The Swans Are Not Silent Essay

Therefore, he appears quite compelling when he attempts to bring out the connection between religion and slavery. Looking at what Douglass went through as a slave, it is unfortunate that his act of reading the Bible was considered a violation of the law. At one point, Douglass narrated that his master’s wife offered Douglass with help to read and write. However, due to “advice” given by her husband and the connection between the Bible and slavery, Douglass’s master’s wife turned against him and was now cruel and bitter towards him.

Douglass’s narrative is a courageous work, as it confronts the slavery institution, and the misuse of Christianity by the slave owners

The brutality that slaves endured form their masters and from the institution of slavery caused slaves to be denied their god given rights. In the "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass," Douglass has the ability to show the psychological battle between the white slave holders and their black slaves, which is shown by Douglass' own intellectual struggles against his white slave holders. I will focus my attention on how education allowed Douglass to understand how slavery was wrong, and how the Americans saw the blacks as not equal, and only suitable for slave work. I will also contrast how Douglass' view was very similar to that of the women in antebellum America, and the role that Christianity played in his life as a slave and then

Since before the time of Jesus Christ, religious hypocrisy has run rampant throughout those who held power. Countless lives have been affected by others twisting religious interpretation in order to fit their own needs. Slaveholders used religion and scripture to their advantage when disciplining slaves, sometimes even if they did no wrong. Religious hypocrisy is especially relevant in the life of Frederick Douglass. Frederick Douglass’s life story depicts how religious hypocrisy committed by both slaves and slaveholders diminished the rights of slaves, while at the same time allowing injustice to endure.

Many people believe that Christians played a great role in abolishing slavery. However, Douglass’ ideas about religion and its connection to slavery shine a light on the dark side of Christianity. Douglass’ account of his own life is a very eloquent first hand retelling of the suffering and cruelty that many slaves were going through. His account gives a detail of the ills that were committed against the slaves. The atrocities committed by the various different masters varied in intensity depending on the masters’ individual personality (Glancy 42). This first hand narrative gives us a glimpse in to the connection between religion (Christianity) and slavery.

Since the beginning of slavery, leaders called on their faith to justify the immoral actions of the slave trade. These strong preachers for their communities’ strategically defined the meanings of scriptures to sway members into the ideals of North vs. South. Richard Furman and John G. Fee are historical activists using scripture to inform the community of their views. Both figures, arguments juxtaposed reveal the stark differences in their interpretations of the connection between human nature and scripture.

“If there is no struggle, there is no progress.” This famous quote is from a speech given by one of America’s most influential abolitionist speakers, Frederick Douglass. Born into slavery, this great American leader led a life many of us would find impossible to bear. After gaining his freedom from slavery, Douglass shared his stories through impressive speeches and vivid autobiographies, which helped America move forward as a country liberated from racial inequality. Although Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave allows readers to understand what life was like for slaves in antebellum America, the most important and relevant lesson to take away from this narrative today is the importance of perseverance. Douglass’s courage to resist and learn paired with his determination to keep his faith and ultimately find himself, is something to which people from every culture and time period can relate.

As Douglass began to acquire a greater understanding of his condition through reading, he felt as if “the silver trump of freedom had roused [his] soul to eternal wakefulness.”20 Douglass’s use of the word silver helps express the precious nature of freedom, as well as the idea that it’s beckoning the enslaved with its gleam. Through the contrast between the purity of freedom and the corruption of slavery, Douglass’s choice of words humanizes himself because it demonstrates his attention to detail as he constructed this narrative. Likewise, he expresses that “[the slaves selected to go to the Great House Farm] would make [woods] reverberate with their wild songs, revealing at once the highest joys and the deepest sadness.”21 Douglass's usage of juxtaposition to draw attention to the vastness of emotion expressed by these songs demonstrates his own humanity, for this selection highlights Douglass's talent to capture the emotional peaks and troughs that are endured by

……In 1845 an extraordinary piece of work by Frederick Douglass was published “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave”; this was the life of a man who through many adversities stood tall with his head in the heavens. Douglass was the more proactive abolitionist as his work was to demolish slavery while detailing his life experience as a slave and expressing is deep emotions and theory on slavery. In the “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave” he expresses the way religion and its literature, the bible, had an effect not only on slavery but also with white Christianity. His position on slavery was strong and compelling. Douglass used powerful authoritative words from the start of his narrative to grasp our hold and attention and keep us enflamed while realizing God is embedded in the words. ……Phillis Wheatley overcame obstacles most people would quiver against. She showed us slavery and she showed us faith. In the poem, she tells us “Twas mercy brought me from my Pagan land, Taught my benighted soul to understand” (Wheatley, line 1-2) Right from the beginning , Wheatley shows us religion through her use of subtle but powerful words. She uses the words “Mercy, Pagan

He has shown that the “blessings in which you, this day rejoice, are not enjoyed in common” (124). With the purpose of his speech firmly defined, he now has the liberty to expound upon the true evil of slavery that lurks in the shadow of hypocrisy. He employs the satirical technique of ridicule to expose the ugly nature of enslavement with equally ugly diction. Douglass’ disapproval ranges from “hideous” to “revolting” to “an outrage”, and culminates in the assertion that slavery is the “greatest sin and shame of America” (125). A far cry from the almost reverent tone of his opening statements, Douglass led his audience from the throes of a Fourth of July celebration to an intense degradation of the freedom they so

Covey underscores how slaveowners’ defense of slavery with religion was something said and not done. In fact, Douglass even asserts that slaves have a solid faith and the “help” of their white masters is not needed and even detrimental. As opposed to Mr. Covey’s false Christianity, Douglass attributes slaves to having true Christianity, evidencing this by his own great ability to sing versus his master’s poor singing. Mr. Covey was “a very poor singer himself, the duty of raising the hymn generally came upon [Douglass]” (82). Douglass’ ability to sing the hymnals represent his strong grasp on Christianity, whereas Mr. Covey’s poor singing portrays his hypocrisy and distance from the faith. Contrary to the plantation myth, Mr. Covey, the slaveowner is dependent on Douglass, his slave. This role reversal emphasizes the how the South’s claim to be carrying out a Christian duty was flawed.

“Wild Geese” is very different from many poems written. Oliver’s personal life, the free form of the poem along with the first line, “You do not have to be good,” and the imagery of nature contributes to Oliver’s intent to convince the audience that to be part of the world, a person does not need to aspire to civilization’s standards.

Fredrick Douglass and Henry Melville both critique Christianity as it was practiced in 19th-century America. Douglass illuminates the aspect of Christianity in relation to the way Christians also uphold the institution of slavery. He views it has ironic that those who claim the Christian faith also believe that there is nothing wrong in the practice of slavery. Douglass questions how one can be a true Christian and still not see that slavery in morally and religiously wrong. He ultimately critiques the way people practice the faith and still uphold slavery. Douglass goes as far to say that the slave master’s even become crueler when they find religion, because then they feel as if they can do no wrong. As Douglass states in relation to slavery and religion, “Here we have religion and robbery the allies of each other – devils dressed in angels’ robes, and hell presenting the semblance of paradise.”

The White Heron is a spiritual story portraying great refinement and concerns with higher things in life. A 9 year old girl once isolated in the city found fulfillment in a farm surrounded by nature. Too those less unfortunate, money charm and other attractions can be intoxicated; Sylvia did not bite. She could have helped her situation and found a way to wealth but in the end she realized that it wouldn’t help her to be the person she wanted to be. This paper will illustrate a critical analysis of the story of White Heron and focus on the relationship between the literary elements of the story, plot, characterization, style, symbolism and women’s concerns that are specific to this period.

The violence slaves endured was the most vivid representation in Douglass’ portrayal of slavery in the South. No emotion or rage was held back by slaveholders and no pity or sympathy was put forth either. Cruelty and abuse were the only means of control the slaveholders believed would keep order. The pain inflicted upon these individuals, even to the point of death in some cases, fueled the typical master’s obsession with domination and power. However, throughout Douglass’s turmoil, his religious faith remained exceptionally strong. At times he found himself questioning how might his God allow him to endure such grueling circumstances, but he never let his curiosity hinder his faith. He also questioned how a man could call himself a Christian and yet treat another human being in such a humane manner. Douglass could never comprehend how the slaveholders were able to justify slavery through their faith and church as some of his “owners” did.