Romanticism vs. Realism Essay

Douglass got his passion to promote freedom for all slaves after he escaped from slavery and ultimately had an end goal to “abolish slavery in all its forms and aspects, and promote the moral and intellectual improvement of the coloured people and hasten the day of freedom to the three million of enslaved fellow countrymen”. He also wrote several autobiographies describing his experiences as a slave. One of the autobiographies in particular, ‘Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave’ published in 1845 was a best-selling and was extremely influential for promoting the cause of abolition. The narrative shows a compelling argument to basic human rights thus making it extremely influential as the narrative clearly possesses features and linguistic skills, which for most white people, negated their common perception of black people being illiterate in the 19th century.

     The tone established in the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is unusual in that from the beginning to the end the focus has been shifted. In the beginning of the narrative Douglass seems to fulfill every stereotypical slavery theme. He is a young black slave who at first cannot read and is very naïve in understanding his situation. As a child put into slavery Douglass does not have the knowledge to know about his surroundings and the world outside of slavery. In Douglass’ narrative the tone is first set as that of an observer, however finishing with his own personal accounts.

There are a number of key arguments in “The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass”. A few of which include inequality, education, and Christianity as the keys to freedom in terms of its true values within the institution of slavery. While Frederick Douglass made some key arguments, he also made common ground to make his appeal for the abolition of slavery.

“You are a product of your environment.”- W. Clement. The way you were raised, the people who raised you and the community that you are raised in all play a role in who you are as an individual. Constantly throughout time the way an individual defines themselves is based on their roots, the actions or reactions that have built a foundation of who they’re today. Through the lens of a slave later turned into one of the largest faces of abolitionist acts, Frederick Douglass creates “The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass” in which he accounts the community he was raised in and the constant fear instilled within his community as well as his later assimilation into new communities and possibly being responsible for creation of a

Slavery was an embarrassing time in America’s history. In 2016, slavery has become a distant memory. It’s easy for us to admit that slavery is wrong but, in Frederick Douglass’s time no one thought that it was. Frederick Douglass went on to write books and give speeches in hope that one day all slaves would be free. In the book called “The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass”, he attempts to shine light on the American Slave system in the 1800’s.

A story, of any type, is greatly affected by the characters’ outlook on life. A bright, hopeful main character will give the narrative a more lighthearted feel, and cause the reader to feel encouraged and satisfied. If the character has a negative perspective, however, it can elicit sadness, pity, or even irritation from the reader. In Voltaire’s Candide and Tolstoy’s Death of Ivan Ilyich, two characters with very different worldviews are displayed. The lighthearted Candide maintained an attitude of cheerfulness and perseverance even through the hardships of his life, which stems from his deep love and care for others, while the coldhearted despair of Ivan Ilyich is only intensified into anger by the feigned optimism of those around him.

In his novella, The Death of Ivan Ilych, Leo Tolstoy offers his audience a glance into the life and death of an ambitious man, Ivan Ilych. Tolstoy uses the death of Ivan Ilyich to show his audience the negative consequences of living the way Ilych did. Ivan Ilych followed society and made decisions based on what others around him conformed to and not so much about what he genuinely wanted until he was on his deathbed. As death approaches Ilych he realizes that he wrecked everything that should be meaningful in his life in order to work and make money and in the end his friends did not really care much about him. Ilych’s desire to conform made him live a miserable life and led him to darkness. Ivan Ilych attained everything that society

Slavery was brought to America in the 1600’s taking millions of Africans from West Africa. But in 1804 the North voted to abolish slavery but the South refused making states escape the union.Slavery in the South had an effect on the economy, but also on the slaves.Frederick Douglass, who was once a slave with his family in Maryland suffered greatly, but still pushed on and finally escaped and became a national leader of the abolition in the south movement.He made a narrative about his life as a slave and stated that the purpose of the narrative is to “throw light” on the American slave system.The goal of this paper is to discuss three aspects his narrative discusses that he “throws light” on, his position against the feelings of defenders of

During the mid 1800’s, slavery was a large problem in southern America. The slaves were underclassmen who had no rights, were treated terribly, and were often harshly punished. Many African Americans were angered with the poor treatment, and could not do anything about it. Change was in order, but America had not made any changes. That is until Frederick Douglass, an escape-slave, spoke at a large Fourth of July celebration in Rochester, New York about slavery in the United States. Frederick Douglass was once a slave in the South, but he was able to escape to Northern America, where he worked as a laborer to make a living for himself. Douglass was then able to buy his own freedom within the United States, enabling him to start a newspaper column supporting the anti-slavery movement. He wrote about the lack of rights African slaves had and what could be done differently within the United States. Until one day he was able to finally tell everyone the truth about America and the African American slaves during his speech. Frederick Douglass supports the theme that all people should have the same independence rights in his speech “The Hypocrisy of American Slavery” with the use allusions and repetition.

Frederick Douglass was a man who would lose his future to create a better future for someone he didn’t even know. He did not know whether the black populatuion would ever be free or if free whether or not the next generation would appreciate or not. These were not thoughts in his mind for all he wanted was to accomplish his goal of free land. It was his goal to gain his freedom and then help someone else atain theirs. For he knew no matter how alone your master might make you feel everyone was in it together. His main audience were the people who were all for slavery. The two positions that douglass views are how slavery is bad for 1. The slave owners who were consumed by the power and 2. How slavery’s “oh so considerate care” was terrible for slaves.

Fredrick Douglass was not the American Adam of the 1830s and 40s, he was black, born a slave, and was not particularly religious till his teen years. But, his stamina, drive, and devotion to becoming a freeman was everything the American Adam encompassed. Douglass, whether he knew it or not, was shaping the way future members of society conducted themselves. Influenced by the obvious American ideology of independence white man had the honor of being so gracefully handed, Douglass became focused on having many of those same rights and strove to receive them purely by his own hand, the perfect American example of self-reliance.

    In the face of Morrie's overwhelming compassion and tenderness, Ivan Ilych presents an opposite lifestyle. After a pleasantly carefree childhood he turned towards ambition and pursued an ever-larger salary and an ever-increasing social rank. Ivan lived without values and without attachments, easily moving between cities and jobs. He cared little for the great inconvenience of his family, and even less for his wife: "he hate[d] her with his whole soul" (Ivn, 139). Commitment was a prison to be avoided at all costs, a detriment to his proper and official existence. Genuine love touched Ivan only rarely and certainly not during the dying moments when he needed it the most.

The famous American romanticism Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, written by Frederick Douglass significantly tells and describes the life story of Frederick Douglass experiences, hardships, and inspiration as an African American slave. Throughout the Narrative, Douglass uses precise diction and defined imagery to trap the reader physically and intellectually. Douglass shows his audience that slavery was beyond black’s being own by white’s. He successfully is able to give a strong foundation and understanding on what the word slavery for an African American actually meant. “Douglass’s Narrative, explore the ideology that legitimized, justified, and rationalized slavery on the basis that Africans and their descendants were subhuman.” (Bruce). Douglass even goes into depth and he is able to connect his experience as a slave with romanticism. Romanticism can fairly be looked at as a relationship between nature and a higher power(God). According to the English Teaching: Practice and critique romanticism are “ “...The elements of feeling and of thought” through the subjective process of synthesizing interior and sensual experience brings the individual into a state of undivided oneness with the “wisdom and spirit of the universe” ”. Frederick Douglass upbringing was in the romantic period. This period is when slaves needed a higher power to believe in for hope. Hope that one day they will be lead to

The American Dream rejoices with the stories that begin with humble beginnings and end with prosperity and success; the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is a story of upward social success and increased affluence and freedom. Douglass narrates his own life and tells of his failures, thoughts, and accomplishments over the span of his life. He began his life at the bottom of society as a slave. Through hard work, an insatiable thirst for knowledge, and the ability to maintain and fight for his beliefs, Frederick Douglass attained the goal of the American Dream and eventually became a free man. Douglass’s transition from uneducated slave to free citizen was slow, and began when he would pay children in his neighborhood with bread to learn how to read. As a child Douglass recognized the value of education and would sacrifice so much to be able to learn to read, in part to spite his slave owners. With this foundation, he knew he could become accomplished. He used his self-taught education to encourage other slaves to learn and become literate. This foundation and bank of knowledge allowed Douglass to escape from slavery and become a free man. The early scenes in Douglass’s life prove to influence and encourage his success throughout his lifetime, which, in turn, provides further support of the value of the American Dream.

It is obvious to the reader that this retreat into his work is the soul means by which Ivan moves towards a personal goal of self-justification and righteousness. It is no