Compare And Contrast Sojourner Truth And Frederick Douglass

Sojourner Truth and Frederick Douglass two inspirational black figures in black history were very atypical from their fellow slaves. Both figures were disrespected then and even more respected today. There were plenty of trial and tribulations throughout their lives but they preserved to become the icons they are today. For many reasons we can see how they are atypical from there fellow slaves and how we should be thankful for our freedom and take advantage of opportunities just like they did.

Abigail Adams and Frederick Douglass express two opposing viewpoints of what divides a nation. The viewpoints of Abigail Adams and Frederick Douglass became very influential over time. The division is shown through “Letter to John Adams” by Abigail Adams and “Narrative of the Life Of Frederick Douglass” by Frederick Douglass.

"Cast down your bucket where you are. "-Atlanta Exposition Address. Booker T. Washington and Fredrick Douglass were both well-known negro men, because they cast down their bucket where they were, they made the most of the opportunities around them. They were both slaves who defied all odds and became very successful in their later years of life.

Mary Rowlandson and Sojourner Truth were both prominent women who had stories about their captivities. Mary Rowlandson was a White woman who was kidnapped by Native Americans during a raid on her village. While Sojourner Truth was born into slavery and remained property until 1826. Both ladies had differences on among their captivities and encountered oppression in unique ways.The difference between Sojourner Truth and Mary Rowlandson emphasis on individuality, time and historical moment and institutional oppression they both endure.

Harriet Beecher Stowe, Phillis Wheatley, and Sojourner Truth were without a doubt, 3 very strong, powerful, and a unique group of intellectual women. Each woman ultimately had an undeniable force with being able to provide readers fascinating pieces of literature to inform their stories. They each lived in an era in history where equality was nonexistent. They were able to speak towards their own personal beliefs within their pieces of literature. Each displayed to their readers their different views, and even their different beliefs and personal thoughts towards slavery. Although they all spoke towards the same topic of slavery, they each shared very contrasting opinions towards the topic at hand.

The main difference between Harriet Beecher Stowe and Frederick Douglass was that Harriet was a white woman writing about slavery from a sympathizer’s point of view, and Frederick was an enslaved black man who wrote about his own experiences as a slave. The two shared some things in common despite this difference. Both were born and raised in the North. Both fought for the abolitionist cause. Harriet and Frederick were unwavering and courageous in their stand against slavery. Both writers were successful in their writing and traveled abroad to Europe (“Harriet Beecher Stowe”). Their writings gained the support of people around the world to abolish slavery. Their writings also gave rise to the Civil War, especially Harriet’s book, Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Both writers wrote anti-slavery articles at some point in their lives. Harriet and Frederick both were invited to meet President Lincoln. Frederick even became a consultant for Lincoln during the Civil War. Both people are considered influential heroes of the Anti-Slavery Movement (“Frederick Douglass”).

Different World Views As you read this comparison ponder the different opinions and the various topics in this paper. Think why these two people raised in similar circumstances have different opinions. In the 1800s, Negros were stereotyped as to only have one purpose: to mindlessly serve their masters with unquestionable loyalty. Booker T Washington and Fredrick Douglass both grew up in the harsh world that is slavery. Both were slaves for their early lives; however, Washington was freed by the Emancipation Proclamation and was able to live out his dream of attending Hampton Institute at the age of 14.

Sojourner Truth and Frederick Douglass had a lot in common because they were both former slaves. The difference in the two writers was Truth was not very educated and but self-developed much like Douglass, most of her writing was written down by someone else. In Truth’s “Speech to the Women’s Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio,1851” Truth say’s “I can’t read, but I can hear” (Truth 775). To me that says a lot about her writing, and the emotions she puts in it. Truth learned to read and write a little but not enough to be a writer.

Harriet Jacobs and Frederick Douglass were both slaves that wrote about their struggles and pain during their years of slavery. Both stories were the same but also very different. Both Jacobs and Douglass were born into slavery. The stories were written by authors that finally gained their freedom from slavery. Jacob’s wrote “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl” and Frederick Douglass wrote, “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave”. Jacob’s wrote it in a woman point of view and gave us a look at how the women that were slaves experienced life; whereas Douglass wrote as a male slave and the brutality.

Malcom X once said, “Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.” This quotation means that education is an important thing, and we should prepare for our future. Fredrick Douglass and Malcom X are two different men who write similar aspects. Fredrick Douglass is a slave, and Malcom X is a criminal, both were deprived of obtaining a higher sense of education. They are two activists who grew up to realize the importance of an education, in reading and writing. In Frederick Douglas’s essay “Learning to Read and Write” and Malcolm’s “Learning to Read” one can compare and contrast the analysis both essays.

A former slave known as Harriet Tubman helped construct an underground railroad. She helped many slaves escape from their owners using that railroad. William Lloyd Garrison is an abolitionist who started The Liberator, which was an abolitionist newspaper. The newspaper focused on the freedom and rights of slaves

Change is defined as “more or become different”. In order to move in the right path for the future you have to do something different. Leaders recognize this often, and this is why they call for change. In the words of Karl Paul Reinhold Niebuhr “change is essential to life; be willing to surrender what you are to what you can become“. Both Sojourner Truth and Abraham Lincoln had to take a chance to call people to action. Truth’s speech most effectively inspired people to action be being able to meet her audience, pathos, and logos.

Frederick Douglas and I are complimentary in many ways. Believe it or not, I can actually see myself as the young woman version of Frederick Douglas in the 21st centry. We have a bundle of similarites but we also have our distint differences in our education such as how we learned, what we learned, and what we used to learn. For example, one of us may have had more resources but didn't really have a specific pattern or order to do it, but the other even though he didn't have as much, was more organized on how to learn what they wanted to learn. In other words, had an actual plan mapped out instead of just winging it.

In the Narrative of the Life and the Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs both use detailed descriptions to convey the harsh brutalities of slavery and cause a sense of urgency to the problem. In Harriet’s narrative she describes her love for a young, free, black man. She is worried to tell Dr. Flint, her owner, because she knows that he is too wilful and arbitrary to consent to the marriage. Even so, she speaks with Dr. Flint about her proposal and he strongly disapproves. Harriet describes that for the rest of the night Dr. Flint ignored her. He was angry that she thought of marrying a black man instead of being with him. However, “his lips disdained to address me (her), his eyes were very loquacious.

Harriet Beecher Stowe, Phyllis Wheatley, and Sojourner Truth were without a doubt, 3 very strong, powerful, and unique group of intellectual women. Each woman ultimately had an undeniable force with being able to provide readers fascinating pieces of literature to tell their story. They each lived in an era in history where equality was non-existant. They were also able to speak about their own personal beliefs within their pieces of literature. Each displayed to their readers their different views, and even their different beliefs and personal thoughts towards slavery. Although they all spoke towards the same topic of slavery, they each shared very contrasting opinions towards the topic at hand.