Black And White Converge - Essay Example

Black And White Converge Mark twain’s the Caucasian book starts by telling us where we know his from which is from the book of the adventures of tom sawyer. How the book ended by Judge Thatcher putting their money out on interest. He was taken by a widow who was allowed to civilize him, but because that life was boring he went back to the streets as an urchin. But being haunted by Tom Sawyer and the threat of making his a thief he had to go back to the widow and be respectful. He sneaked out of the House with Tom Sawyer, and that’s when Twain met Jim the slave (Twain 5). The life of Fredrick Douglas, an American Slave, starts by telling us where he was born. And that he did not have a specific or accurate knowledge of his age because slave masters liked to keep slaves ignorant that way, he even compared their situation to being no different to those of horses. Douglas father was a white man probably his master. He was separated from his mother when he was at that time a child (Douglas 20). Thus, a thesis would be formed to ask, do the similarities between Fredrick Douglas narrative and adventures of Huckleberry tell us that they have the same stand on slavery? Similarities between Douglas and Twains Adventures books Although their books represent almost two distinct genres an autobiographical text by Douglas and a popular novel by Twain, their themes are essentially the same. Their books the Narrative by Douglas the African American activist and the Huckleberry Finn by Twain were published just forty years apart. They all wrote about the controversial debate at that time which was racism and its particular form in its use in slavery. Both Douglas and Twain worked to expose the hypocrisy and falsehood of white Americans who believed in themselves to be civilized preachers of morality. In summary despite the structural differences in these books, among the main aims of each is to point out the ways in which pretense and hypocrisy are present in the Caucasian society especially the case of race. First Fredrick Douglas starts his personal narrative by sharing his way of life. The fact that he does not know his age but a white kid somewhere has knowledge of their age. Douglas said,“the fact that white children could tell their ages he could not understand why he ought to be denied the same privilege.” He goes on and says that “this was not his story but the story of all slaves.” While Douglas was working as a slave, the other book Twain was just enjoying his life wondering how niggers could listen to Jim’s stories about witchcraft. When the other slaves tried to tell similar stories, Jim sneered what you all know about witches (Douglas 8). Douglas and Huck Finn had a similarity in that they both had no parents. Finn’s father was always drunk and absent, and Douglas mother was separated from him when he was an infant, and he only saw her only five times in his lifetime. Douglas talked about the cases of black women slaves having kids with their white masters and because the mistress was angry most of these kids and their mothers would be sold away. White kids will be allowed to whip their Mullato brothers openly. He disapproved this scenario that even if Ham was cursed the Mullato where much lighter to suffer the curse of slavery. This shows us the ability of slavery to corrupt a beautiful mind, in this case, the mistress. The mistress cruelty was considered by Douglas to be among the worst types of hypocrisy thus a ridiculous way in how people lived their lives. For the mistress clearly knew the difference between morality and immorality, but chose to surrender to the force exerted upon her by her race and class. This kind of betrayal was profound. Douglas wrote that it removed off her heavenly qualities (Douglas 23). The fact that these experiences were not only limited to Douglas alone is important. In spite other slaves being unable to write their accounts of their stories. Douglas speaks not only about himself, but for them, and in detailing the kinds of cruel practices of slavery; he exposes just how awkward and hypocritical this way of human bondage was. Douglas was astounded that some of the slaves chosen to go to the Great House Farm. They would start singing songs of joy, “I am going away to the Great House Farm! O, Yea!” The songs told a narrative that was then altogether beyond feeble comprehension. This was a first since he came to the north and watching slaves sing out of happiness (Douglas 30). Douglas also went on to narrate how his present slaveholder was not humane. He described him as having barbarity, being a cruel man hardened by a long life of slave-holding. He sometimes would at times enjoy thrashing a slave. Twain tried to describe how he saw his father footsteps on the snow. And went to Jim the slave to use his magic and predict to him what his father was going to do by using his magic. Twain described the scene in a sarcastic way and said how Jim throws the hair-ball to the ground. Also, “in each time the results ending up being the same” until he demanded a coin and in a way it starts to relate (Twain 25). Douglas also write about the meanness of his new master, Master Thomas Auld, how he and his wife were equally mean and cruel to slaves that even finding enough food to eat was an issue. Slaves were experiencing hunger even if they were working in the kitchen. Douglas and the other three workers sister Eliza, Aunt Priscilla and Henny were reduced to the wretched necessity of living and surviving at the expense of their neighbors. It showed us how the whites were a shameful race, and they did not even feel the need to feed their workers and are willing to let them starve. Douglas describes how shameful his master life is, Thomas would seem to find a religious sanction for his cruelty. He gives an account where he tied a lame young woman and whipped her until her skin was bleeding. To justify his deeds he went on to quote a verse from the Bible that whoever knows his master and does not obey shall be punished (Douglas 66). Douglas then writes about the hypocrisy of their master to being dishonest and telling lies. Any mistake of conversing with his master was punishable by being sold to another master. It was a shameful way of treating people because the master mistreated the slaves whipped them, overworked them and still they never wanted anything negative thing to be said about them at all. Thus establishing the slave maxim, “a still tongue makes a wise head”. The slave masters would suppress the truth rather than take the consequence of telling it, and in doing so prove themselves a part of the human family. Mark Twain’s novel Adventure of Huckleberry Finn in his account in the hypocrisy of slavery he focuses particularly on the tribulations endured by Jim, the escaped slave who ends up accompanying him on most of his adventures. The slave Jim has run away because there was someone who had offered her $800. Thus, she could not resist and because in a way he believed that the fate waiting for him is better than the one being in the condition of a slave. Twain treats his fellow white people rather satirically he uses good language skills to bring out the hypocrisy in them. He praises Jim as a good and noble man one who knows almost everything. In fact, relies heavily on some of his information which denies the facts that whites are a pinnacle of civilization (Twain 26). Twain never focused on the indignities that Jim had suffered. However, they portrayed him as the most developed of any adult characters and then shifts his attention to exposing the hypocrisy of white people, including those who did not participate in slavery. Twain’s father Pap was so envious of a certain muleteer man he described to him to having a white skin but not equally white to them. He goes on and describes how he had the whitest shirt and the shiniest hat, and he was so cool. How he was a professor in a college, he knew everything. To make matters worse, he could vote by showing again how he had tried to ridicule his government for even making a nigger free and even allowing him to vote. Pop did not want to see any African-American being treated equally to him. Despite him being drunk and a useless man, he still found a way to talk down about an educated free Nigger. Douglas attacked scathingly those white who did not support slavery but never did anything to abolish it. It is what Twain also does, he even criticizes young Huck for making fun on Jim. Twain criticizes how Hulk more than often make mocks Jim constantly viewed Jim as a lesser person to whites. Also, making him the butt of jokes but realizes he had to apologize when he noticed how Jim was hurt. Hulk said “I took almost fifteen minutes to gather up courage to go and apologize to him.” Just like Douglas Twain exposed white people as damaged so much by slavery as an African-American. But in his case the African-Americans were able to keep their dignity intact. The whites believed in themselves to be so superior and civilized they could not even do so. It shows how the two books were performing the same purpose although Douglas was a real slave, and Twain was a white with his savior mentality. In the end after escaping Jim recaptured and taken back to Phelps farm while Douglas in his narrative escapes resettled in New Bedford, changes his name and marries a free black woman. He ends his narrative by saying from then until now; I have been appealing in beseeching my cause (Douglas 117). Both the Narrative and the of an American Slave and Adventures of Huckleberry by Douglas and Twain in that order help to reinvent and form a basis of what a civilized society should be like. It is in particularly in America by condemning and exposing the ridiculous and shameful behaviors of the white slave owners and all systematic segregation and discrimination it had created. The genres approached by each writer are unique in their ways in terms of readers, content and its intention, but it had the same effect. Both writers end up showing the ridiculous and shameful acts of the whites as a general problem and just because you own a person that does not show you are more civilized than them. Works cited Twain, M. (2014). Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. lathifa. Twain, Mark. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: A case study in critical controversy. Ed. Gerald Graff. Bedford Books of St. Martin's Press, 1995. Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass, an American slave. Random House Digital, Inc., 2000. Douglass, F. (2009). Narrative of the Life of an American Slave. Transaction Publishers. Read More