Essay about The Writings of Frederick Douglass and Phillis...

The eyes of potential soul arose into the world in Senegambia, and half way around the world in Easton arisen a soul to be etched into the world forever. A girl , no , a woman I should say given the strength possessed in the soul of her body and mind and certainly a man , a man who will grow to learn fathoms of knowledge breaking the impenetrable minds of those who heard silence. These two were of separate shades although fused from one deep pigment. Two of the most renowned black writers that were for the abolitionist movement in America were Frederick Douglass and Phillis Wheatley. During the times of slavery, finding a literate black slave who could read the very words of a paper who could then think for themselves and†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦In 1845 an extraordinary piece of work by Frederick Douglass was published â€Å"Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave†; this was the life of a man who through many adversities stood tall w ith 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 â€Å"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. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Phillis Wheatley overcame obstacles most people would quiver against. She showed us slavery and she showed us faith. In the poem, she tells us â€Å"Twas mercy brought me from my Pagan land, Taug ht 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 â€Å"Mercy, PaganShow MoreRelatedAnthology on Individual Rights1318 Words   |  6 Pagesworld around us is having individual rights. These rights are prominent in â€Å"Self-Reliance†, â€Å"From Bonifacius: Essays to Do Good†, From Poems on Various Subjects. ‘On Being Brought from Africa to America.†, and From Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: Chapter X,†. Within this anthology, the reader(s) will discover passages that represent the balancing act of individual rights versus societal rights in America. In â€Å"Self-Reliance†, by Ralph Waldo Emerson, the audience can see a theme ofRead MoreFinding Identity in the Pathway from Slavery to Literacy Essay example1103 Words   |  5 PagesYou have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man.† -Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life (1845) The most shameful practices of American history is the act of slavery from the whites to the African Americans. Many African Americans were born into slavery and forced to feel inferior towards their white masters. Actual human beings were treated like animals. The inhumane condition of slavery challenged African Americans to discover their individual true identityRead MoreAnalysis Of Eric Foner, Olaudah Equiano In Voices Of Freedom864 Words   |  4 Pagesnot to be eaten but were to be put to work instead, some may have prefered to just be killed instead. Eric Foner, Letter of Phillis Wheatley (1774), In Voices of Freedom, Vol 1, Page 118 In this letter, Phillis Wheatley is writing to Reverend Samson Occum discussing her appreciation on their shared beliefs that slaves have just as much natural rights as them white folk. Wheatley wrote, â€Å"how well the cry for liberty, and the reverse disposition for the exercise of oppressive power over other agree†Read MoreEssay about Phillis Wheatley1780 Words   |  8 PagesPhillis Wheatley Phillis Wheatley was Americas first black poet. She was born in Senegal, Africa in 1753 and she was sold into slavery at the age of seven to John and Susannah Wheatley of Boston. Phillis was soon accepted as a member of the family, and was raised with the Wheatleys other two children. Phillis soon displayed her remarkable talents by learning to read and write English. At the age of twelve she was reading the Greek and Latin classics, and passages from the Bible. At thirteenRead MoreLiterature Has The Power Of Free2443 Words   |  10 Pagesperspectives, and help erase prejudices. Though, to be honest, looking at the other side of the coin, it can also strengthen biases that are already in place. Regardless of people’s stances on issues, some find solace in reading; others find solace in writing. Anne Frank said, â€Å"I can shake off everything as I write; my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn.† Books inspire people. Just by Anne Frank’s diary alone, has in spired over that 25 million people. Since it was first published in 1947, Anne Frank’sRead MoreLiterature Has The Power Of Literature3178 Words   |  13 Pagesperspectives, and help erase prejudices. Though, to be honest, looking at the other side of the coin, it can also strengthen biases that are already in place. Regardless of people’s stances on issues, some find solace in reading; others find solace in writing. Anne Frank said, â€Å"I can shake off everything as I write; my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn.† Books inspire people. Just by Anne Frank’s diary alone, has inspired over that 25 million people. Since it was first published in 1947, Anne Frank’sRead MoreAfrican American Literature2022 Words   |  9 PagesAfrican-American Influence on American literature African American literature can be summarized as the writings of authors from African descent. In the United States, African descendents have had very different experiences from each others depending on where they lived. In the southern states of the United States, Blacks have been really oppressed until the Civil War, with the big part being illiterate well into the end of 1800. In the northern states ,Blacks had a considerable greater freedomRead MoreAll Men Are Created By Thomas Jefferson2254 Words   |  10 Pagesneeds to be able to define that phrase and the standards of humanity themselves to understand the history and policies of human rights in America. In early America, standards of humanity were based on religious standards adapted from John Locke’s writing molded to fit societal hierarchy by Jefferson and the founding fathers in their vision of the country. African Americans worked hard to fight the hypocrisy of these claims, but it would take more than a ce ntury for changes to be made for the goodRead MoreHarriet Beecher Stowe s Uncle Tom s Cabin3362 Words   |  14 Pagesregarded as a sentimentalist, racist novel was at the time seen as a powerful assault against slavery and specifically the fugitive slave act: â€Å"Stowe’s novel set off an astounding public response unique in the history of American publishing. Frederick Douglass reported that the first edition of 5,000 was gone in four days and that in one year Uncle Tom’s Cabin sold more than 300,000 copies† (Yarborough 45). While Stowe has been praised for her novel, it has also been surrounded in a great deal ofRead MoreAnalysis Of James Wright s The Blues Essay2277 Words   |  10 PagesAs Bryan Crable notes, Burke and Ellison had the closest intellectual and social relationship when Burke was writing A Rhetoric of Motives—and, I would add, when Ellison was writing Invisible Man. Crable points out that the Rhetoric is â€Å"the only one of Burke’s books to cite Ellison,† in large part because Ellison’s 1945 essay â€Å"Richard Wright’s Blues† (which called Wright’s just-released memoir Black Boy â€Å"a nonwhite intellectual’s statement of his relationship to western culture† that illuminates