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Thoreau and frederick douglass relationship
Nature and thoreau
Slavery during civil war
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The thought of not doing something or living a different way because of the perceived consequences could be a difficult thing to push aside, even more so for a slave. Thoreau surmises that the American work ethic is in many ways a form of self-imposed slavery and more detrimental than the life of a slave. With that in mind, Douglass, a slave who became free, could possibly give some context and disprove such a claim. The life of a slave is substandard of a free white man, which makes their life more controlled and their way of thinking of themselves is forced upon by the masters; thus, their release is prolonged and hindered which leads to a more trying life -- by being trapped and even when trying to escape being held back. The slave owners …show more content…
Thus, the connection with nature, describes Richard Higgins on Thoreau, was through “[f]ive characteristic [that] were with his eye, his heart, his muse, and his soul” (HIGGINS 35). Thoreau was delighted with nature and trees in particular, for they were his friends whose appearance and demeanor spoke to him. Similarly, Fuller finds this connection, but is more overwhelmed than is Thoreau. Fuller, speaking on Niagara Falls, writes that “(a)fter awhile it so drew me into itself as to inspire and undefined dread, such as I never knew before, such as may be felt when death is about to usher us into a new existence” (Fuller 4). Nature speaking on different grounds and through different, but yet connected senses, and through the conscious and unconsciousness only add to the experience of becoming one with nature. Fuller further observes the connection that nature has with humans. She observes that when she expresses, “The tall trees bent and whispered all around, as if to hail with sheltering love the men who had come to dwell among them” (Fuller 24). As the trees spoke Thoreau and Fuller listened, as their moment became one with nature their soul became …show more content…
Thoreau is aware of this juxtaposition when he expresses, “ ‘You are never so far in them as they far before you. Their secrets is where you are not and where your feet can never carry you’ ” (HIGGIN 39). By this Thoreau was aware of the limits in which humans could connect to nature and in particular trees, he knew that trees knew far more than what humans could know, and he was fine by it. Similarly, Fuller observes this chasm. Humans are connected to nature, but by trying to understand it, it would be impossible, beyond comprehension. She captures this sublime experience when she writes, “There all power of observing details, all separate consciousness, was quite lost” (Fuller 4). The more one tries to understand nature the more one understands of oneself. Hence, the connection is something more, through the soul, through the mind, and spirit. The connection is like trying to describe what it feels to sleep or even dream to an extraterrestrial who has never experienced either -- both just happen -- both teach the individual of who they
Douglass' descriptions of the cruelty lived by African Americans are filled with horrific details that would touch anyone. He believed that slavery was not only dehumanizing for the slaves, but for the slaveholders as well. Douglass uses as an example the case of Mrs. Sophia Auld. Before she became a slaveholder, she was known to be pure, kind, and generous. Her way of being changed once she became a slaveholder. Douglass witnessed himself acts of cruel brutality against one of his relatives. He educated himself by learning from others in forms of trickery since he had no other options at the time. I believe this would have been an advice Thoreau would have given Douglass.
Stacy notes that this passage is related to "a person getting a sense of their self in relation to Nature." The Web material describes Thoreau’s practice of linking landscape and identity.
From before the country’s conception to the war that divided it and the fallout that abolished it, slavery has been heavily engrained in the American society. From poor white yeoman farmers, to Northern abolitionist, to Southern gentry, and apathetic northerners slavery transformed the way people viewed both their life and liberty. To truly understand the impact that slavery has had on American society one has to look no further than those who have experienced them firsthand. Frederick Douglass, an escaped slave and advocate for the abolitionist, is on such person. Douglass was a living contradiction to American society during his time. He was an African-American man, self-taught, knowledgeable, well-spoken, and a robust writer. Douglass displayed a level of skill that few of his people at the time could acquire. With his autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave Written by Himself, Douglass captivated the people of his time with his firsthand accounts into the horror and brutality that is the institution of slavery.
Douglass and Thoreau both felt as though the government as well as society turned a blind eye to the mistreatment of human beings, especially during slavery. He saw freedom being celebrated, but it just reminded him of how so many were willing to continue on not dealing with all of the wrong that had taken place. Regardless of what he saw before him, he refused to forget. Douglass felt that “to forget them, to pass lightly over their wrongs, and to chime in with the popular theme, would be treason most scandalous and shocking,”. Instead, he chose to deal with the subject of American Slavery, in which he brought out the idea of individuals supporting what was wrong rather than what was
Fredrick Douglass once said that “Without a struggle, there can be no progress.” Douglass grew up as a slave and when he was 20 years old he took the riskiest journey of his life to escape from slavery. The Narrative of Fredrick Douglass has a lot of points to reflect on; however, here are couples I’ve found important. His autobiography gave a glimpse into the horrors of slavery. The author shares his experiences of seeing his aunt being beaten and not knowing anything even their own birthdates. He makes assumptions about the slave owners lives before becoming slave masters, and assumes the reader will have sympathy for the slaves and try to see their side.
From the lone hiker on the Appalachian Trail to the environmental lobby groups in Washington D.C., nature evokes strong feelings in each and every one of us. We often struggle with and are ultimately shaped by our relationship with nature. The relationship we forge with nature reflects our fundamental beliefs about ourselves and the world around us. The works of timeless authors, including Henry David Thoreau and Annie Dillard, are centered around their relationship to nature.
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.
Douglass's narrative is, on one surface, intended to show the barbarity and injustice of slavery. However, the underlying argument is that freedom is not simply attained through a physical escape from forced labor, but through a mental liberation from the attitude created by Southern slavery. The slaves of the South were psychologically oppressed by the slaveholders' disrespect for a slave’s family and for their education, as well as by the slaves' acceptance of their own subordination. Additionally, the slaveholders were trapped by a mentality that allowed them to justify behavior towards human beings that would normally not be acceptable. In this manner, both slaveholder and slave are corrupted by slavery.
“Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe”( Douglass). This famous quote epitomizes the philosophies of Frederick Douglass, in which he wanted everyone to be treated with dignity; if everyone was not treated with equality, no one person or property would be safe harm. His experience as a house slave, field slave and ship builder gave him the knowledge to develop into a persuasive speaker and abolitionist. In his narrative, he makes key arguments to white abolitionist and Christians on why slavery should be abolished. The key arguments that Frederick Douglass
The confines of ignorance and both physical and mental abuse kept slaves from self discovery and rebellion. Frederick Douglass provides the journey of life as a brute to a free man. Frederick Douglass’s new identity included having a wife, a job of his own, a house, and the goal to reach out and help the people that were still stuck in slavery. From the rock bottom life of a slave he built himself up and became a successful
Some of the most prominent works which express a relationship between the individual and nature are undoubtedly Walden by Henry David Thoreau and the essays written by Ralph Waldo Emerson, specifically Nature and The American Scholar. In each of these works, an idea of wholeness, "oneness," with nature is expressed. Thoreau and Emerson both believe that man, in order to live a full, happy life, must live in harmony with nature. Both writers share several ideas as to how this oneness with nature can be achieved, and its significance.
He became friends with Emerson in 1837. Thoreau is both romantic and naturalist. The relationship between man and nature in Emerson and Thoreau differs from the “Nature”, in which he established a new way for America’s hatchling society to regard the world. During that time American culture is highly influenced by the European culture so, Emerson through his speech he wants to suggest the real American culture and ask his citizens to preserve the essence of the real American culture, but according to the American story the world began with a single man and man is divided into several other man so that a work can be complete successfully because of increase in division among man the man no longer worked effectively with each other to get a better work. Emerson states that a true scholar must have great knowledge of nature to help in increasing self-awareness.
In Walden, Henry David Thoreau explains how a relationship with nature reveals aspects of the true self that remain hidden by the distractions of society and technology. To Thoreau, the burdens of nineteenth century existence, the cycles of exhausting work to obtain property, force society to exist as if it were "slumbering." Therefore, Thoreau urges his readers to seek a spiritual awakening. Through his rhetoric,Thoreau alludes to a "rebirth" of the self and a reconnection to the natural world. The text becomes a landscape and the images become objects, appealing to our pathos, or emotions, our ethos, or character, and our logos, or logical reasoning, because we experience his awakening. Thoreau grounds his spirituality in the physical realities of nature, and allows us to experience our own awakening through his metaphorical interpretations. As we observe Thoreau¹s awakening, he covertly leads us to our own enlightenment.
as his understanding and affection with the world of nature established, Thoreau became one of its earliest champions. Watching Concord stripped of its forests for farming and fuel-wood and seeing the village expands into the countryside, Thoreau looked to the future and raised new possibilities. "Each town should have a park, or rather a primitive forest, of 500 or a thousand acres, where a stick should never be cut for fuel, a common possession forever, for instruction and recreation," he wrote. He wants to make the best out of everything bad that was going on.
Henry David Thoreau implies that simplicity and nature are valuable to a person’s happiness in “Why I Went to the Woods”. An overall theme used in his work was the connection to one’s spiritual self. Thoreau believed that by being secluded in nature and away from society would allow one to connect with their inner self. Wordsworth and Thoreau imply the same idea that the simple pleasures in life are easily overlooked or ignored. Seeing the true beauty of nature allows oneself to rejuvenate their mentality and desires. When one allows, they can become closer to their spiritual selves. One of William Wordsworth’s popular pieces, “Tintern Abbey”, discusses the beauty and tranquility of nature. Wordsworth believed that when people