Essay about The Writings of Frederick Douglass and Phillis wheatley

Courage and selflessness are words that describe heroes. Mundane people can be heroes when they have enough perseverance to do extraordinary tasks. They sacrifice their needs for others. Frederick Douglass was a brave, honorable and bold abolitionist, his heroism was impactful and it changed the mindset of many people.

The purpose behind Fredrick Douglass’s Narrative was to appeal to the other abolitionists who he wanted to convince that slave owners were wrong for their treatment of other human beings. His goal was to appeal to the middle-class people of that time and persuade them to get on board with the abolitionist movement. Douglass had a great writing style that was descriptive as well as convincing. He stayed away from the horrific details of the time, which helped him grasp the attention of the women who in turn would convince their husbands to help by donating money and eventually ending slavery. He used his words effectively in convincing the readers that the slave owners were inhuman and showed how they had no feelings for other human

When comparing two essays, there are many different aspects that the reader can look at to make judgments and opinions. In the two essays that I choose, MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. 'Letter from Birmingham Jail', and FREDERICK DOUGLAS'S 'From Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave,' there were many similarities, but also many differences. Some of them being, the context, style, structure and tone. Many times when readings or articles are being compared, people over look the grammatical and structural elements, and just concentrate on the issues at hand. I believe it is important to evaluate both.

Fredrick Douglass is famous for being an excellent orator, and he is acknowledged for putting much effort into the slavery abolition movements. In the “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass,” he outlines the negative impacts of religion and the bible on slavery alongside the development of Christianity among the whites. Although Douglass seems to be working against Christianity, he is far from being an atheist. Christianity used to be the dominant religion in America when slavery was at its peak in the United States. The religion was practiced by both whites and blacks. Usually, the slave masters professed the same religion as their subjects (Glancy 49). According to Douglass, Christianity is a pure, peaceable, loving and impartial. However, Christianity exists in two forms, namely: “the Christianity of the

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, depicts a vivid reality of the hardships endured by the African American culture in the period of slavery. One of the many things shown in Frederick's narrative is how slaves, in their own personal way, resisted their masters authority. Another is how slaves were able to create their own autonomous culture within the brutal system in which they were bound. There are many examples in the narrative where Frederick tries to show the resistance of the slaves. The resistors did not go unpunished though, they were punished to the severity of death. Fredrick tells of these instances with a startling sense of casualness, which seems rather

In the 18th century, blacks in America certainly were not in places of power. They were regarded as being inferior to whites in terms of intelligence and ability, which is how white people justified slavery. As a result, they typically did not have much authority to make change. Christianity, however, allowed black slaves to form an identity when they were in this place of oppression. In the works of Olaudah Equiano and Phillis Wheatley, they discuss their connection with religion. Ultimately, their voices alter previous notions of life as a slave and help in giving a voice to African-Americans of the time.

Wheatley’s poem, “On Being Brought from Africa to America” is part of a set of works that Henry Louis Gates Jr. recognized as a historically significant literary contribution for black Americans and black women (Baym et al. 752). Addressed to the Christians who participated in the slave trade, the poem is meant to reveal the inconsistencies between their actions and the Christian Ideal. Whether perceived as a work of sincerity or a work of irony, the poem conveys the message that an individual’s behaviors are influenced by the examples of others and that all people are equal. Understanding Phillis Wheatley’s intent in her poem, “On Being Brought from Africa to America,” is gained by considering all of the aspects of her existence when

Gates Jr. & Smith, 2014, discusses that the first African American writers in the United States appealed to the traditional Christian gospel of the universal brotherhood of humanity as a way of initiating a discussion with whites that did not directly confront their prejudices and anxieties. The 19th century could not escape the writings of slavery or black people according to Tangled Skeins": Henry Timrod's "The Cotton Boll" and the Slave Narratives. One of the first author of a slave narrative was Phillis Wheatley, she wrote, “Poems on Various Subjects, Religious, and Moral”. One of Wheatley’s works focused on black equality. Here is a piece of her work, “Some view our sable race with scornful eye, their colour is a diabolic die. Remember,

Define who Frederick Douglass was and provide a summary of his book, narrative of the life of Fredrick Douglass: an American slave 1845.

Phillis Wheatley’s, ‘On Being Brought from AFRICA to AMERICA’ is a testament to writing that utilizes irony and satire to produce a salient argument. As Susan Martin, states in her analysis of Wheatley’s poem, “a young woman who sought to assert her views on the passage from freedom to slavery, ignorance to knowledge, darkness to enlightenment” (Martin, 157). In particular, Wheatley’s aim was to construct a piece which addresses the ideals expressed by Martin utilizing irony and satire. Moreover, Wheatley, at the time of writing this poem, was amongst those enslaved. In fact, Wheatley published her first book in 1773. This is a time before America’s independence and most certainly a time where slavery was prominent. This book, which contained numerous poems, proved those enslaved were more intelligent than previously thought. Within Wheatley’s book, her famous poem, ‘On Being Brought from AFRICA to AMERICA’ was read. Read by those who supported slavery and those who opposed it. Typically, Wheatley addresses Christianity and avoids any discussion of race. However, this poem addresses racial issues straight on. On the surface of this poem lies words that when first perceived, appear to support slavery and her deposition from Africa. Moreover, Wheatley utilizes irony and satire to provide a deeper message that speaks out against slavery. More importantly, satire and irony allow two views to form. Through analysis from authors, Levernier, Loving, and Martin, their multiple perspectives can be formed into one. This analysis, will allow a better understanding of Wheatley’s intent with each line and a closer analysis of her clever rhetoric. Furthermore, Wheatley aims to reveal the improper treatment of, “Negros, black as Cain” (Wheatley), while also allowing the poem to be perceived as an appraisal of slavery. Furthermore, Wheatley utilizes each line to provide discussion on different issues regarding slavery in terms of criticizing white Christianity. Furthermore, Wheatley makes her viewpoint of slavery clear; an improper treatment that will not last.

In Frederick Douglass’ Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Mr. Douglass gives many examples of cruelty towards slaves as he shows many reasons that could have been used to abolish slavery. Throughout the well-written narrative, Douglass uses examples from the severe whippings that took place constantly to a form of brainwashing by the slaveholders over the slaves describing the terrible conditions that the slaves were faced with in the south in the first half of the 1800’s. The purpose of this narrative was most likely to give others not affiliated with slaves an explicit view of what actually happened to the slaves physically, mentally, and emotionally to show the explicit importance of knowledge to the liberation

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

Frederick Douglass is perhaps the most well-known abolitionist from American history. He is responsible for creating a lot of support for the abolitionist movement in the years before the Civil War. He, along with many others, was able to gain support for and attention to the abolitionist movement. People like him are the reason that slavery ended in the United States.

Proposition(s) centered around body of works authored by African Americans often fluctuate with the social stratification of its people. The writing is not stagnant bound to warranted eons, but fluid with time, as generally as any other form of literature. In other words, African American writing tends to reflect that of the current society they are subjected to, among a number of other conditions. In the 1800's, prior to the dawning of the Civil War, Black publication, in its diminutive amount, consisted roughly of memoirs, of which recounted the perils of slavery and the bliss circumvention, in turn, creating the earliest form of Black literature, slave narratives. In their own time and thereafter, said narratives have been the object of much scrutiny of both damning and plauditory natures. The authors of the works serve as no exception to such, considering each have received perlustration from their kinsmen and their counterparts, alike. Phillis Wheatley, Olaudah Equiano, and Frederick Douglass are examples of said Black authors, being that all have been accused of spiritually fleeing their race and relinquishing their “Black” identity.

Phillis Wheatley is a gem of her time; the first African-American woman to have her poetry published. Though purchased as a slave, her life was far from most African-Americans during the 17th century. She was educated and became deeply rooted in her faith: Christianity. From an outsider, her life may be viewed as an adopted child rather than a slave to the Wheatley family. However, she did not forget where she came from or those less fortunate than herself. Wheatley used the education she was afforded and her new-found spirituality to fight against slavery through the use of words (751). One of the greatest examples of this is her poem “To the University of Cambridge, in New England” addressed to perhaps the well-educated group of