Kojeve's Metaphors

over his or her own self. However, for slaves, this concept did not exist, and

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 is a humongous topic involving both slaves and former slaves. The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave Story is one such story. Douglass suffered punishments, and watching others get punished, he uses those experiences to make his argument against slavery.Douglass’ tone in the narrative is sarcastic and dark. Frederick Douglass successfully uses vast quantities of rhetorical devices, illuminating the horror and viciousness of slavery, including the need to eliminate it.

In Peter Kolchin’s widely acclaimed novel, American Slavery, he evaluates the development of slavery in the New World, which is one of the most debated issues in American history. In his novel, he yolks together the work of many historians with conflicting views to form a balanced and precise view of slavery. He researched primary source evidence, such as quotes from masters and slaves in the 1700s, to obtain the roots of enslavement in America. The success of his novel is often credited to the fact that he is one of the first authors to produce a historical synthesis on racial slavery in the United States. Moreover, his book uniquely spans all the way from the origins of slavery to its demise after the civil war.

In like manner, the slave will become worthless to his master. The author also wrote, “I now understood what had been to me a most perplexing difficulty--to wit, the white man’s power to enslave the black man. It was a grand achievement, and I prized highly. From that moment, I understood the pathway from slavery to freedom” (Douglass 20). Douglass began to realize the power that the white man felt in owning slaves and keeping the slaves illiterate. He understood this was powerful, but Douglass was aware that freedom was more powerful. Furthermore, “In learning to read, I owe almost as much to the bitter opposition of my master, as to the kindly aid of my mistress. I acknowledge the benefit of both” (Douglass 20). As. Mrs. Auld teaches Douglass to read, Mr. Auld is set on the fact that this education given to Douglass will provide him with confidence and will isolate him from others. His curiosity getting the better of him, this only makes Douglass want to learn more. Given these points, Douglass finally learns that all humans are equal, and the Blacks were stolen from Africa like “robbers.”. Another example being, “The first step had been taken. Mistress, in teaching me the alphabet, had given me the inch, and no precaution could prevent me from taking the ell” (Douglass 25). This happens to be a metaphorical comparison between units of measurement and Douglass’s achievements. The “inch” metaphorically represents the first step of

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 this essay, Stampp argues that slaves are the victims to a cruel system designed to take advantage of them. He fights for the sides of the slaves, portraying them as helpless in a world of pain and suffering. To prove this he looks toward the slaves who fake injury, ignorance, and even pregnancy to avoid having to work. This “preoccupation of bondsmen” as Stampp says, was a “Striking refutation of the myth that slavery survived because of the cheerful acquiescence of the slaves.” (Stampp 301) In this essay, Stampp is standing up against the idea that slaves are weak and incapable of functioning as free men. People said that the slaves had accepted their fate as slaves and were alright with it, but Stampp says they have not given up their will to fight for their freedom and that their rights as people will come. Stampp’s portrayal of slaves as the victim is in direct alignment with the shooting of Michael Brown in which Michael was made the victim far before anyone knew what really happened. The slaves that Stampp writes about all are sad and distraught but it’s possible that there may have been slaves who were in fact not too unhappy with their lives. In this instance, there is only one point of view, so another document with the counter to Stampp’s must be examined as

Douglass tells the reader, “You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man” (1211). As simple as this statement may seem, it is absolutely dripping with meaning, and it would not be a great

Furthermore, Kolchin delves deeply into the oddly fascinating dynamics of the slave-master relationship, which allows incidents such as a master whipping his slave for working sluggishly and then the evening of the same day, gathering all of the slaves for a bible reading session. A person who provides basic needs for others but forces them to provide him free labor in return is evaluated repeatedly in the book with interesting outcomes. However, the author likewise presents a slave owner who had minimal impact on slaves’ lives outside of the workday, one who allowed the slaves to have social and religious celebrations of their own choosing, and viewed the slaves as not just property, but humans.

In today’s society, many have come to believe what they have been instructed over the years, whether it is fiction of facts. Living in a world, where only certain race can be seen as superior to others. Schomburg was a pioneer beyond his times. In the article “The Negro Digs up His Past”. The beginning of this essay revealed a powerful statement, “The American Negro must remake his past in order to make his future” (Arthur Schomburg). It is very clear, Schomburg realized the importance of being knowledgeable on your true history. “History must restore what slavery took away, for it is the social damage of slavery that the present generations must repair and offset”. Therefore, I acquiesce with such statement, it is up to the present generation to fight, and to aspire on restoring what was taken away. As we acquired more intelligence, today’s generation must continue on indoctrinating one another on our true history. However, let’s not forget, slavery was not the onset of the Negro history; when in fact, slavery interrupted the Negro history. Meanwhile, long ago, before slavery, Africans ruled the world, built nations, mastering in architectural ideas, philosophies, etc. Nonetheless, it is crucial for the Negro to dig up his past, for from it; today’s Africans shall conceive their true potential, and their ancestor’s greatest achievements. Just as Schomburg found his motivation after being told “Negroes has no history. On the other hand, he then stated “The Negro thinking

Starting from a slave’s birth, this cruel process leads to a continuous cycle of abuse, neglect, and inhumane treatment. To some extent, slave holders succeed because they keep most slaves so concerned with survival that they have no time or energy to consider freedom. This is particularly true for plantation slaves where the conditions of slave life are the most difficult and challenging. However, slave holders fail to realize the damage they inadvertently inflict on themselves by upholding slavery and enforcing these austere laws and attitudes.

The analysis of the under discussion autobiography indicates a lot of major universal themes and human exploitation is one of them. A reader can see bleak picture of black slavery from the narration of Frederick Douglass who confronts brutal conduct of white masters throughout his childhood.

Although Douglass and Jacobs' experiences support the "personal as political', their narratives further explore the residual effects of slavery: 1) to prohibit the identity of male and female slave, and 2) to marginalize the slave's presence in society.

The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave details the progression of a slave to a man, and thus, the formation of his identity. The narrative functions as a persuasive essay, written in the hopes that it would successfully lead to “hastening the glad day of deliverance to the millions of [his] brethren in bonds” (Douglass 331). As an institution, slavery endeavored to reduce the men, women, and children “in bonds” to a state less than human. The slave identity, according to the institution of slavery, was not to be that of a rational, self forming, equal human being, but rather, a human animal whose purpose is to work and obey the whims of their “master.” For these reasons, Douglass articulates a distinction

There may be humane masters, as there certainly are inhuman ones - there may be slaves well-clothed, well-fed, and happy, as there surely are those half-clad, half-starved and miserable; nevertheless, the institution that tolerates such wrong and inhumanity as I have witnessed, is a cruel, unjust, and barbarous one. (127)