholders and weakens slaves’ intellects.
Douglass, Frederick. “The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass.” The Classic Slave Narratives. Ed. Henry Louis Gates Jr. New York: Penguin Group, 1987.
At first glance, the book “my bondage and my freedom by Frederick Douglass appeared to be extremely dull and frustrating to read. After rereading the book for a second time and paying closer attention to the little details I have realized this is one of the most impressive autobiographies I have read recently. This book possesses one of the most touching stories that I have ever read, and what astonishes me the most about the whole subject is that it's a true story of Douglass' life. “ Douglass does a masterful job of using his own experience to expose the injustice of slavery to the world. As the protagonist he is able to keep the reader interested in himself, and tell the true story of his life. As a narrator he is able to link those experiences to the wider experiences of the nation and all society, exposing the corrupting nature of slavery to the entire nation.”[1] Although this book contributes a great amount of information on the subject of slavery and it is an extremely valuable book, its strengths are overpowered by its flaws. The book is loaded with unnecessary details, flowery metaphors and intense introductory information but this is what makes “My Bondage and My Freedom” unique.
Print. The. Douglass, Frederick. A. A. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1995. Print.
In this book, Douglass narrated the life of a slave in the United States into finer details. This paper will give a description of life a slave in the United States was living, as narrated through the experiences of Fredrick Douglass.
In the Autobiography, “Narrative Life of Fredrick Douglas: An American Slave,” Fredrick Douglas writes to show what the life of a slave is like, because from personal experience, he knows. Fredrick Douglas not only shows how his life has been as a slave but shows what it is like to be on the bottom and be mistreated. Douglas shows that freedom isn’t free, and he took the initiative to become a free man. Not many African-Americans had the opportunity to make themselves free and were forced to live a life of disparity and torture. Through his experience Douglas shows us the psychological effects of slavery. Through Douglas’s memory we are able to relive the moments that continued to haunt his life. Douglas’s book showed the true
Douglass, Frederick, and David W. Blight. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave: With Related Documents. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2003. Print.
Jean Anyon. “Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work”. “Rereading America”. Bedfords/St.Martin. Boston, New York, 2010. 169-186