Essay about Exploration of Bondage in Middle Passage

A young African boy, impacted by the society in mid-nineteenth century, wrote about him growing up with negative viewpoints all around and not being able to learn like other kids did . This boy was Frederick Douglass and this autobiography was “My Bondage and My Freedom”. In “My Bondage and My Freedom”, Frederick Douglass illustrates the impact of a like-minded society, the impact knowledge had on a slave, and slaves having knowledge allowed for them to have free thought but still not being free as a person.

Slavery was abolished after the Civil War, but the Negro race still was not accepted as equals into American society. To attain a better understanding of the events and struggles faced during this period, one must take a look at its' literature. James Weldon Johnson does an excellent job of vividly depicting an accurate portrait of the adversities faced before the Civil Rights Movement by the black community in his novel “The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man.” One does not only read this book, but instead one takes a journey alongside a burdened mulatto man as he struggles to claim one race as his own.

The first mention of slavery in the Bible is found in Noah's declaration, "Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers" (Gen. 9:25). He said this after waking up from a naked, drunken stupor and learning that his son Ham had mocked him. Although Ham was the guilty party, Noah's statement was directed at Ham's youngest son Canaan. If he was involved with his father in this act of disrespect, the statement can be taken as the pronouncement of a curse, "Cursed be Canaan." It is possible, however, that Canaan did not join his father in making fun of Noah. If so, the statement would be in the form of a prophecy: "Cursed will be Canaan." Exodus 20:5 and Ezekiel 18:4 clearly declare that God punishes

After about nine chapters detailing his slave life, he says, “You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man.” (Douglass, 75) He then goes on to describe the turning point for him that sparked his quest for freedom. By structuring his narrative this way, he reveals both sides- how slavery broke him “in body, soul, and spirit” (Douglass, 73) and how it eventually “rekindled the few expiring embers of freedom” within him (Douglass, 80). In doing so, he gives the reader an insight into how he became himself, and reinforces the evils of slavery in the way it shapes a man’s life. Douglass’ use of diction and structure effectively persuades the reader of the barbarity and inhumanity that comes as a result of slavery.

In chapter one “Patriarch on Pungoteage Creek” it starts to tell the place that slavery had held in the New world. Slavery was in every county in the New colonies. North American Slavery helped develop the South Atlantic Trading System. In Chapter two “Race Relations as Status and Process” is when the book starts to get a little more interesting. The only way that we know that Anthony Johnson or any of the other names mentioned in the book were black is because the county clerk put beside their name

In addition to Jacobs’ account, Douglass’ narrative focused on his journey through manhood and freedom – “…I wished I could be as free as they would be when they got to be men … ‘Have not I as good a right to be free as you have?’” (Douglass, Chapter VII) – as well as, “This battle with Mr. Covey was the turning-point in my career as a slave. It rekindled the few expiring embers of freedom, and revived within me a sense of my own manhood.” (Douglass, Chapter X). He had no freedom, but when he decided to fight back against the evil hand of slavery, he found it and made it his own. As a slave, he had no right to freedom, which in turn belittled his own manhood. His fight with Mr. Covey restored his sense of honor, his entitled manhood, as well as a spark of freedom he did not previously have.

Although, Slavery had existed for centuries as a lowest social status in different parts of the world like Africa, Roman Empire, Middle East and etc., in English colonies slavery gained an importance, because of increasing demand for labor force and becoming relationship legitimated by law. Therefore, Englishmen were the reason of slavery in the colonies and its consequences.

He greets them with a reserved yet cheerful, “Mr. President, Friends, and Fellow Citizens…” (117). He remains respectful of those in authority, while simultaneously conveying to his audience that he, a black man and freed slave, shares in their celebrated citizenship. Douglass, however, does not limit his correlation with the audience there; he then goes so far as to address them as “friends”. This greeting and introduction perfectly prefaces the righteous ridicule that is to come. These men, products of the free town of Rochester, are oblivious to the absurd juxtaposition that is present before

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

He keeps to the subject very well in this book, making the tone of it objective, keeping his personal views out. The book is written in an undeviating fashion, looking at Lincoln’s relationship with slavery from his early childhood to his death and beyond.

The book Middle Passage by Charles Johnson tells a story about the triangular slave trade which took place early in America 's history. This book was written with such close attention to detail that it gave the reader a sense of what life was like on board a slave boat. Johnson 's writing style included many different techniques including the use of varying structure, imagery and language. All of these devices helped create a very successful story about slavery.

In the book The Emancipation Proclamation, the author John Hope Franklin, tells a story of the emancipation of slaves through the trials of then, President Abraham Lincoln. He leads us through the action before, during, and after the issuing of the Emancipation Proclamation in an attempt to give us a greater understanding of the actions taken by President Lincoln.

Although the main character, Gideon Jackson, and his contemporaries made good accomplishments throughout the novel, they were not as enforced as the accomplishments from 1964 up to now. Howard Fast did a decent job at portraying the proposal of civil rights and trying to repeat the reconstruction period but, as in the beginning of the novel to the end, Gideon Jackson got his start to owning his share of land and uniting the colored with whites but was still being harassed by the Ku Klux Klan and nothing was being done to prevent it or stop it. Therefore, the African Americans in this fiction novel never really gained freedom that was promised

The trade of Africans was part of Triangular trade, from Europe to Africa, Africa to the Americas, and the Americas back to Europe. The journey from Africa across the Atlantic was known as the Middle Passage. For many months, enslaved Africans were treated terribly on the voyage. Slaves were packed on top of each other into the bottom of the ship. African men wore iron chains around their wrists and legs and had little room to move. The chains and cuffs prevented revolts and escapes. Revolting slaves would be shot or drowned. Women and children were sometimes

Of Human Bondage is, as we all know, written from Philip's point of view, and therefore we sympathize with Philip, care about what goes on his life, and even feel attached to him. But, if the story had been written from say, Mildred's point of view, we may not feet the same about Philip. Chances are, his characterization would be completely different because of how Mildred views him, and we would probably grow to dislike Philip as much as we learned to dislike Mildred. Many have heard the saying, history is written by the winners, meaning we more commonly sympathize with the winners because it is they who got to tell the story, and we learn to dislike the opposing side, the way we dislike the British of the Revolutionary, the way we dislike