Characteristics Of Frederick Douglass

“It’s not easy to be a hero. You do it because of what you believe, not because of what other people deserve.” Anyone can face a challenge or a hardship. But what makes a true hero is how the person takes on the challenge. Often, heroes show feats of ingenuity and acts of bravery. Two heroes that acted during the American Civil Rights Movement, were Martin Luther King Jr, and Rosa Parks. A hero is a person who has demonstrated behaviors to ethically receive our appreciation and respect. A hero is an ordinary person who finds the strength within themselves to persevere and undergo hardships and calamity.

Every con has its pro. In the same way that a student may not be good in math, but uses his/her talent to excel in English, Fredrick Douglass turned his suffering and disadvantages into motivations. Throughout the novel, three main points indicated the weaknesses behind his strengths: being denied the right to read, being beaten without mercy, and being snatched away from his loved family and friends.

Courage and selflessness are words that describe heroes. Mundane people can be heroes when they have enough perseverance to do extraordinary tasks. They sacrifice their needs for others. Frederick Douglass was a brave, honorable and bold abolitionist, his heroism was impactful and it changed the mindset of many people.

Every individual has a different perspective on what makes a person a hero, for it is not limited to a certain concept; determination, altruism and a hint of hardship and bravery can always birth a hero. Although many acts of heroism are seen and made everyday, the levels of these attributes vary. Abraham Lincoln and Harriet Tubman are both philanthropic, noble individuals that willingly spent their lives as abolitionists of slavery, and both are great examples of the highest levels of selflessness and heroism.

Judith Sargent Murray wrote an essay, in 1790, that would ask a question, and eventually, start an argument over the intellectual and spiritual equality of men and women. Murray asked, “Is it upon mature consideration we adopt the idea, that nature is thus partial in her distributions?” Though she was advocating for the equal rights of women, when she was writing the essay, this question can be applied to all human beings. Are there human beings who are naturally superior to others, whether it be physically, intellectually or spiritually? The thought that there are a select few individuals who are superior to others has been a driving force in American History. One example being the enslavement of African Americans. Their enslavement was essentially based on the thought that nature was partial in her distributions and that African Americans were inferior to white men, and therefore it was acceptable to treat them as property. During this time in history, the debate over slavery was a heated one, with the majority of the population having considerably extreme opinions on the issue. Many people spoke out about the immorality and inhumanity of slavery, but none had a more convincing argument, for the abolition of slavery than Frederick Douglass.

Douglass holds two roles within the Narrative, he is the narrator as well as the main character. As the narrator, he can be subtle and frank. He is practical in his story telling, relating facts and information to his audience and he had to be as detailed and descriptive as possible so to convince others who would otherwise doubt a black man's word that he was in fact telling the truth.

In life, there are times when a person suffers a few setbacks. The question is how do people cope with them? Some turn away from their goals and a few give up, but the ones who persevere often come out on top. Frederick Douglass was a former slave who used his strong will and perseverance to obtain his freedom. Douglass used this for various reasons such as acquiring an education, standing up for himself, and receiving multiple jobs.

“There were no beds given to the slaves, unless one coarse blanket be considered such, and none but the men and women had these. This, however, is not considered a great privation.” (Pg. 27). Slaves are treated very badly and Frederick Douglass is one of them. He explains his story as a slave and many of his surroundings affected his moral character. The surroundings include things that are cultural, geographical, and physical.

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass focuses on the issues of slavery which has been a huge factor that contributed to the development of the United States. Everyone knows about the cruelty of the slave owners and the heavy amount of burden that fell upon the slaves. How they could not rise up against it all or revolt in any form. What makes Frederick Douglass such a role model to most is his determination and how he transformed from a slave to a man who is well educated after everything he went through. Such things include the physical as well as the psychological conditions he was put through by his masters.

What characteristics should a person have to be called hero? Andrew Carnegie was born into a poor family in 1835 in Scotland worked his way up the railroad industry, he eventually became the supervisor of the Pennsy's entire western division. He was earning about $1500. A kid that from that super poor family to the very rich person in just 30 years. By the time he was super rich he made a good decision by giving away all his money for the sake of good for the people and putting a lot of funds to different organizations. Although giving his money for the sake of good that does not mean that he is a hero.

Frederick Douglass believed that all people were born equal, but he also believed that humans were not just automatically born free. He deduced that man has the innate instinctive ability to mold themselves into whoever they wanted to become. So, naturally self-improvement and education were two crucial aspects of Frederick’s life. To Douglass the most horrific thing about slavery was the fact that slaves were totally and completely precluded from and form of education, which prevented them from improving themselves. Douglass worked exceedingly hard to obtain an education in order to ultimately become a free man. Although he still had to physically escape slavery his education played a vital role in his journey to freedom.

In Frederick Douglass’s narrative, Frederick Douglass struggles to free himself mentally and physically from being a slave, he also struggles with the lack of knowledge surrounding his family and his parents, and he also struggles with the reality of being a slave. Douglass struggles to save money to escape to New York City, in the end; he ends up marrying a free black woman and becomes a speaker for the Anti-Slavery Society.

     Bravery is a great trait for a hero to posses. I think bravery is a key quality because you don’t always know what lies ahead of you and you have to be brave to continue. A good example of this is Charles Lindburgh. He was the first person to fly across the Atlantic Ocean. I believe that took a great amount of bravery because no one had ever made it across, so he didn’t know what lie ahead of him. One of his many good quotes he said, “The most effective way to do it, is to just do it”, (Lindburgh 1).

Would you risk your life to wangle literary even if you were forcibly shackled into slavery? In the 17th century, you would have not even been close to a book. During this time, white colonist forbid the liberty that slaves could have the qualification to attain literacy---fearing that the increase in literacy will oppose a threat on the institute of slavery, the colonist themselves, and emit true political sovereignty. As a result of this mental genocide, slaves had been dependent on their masters. There were exceptions. Slaves were discouraged to acquire critical literacy however, whites forcibly taught the slaves about Christianity. Frederick Douglass, a notable abolitionist, presents the battles the continuing problem of the

Heroes act a certain way that people may not always take into mind. Heroes are always very determined, but humble and modest. They put others before themselves and keep their minds on their goals and never give up on what they’re doing and what they stand for, even when risks are involved. According to “The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an