Frederick Douglas Quote and its Outline - Essay Example

Outline for an Argumentative Essay on Frederick Douglas’ Quote I. Introduction: The introduction will contain the identification of Douglas’ quote and an explication of its meaning. It will also contain the thesis statement that: “Douglas’ quote, though it may appear inapplicable in some of the situations, is quite valid in most of the circumstances in human life.” II. Body Passage-I: a) It will contain a topic sentence that Frederick Douglas’ quote is valid in many situations in life. b) It will explicate the validity of the quote by relating it to Amy Tan’s story, “Fish Cheeks.” III. Body Passage-II a) It will contain a topic sentence that Frederick Douglas’ quote is, however, not valid in some circumstances in human life. b) The paper will show that in certain circumstances, Douglas’ quote is not applicable, using a couple of generalized examples. c) George Orwell’s story, “Shooting the Element,” will be subsequently used to first superficially establish the frailty of Douglas’ argument and will state that on a deeper level it emphasizes his claim. IV. Body Passage-III a) This will contain the topic sentence that Douglas’ quote is relevant in many other situations also. b) The paper will illustrate the validity of Douglas’ quote using the example of Helen Keller’s “The Story of My Life.” V. Conclusion: This will contain a brief discussion of why Douglas’ quote is relevant in most of the situations in life and also reiterate the thesis statement VI. Reflection: This will explain the scope of an argumentative essay and explicate how I have compiled such a paper, adhering to the relevant norms. Rough Draft of an Argumentative Essay on Douglas’ Quote Significant sayings by some people become popular due to their relevance to human life and are accepted as famous quotes. However, exceptions apply in some situations where the meaning of such quotes becomes insignificant. Frederick Douglas’ Quote, “I prefer to be true to myself even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others, rather than to be false, and to incur my own abhorrence,” is a relevant example of this notion. Douglas’ intention is that people need to maintain their true identify even if others may mock them for being what they actually are. On the other hand, by pretending to be something what they actually are not, people will lose their self esteem. Douglas’ quote, though it may appear inapplicable in some of the situations, is quite valid in most of the circumstances in life. It is true that human beings should respect their true identity and should not pretend to be what they actually are not. Amy Tan’s story, “Fish Cheeks,” eloquently illustrates the validity of this concept. Amy Tan endures a conflict, where she wants to be become an American, by eschewing her true identify of being a Chinese woman. Her mother, on the other hand, always reminds her that she should not disregard the Chinese cultural values while trying to embrace the American way of life. Amy believes that Robert, a pastor’s son whom she loves, is holding back because of the reason that she is Chinese. She feels excited when the father and son visit their home for dinner. Her parents exhort her to display her Chinese culture even when she is in the midst of Americans and be proud about their Asian heritage. At the dining table, Amy’s father proudly tells the Americans that “fish cheek” is his daughter’s favorite and she feels ashamed (Tan). However, she realizes that American and Chinese cultures will not blend well and decides to recognize and respect her true identify. Amy’s problem is that she wants to pretend to be something which she actually not. In fact, no culture is superior to another and Amy should have realized this rather than nurturing a misconception about American culture being superior and trying to imitate it. In this context Douglas’ quote is highly relevant because a Chinese person needs to understand that he or she cannot be an American, and respect his or her culture. However, in some situations in human life, the concepts of Douglas’ quote become irrelevant. This will become evident if one considers the fact that in certain circumstances people will have break a rule or act against an established norm. It can be illustrated through the example of a mother, who decides to disregard the community park’s sign that says, “Keep off the Grass.” She enters the grass area, violating the regulation, in order to retrieve her child who has escaped her arms and gone to the prohibited area. Thus, under the present situation, her primary responsibility is to ensure the safety of her child and bring her back even at the cost of punishment rather than leaving her child at risk. Similarly, in the case of an undercover operative, he cannot always uphold his true identity because it will not only hamper his personal safety but also will be detrimental to the national security. Thus, it transpires that Douglas’ claim cannot be sustained under all the circumstances in the life of a person. However, further evidence suggests that Douglas’ concept is highly valid in most of the situations in people’s lives. George Orwell remains concerned about the manner in which the Burmese people treat Europeans. Their issue stems from the fact that they have remained a colony of the British regime and hence they feel that all Europeans are tyrants. Therefore, Orwell does not act like an average European and molds his behavior appropriately when he is in the company of Burmese people. However, despite this, he gets stigmatized as an abuser and when he is tripped by fellow football players, the audience holler in joy rather than sympathizing with him (Orwell). On a surface level it may appear that Orwell’s modification of his behavior challenges Douglas’ theory of upholding one’s true identity. However, if one thinks deeply on this story, it will become evident that Orwell has never wanted to pretend to be someone he is not, like in the case of Amy Tan, and he never abhors European culture. He just makes some modifications to suit the Burmese people but they uphold their true nature and display their dislike openly. Thus, it can be construed that this story rather validates the claim of Douglas rather than refutes it. Further, the contention of Douglas that a person always needs to recognize and uphold his true self also becomes a valid theory through the story of Helen Keller. Right from her childhood, she has yearned to be herself and remain true to what she actually is. Thus, she writes frankly that during 1880s, as a child, she has dominated African American home companions, servants and their children. Keller (1905 11) clearly speaks that by virtue of her father being a Confederate Army Captain, Martha Washington always obeyed Helen Keller’s commands unquestioningly. Thus, rather than pretending to be a neutralist, Helen Keller openly writes about her having discriminated African Americans. However, her revelation of her true self has never undermined her qualities. This story again establishes the validity of Douglas’ proposition that one has to remain true to one’s self. People propose various theories, some of which become famous for their relevance to human life. However, all aspects of such theories will not hold good for all circumstances. Similarly, the concepts in Douglas’ quote do not apply to some of the situations that a human being encounters in his or her life. However, it amply becomes evident that people need to uphold their true identity and respect themselves for what they are rather than pretending to be what they actually are not. Of course, there can be exceptional circumstances and a human being has to exercise his or her discretion, by analyzing the situation, to decide the right course rather than blindly sticking to a concept. Personal Reflection: Writing this argumentative essay has been an enriching and rewarding experience through which I have learned how to maintain a stance on a particular issue and argue my points in a logical manner. I have also recognized the need for acknowledging the view of the opposition and refuting it with reasons and justifications. Initially, I have been inclined to disagree with Douglas’ contention that one needs to reveal the true identity. However, as I evaluated the sources used as the evidence for this paper, it has dawned on me that in most cases his argument is valid while in some cases it becomes less significant. Thus, I have modified my thesis and, based on the evidence from the stories, argued my stance. I have evaluated the stories by Amy Tan, George Orwell and Helen Keller in their right perspectives and delineated all information necessary for arguing my points as well as refuting the opposition’s view. I find that Douglas’ quote reflects an appropriate content that can be subjected in a argumentative essay. It also gives the leeway for counter arguments but based on the relevant evidences, Douglas’ argument is sustainable. Works Cited Keller, Helen. The Story of My Life. New York: The Century Company, 1905. Oswell, George, Shooting the Element, retrieved October 11, 2012 from Tan, Amy. Fish Cheeks. Retrieved October 12, 2012, from   Read More