My Bonding and My Freedom by Frederick Douglass - Essay Example

? s Passage RECEPTION SPEECH’ Frederick Douglass He is deprived of education. God has given him an intellect; the slaveholder declares it shall not be cultivated. If his moral perception leads him in a course contrary to his value as property, the slaveholder declares he shall not exercise it. The marriage institution cannot exist among slaves, and one-sixth of the population of democratic America is denied its privileges by the law of the land. What is to be thought of a nation boasting of its liberty, boasting of its humanity, boasting of its Christianity, boasting of its love of justice and purity, and yet having within its own borders three millions of persons denied by law the right of marriage?-- what must be the condition of that people? I need not lift up the veil by giving you any experience of my own. Every one that can put two ideas together, must see the most fearful results from such a state of things as I have just mentioned. If any of these three millions find for themselves companions, and prove themselves honest, upright, virtuous persons to each other, yet in these cases—few as I am bound to confess they are—the virtuous live in constant apprehension of being torn asunder by the merciless men-stealers that claim them as their property.  This is American slavery; no marriage--no education--the light of the gospel shut out from the dark mind of the bondman--and he forbidden by law to learn to read. If a mother shall teach her children to read, the law in Louisiana proclaims that she may be hanged by the neck. If the father attempts to give his son a knowledge of letters, he may be punished by the whip in one instance, and in another be killed, at the discretion of the court. Three millions of people shut out from the light of knowledge! It is easy for you to conceive the evil that must result from such a state of things. Analysis and Insight Frederick Douglass was an inspirational writer, a strong fighter and an intellectual person. Possessed with such great talents, he mastered the art of speech writing which he often displayed at the various venues where he spoke for the rights of the black people. The extract from his Reception Speech speaks volumes about the great writing style and the convincing tone that he adopted while writing down his thoughts. Douglass’ writing style was more of a conversationalist. His work speaks out for itself. It seems, almost, as if the words have a voice of their own and they shout and cry to be heard. No wonder Douglass was able to influence so many people and earn his own respect in 19th century America. A society where black slavery was a common practice, Douglass stood up, fought for his freedom and made his own mark. From the extract above, it can be seen how much importance Douglass paid to education. He stresses several times over how the black population’s right to literacy has been throttled. By referring to how God has given every man intellect, he tries to emphasize that black people are no lesser than any whites. Moreover, further using the phrase ‘the light of the gospel shut out from the dark mind’, he stresses how religious understanding can also be a form of education as it elevates a person and enlighten him with new ideas. He creates vivid imagery to arouse the feelings of his audience. By using examples such as ‘hanging your mother’, ‘whipping’ and ‘killing your father’ he tries to create fury and a feeling of helplessness, desperateness and rebellion in his audience at the same time. Using phrases such as ‘torn asunder’ he expresses the frustration he experiences being a part of such merciless white dominant society. He further uses the phrase ‘men-stealers’ to emphasize that the real problem and crimes are committed by the white instead of the black. Furthermore, the text questions the ideology created by American society, its hypocritical and two faced standards. It can be observed from Douglass’ text that he is a fearless man expressing all that he has in his heart while he expresses his desire to see a free society whereby all black men can live up righteously with the freedom to choose and live a normal life. He also threatens the fabric of American society, which further elaborates his brave style, by saying that if the people are not given the right to marriage or right to education, they’ll retaliate and one day America will regret the subjugation of black community. This passage specifically raises a lot of emotional sentiments towards the conditions of the black. The main theme is the freedom of the blacks and the abolishment of slavery. Frederick Douglass has written several speeches whereby he spoke in the favor of black freedom. He also wrote an autobiography by the name of ‘A Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave’ which mainly revolves around the same theme. Moreover, his work is inspired by William Lloyd Garrison who was one of the most famous abolitionists of that period. While comparing Douglass’ work to the writers of the 19th century, it is interesting to draw a comparison between his work and the work of Harriet Jacobs. Jacobs was a slave girl who wrote her narrative on the experiences of being persecuted and oppressed. Even though Jacobs’ and Douglass’ work was published around the same period, Douglass’ narrative captured more attention while Jacobs’ book was overshadowed. The reason behind this is, firstly, that slave movement had gathered quite a political interest and was being discussed loudly in the political settings, while women rights were still being ignored. Secondly, the writing style of these two writers had a vast difference. While Jacobs’ narration capitalized on emotional sentiments and appealed more to the soft at heart, Douglass’ powerful, almost speech like style, almost commanded its readers. Douglass used a preachy style referring to the bible and the Holy Scriptures to give substance to his claims of freedom. Douglass’ writing hence was much widely appreciated than Harriet Jacobs’. While Douglass’ theme was liberation of the black community and empowerment, Harriet Jacobs focused on the sexual exploitation of women. During the time when their work was published, empowerment was sought as a more desirable trait than sexual liberation of women, which is why Douglass’ impact was far reaching than Jacobs’. Passage: 2 As I have before intimated, I was seldom whipped--and never severely--by my old master. I suffered little from the treatment I received, except from hunger and cold. These were my two great physical troubles. I could neither get a sufficiency of food nor of clothing; but I suffered less from hunger than from cold. In hottest summer and coldest winter, I was kept almost in a state of nudity; no shoes, no stockings, no jacket, no trowsers; nothing but coarse sackcloth or tow-linen, made into a sort of shirt, reaching down to my knees. This I wore night and day, changing it once a week. In the day time I could protect myself pretty well, by keeping on the sunny side of the house; and in bad weather, in the corner of the kitchen chimney. The great difficulty was, to keep warm during the night. I had no bed. The pigs in the pen had leaves, and the horses in the stable had straw, but the children had no beds. They lodged anywhere in the ample kitchen. I slept, generally, in a little closet, without even a blanket to cover me. In very cold weather. I sometimes got down the bag in which corn meal was usually carried to the mill, and crawled into that. Sleeping there, with my head in and feet out, I was partly protected, though not comfortable. My feet have been so cracked with the frost, that the pen with which I am writing might be laid in the gashes. The manner of taking our meals at old master's, indicated but little refinement. Our corn-meal mush, when sufficiently cooled, was placed in a large wooden tray, or trough, like those used in making maple sugar here in the north. This tray was set down, either on the floor of the kitchen, or out of doors on the ground; and the children were called, like so many pigs; and like so many pigs they would come, and literally devour the mush--some with oyster shells, some with pieces of shingles, and none with spoons. He that eat fastest got most, and he that was strongest got the best place; and few left the trough really satisfied. I was the most unlucky of any, for Aunt Katy had no good feeling for me; and if I pushed any of the other children, or if they told her anything unfavorable of me, she always believed the worst, and was sure to whip me. Analysis and Explanation of the Passage The above passage is by Frederick Douglas from his writing ‘My Bonding and My Freedom’. Even though this revolves around the same theme of black liberation, this written masterpiece is much different from the first passage. In this piece of writing he describes through the eyes of an innocent child, the experiences that made up his childhood. With a sense of innocence and simplicity, Frederick touches the heart of many readers as he focuses on simple details. What makes is so soft yet so touching and impactful are again the vivid imageries that he has created and the metaphors he has drawn upon. In the above passage, he compares the treatment of the black slave children to the treatment of animals, stressing that animals were still treated in a considerably much better way than black slaves. Douglass uses examples of pigs and horses and how they slept in their own designated places. Even the pig and horses had somewhere they could belong to. The pigs had their pens and the horses had their stables for sleep, however, the black children ‘lodged anywhere in the ample kitchen’, that is, wherever they could find themselves a place to sleep. This suggests the deprived state of the poor children. Moreover, even though his tone speaks of innocence, it is not wary of responsibility. While reading the above passage a person truly gets touched thinking about the ordeals that the writer must have gone through. He had no childhood even as a child. The sense of responsibility, of struggle, of conflict was presence in him, like it was in every other black child of that time. This is made evident with the usage of phrases such as ‘I can protect myself’ implying that he was fully aware that there were no concessions for age, it didn’t matter how old he was, and he had to live by himself. Moreover, this feeling is heightened in the passage when the author paints the picture of how everybody had to fight to get the biggest share of the food and yet no one ever felt quite fulfilled. Firstly, this suggests that the quantity would be too little for so many children; secondly, it also implies the maturity of thought. The awareness of struggle existed within Frederick as a child and he portrays all the moments he had to fight for his survival highlighting on the readers how ordeals in life can make you so strong. Furthermore, his sense of etiquettes and respect reflects when he complains in his autobiography about the lack of spoons for eating. This shows how he was sensitive in his early life about a basic human code of living. Eating with ‘shingles’ or ‘oysters’ seems like a really crude behavior and his concern for the same shows that he was aware of his subservience even when he was fulfilling his most basic needs such as hunger. Unlike Fredericks hardcore speech presented in the first passage, this passage is like a soft blow to the idea of American liberation. He doesn’t directly demand or plead for mercy but just by sharing an innocent experience he arouses the tension in the readers. The sense of awareness of brutality that was present in the American society creates shivers in the readers as they cannot imagine something similar happening in the modern times. Not only has this autobiography of Frederick Douglass served as a basis for black emancipation in the 19th century, it is an account of the history, which will always remind people the importance of equality, which is often taken for granted as a birth right, the sense of self respect and the essence of free will. While comparing this to other texts from the same American Civil War period, the work of Harriet Beecher Stowie gives a great contrast to the work of Douglass. Harriet’s fictional work by the name of ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’ is a story about a Christian Slave who dies under the oppression and tyranny of his master. Harriet’s work is interesting as it covers a wide range of topics under the main topic of slavery. She speaks of Christianity, the strength of a mother and a lot of intricate personal topics as she weaves her story. The writing style is great, because she uses wit, instead of simple narration. She uses puns and mocks openly displaying feelings of frustration, hatred and anger at the slavery of the black. While Douglass’ work is emotional and gripping, Harriet’s is extremely enjoyable and can be related to human subjugation to the evils of society. As it is a work of fiction, it is on the discretion of the readers however they want to interpret it, however, Douglass’ work provides no such freedom. The interpretation is possible simply through the eyes of him and him alone. However, as previously mentioned, Douglass’ work can be classified as a historical text while Harriet’s text will always be a fiction. Read More