Plath's Mirror, Courage, The Explorer, And Fredrick Douglas

How is courage a defining element to the human spirit? First, one needs to know what courage is. Courage is the choice and willingness to confront pain, danger, or uncertainty. In The Narrative Life Of Frederick Douglass, Douglass demonstrates his courage through the actions he takes and the words he says. But, how does courage define the human spirit?

“To me, every hour of the day and night is an unspeakably perfect miracle,” said by Walt Whitman. The poem “O Me! O Life!” by Walt Whitman talks about the contributions that people can give in life. Robert Frost’s poem, “Road Not Taken” talks about the impact of different choices a person makes in their life. The poem by Carl Sandburg, “Who Am I” discusses how truth is the bases of life. The common thread shared between all three poems is the hardships that life has to offer, because although, when it comes to troubling times what is the right choice.

Throughout this poem Hughes has placed many symbols in the readers mind to bring the image of the African American people to thought. He reminds African American readers of their origin and what they have been through by using the

It does not matter how many times life knocks someone down, it matters whether or not they recover. As Winston Churchill once announced, “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” Life may cause numerous troubles, although, overcoming inadequate decisions can correct your fate. The Other Wes Moore, written by Wes Moore, is an exquisite example of how one poor decision does not need to determine one’s fate, and an individual has the power to metamorphose their fate. In addition, The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is a superior illustration of how confronting one’s mistakes and choosing to rectify them. The Other Wes Moore and The Scarlet Letter both portray the theme rising above challenges with the use of literary devices.

In her poem, “Lady Lazarus,” Sylvia Plath uses dark imagery, disturbing diction, and allusions to shameful historical happenings to create a unique and morbid tone that reflects the necessity of life and death. Although the imagery and diction and allusions are all dark and dreary, it seems that the speaker’s attitude towards death is positive. The speaker longs for death, and despises the fact the she is continually raised up out of it.

Frederick Douglas, a slave born in Tuckahoe Maryland, was half white and half black. His mother was a black woman and his father a white man. Though he never knew his father, there was word that it was his master. Douglas wrote this narrative and I felt that it was very compelling. It really showed me the trials and tribulations that a black man went through during times of slavery.

When the tour was completed, he continued with his aspirations of creating the abolitionist paper. Frederick decided to publish it in Rochester New York, further west than the home of the Liberator. On December 3, 1847 his weekly newspaper, the North Star was finally born (1, 80). At first, habitants of Rochester were upset to see another anti-slavery paper, but eventually the city took pride in being the home of the North Star. Unfortunately, the glowing reviews were not equal to the money needed for the production of the paper and Douglass had to depend on his own savings and contributions from friends to keep the paper going (5). He was driven back to the world of lecturing in an attempt to raise efficient funds for the North Star. The cash

During the enslavement of Fredrick Douglas, he began to educate himself in the field of language and writing. Quickly this became a burden as well as a blessing, as Fredrick had to duck and hide at every turn to ensure that no one who could be a threat to his being found out that he possessed the ability to read. As Fredrick slowly grows with each piece of new material he can acquire, it becomes more evident that Fredrick has also consecutively began to become depressed. Though gifted with the ability to read and even write, later on his life, he now possessed enough knowledge to understand the severity of his situation. He was a man trapped with no way to escape. This began to wear on Fredrick and pushed him into the dark depths of

Frederick Douglass, originally Frederick Bailey, was born into slavery in or around 1818 in Talbot County, Maryland, though Douglass himself was never sure of his exact date of birth. While his mother came from Native American descent, his father came from African and European descent. Until the age of six where he was sent to live and work on the Wye House Plantation, Douglass lived with his maternal grandmother, after his mother left him. Initially, Douglass was given to Lucretia Auld, but then Thomas Auld, her husband, sent him to Baltimore with his brother, Hugh. At Baltimore, Hugh's wife taught Douglass how to read and write. Soon, he taught himself more and began teaching other slaves. As a result, Douglass was sent to Edward Covey who

All three of the poems discussed in this essay relate to the struggles suffered by African Americans in the late 18th century to the early 19th century in many different ways. They had to live under harsh

Gwendolyn Brooks and Langston Hughes wrote poems imparting to young people. Brooks encourages her audience to continue to trudge forward even if the situation is grim in the poem entitled “Speech to the Young. . .” The author stated, “Even if you are not ready for the day it cannot always be night.” The author is trying to say that one cannot always just wallow in their problems. Instead, on must overcome their hurdles no matter how high they may be. One must overcome their obstacles sooner or later because time does not stop for anyone. Hughes takes a parental stand in “Mother to Son” encouraging readers to persevere even when faced with adversity. The author advised, “So boy, don’t turn your back. Don’t you set down on the steps.” The author

Every author, poet, playwright has a subtle message that they would like present to their audience. It may be a lifelong struggle that they have put into words, or a multiple page book that took a lifetime to write. A poet by the name of Anne Sexton sought out to challenge society’s views of women by writing “Her Kind”. A poet, a playwright, and an author of children’s books, Anne Sexton writes about the conflicts of a social outcast living in modern times. She voices the hardships she faces through three different speakers in her poem. At the end of the poem, the woman is not ashamed nor afraid of whom she is and is ready to die in peace. In Anne Sexton’s poem “Her Kind”, the main idea the speaker is depicting is the multiple stereotypes placed on a woman, by society. Sexton’s vivid use of imagery paints a picture of the witch, house wife, and mother cliché, while also implying the poem is autobiographical as Sexton went through her own personal struggles during her life.

mirror. Who are almost getting in the way so to speak of its life and

In the autobiography Frederick Douglass presents a clear picture to me of a horrifying period of American history that far too few people understand. Douglass’s personal narrative as a slave lets you feel the fear of his past and allows us to experience the suffering and pain inflicted by underserved beatings and an unhealthy lifestyle with too much physical exertion. Douglass expresses very personal feelings about his history and helps us to understand the intense hatred and disgust the American slave had for his possessor, and the sickness of hate that allowed human beings to keep other human being as slaves.

Many great literary and artistic geniuses have been troubled with deep depression and mental illness. Anne Sexton is an example of a poet with such problems who used her personal despair to inspire her poetic works. Not all of Sexton's work is based solely on her mental health; but a good portion of her work is influenced by her constant bouts with depression. As she struggled to deal with her own marital infidelity and the problems associated with being a female poet in a male dominated genre, she combined the theme of depression with one based on the roles of women in society. In turn, she gained a wider audience and received recognition for her work. But all the fame and fortune were not enough to