“Narrative of the life of Fredrick Douglass” is a book about the life of a black slave living in the south side of America in the 18oo’s.This book show’s how the life of a slave was not easy because they go weeks with out food just working in the fields and living in hard conditions. The life of these slaves was also hard because if the slave owners don’t want one of the slaves any more than they just sell them like they’re a piece of merchandise in a store. This happened to Douglass many times in his life.
Fredrick Douglass is considered a hero too many people not only slaves because he stood up to his masters and did not let them control him. For example he stood up to Edward Covey in January of 1833: this was the first day of Douglass working in the fields and he had to lead some unbroken oxen’s which he barely escaped for his life. Covey saw him failing at leading them and told him to take off his cloths for punishment which was whipping with cow skin. Douglass refused and covey tore off his clothes and whipped him covey continued punishing Douglass occasionally until august 1833 after a hot day when Douglass collapsed and got punished and ran in to the woods where he went to Thomas auld’s house and complained but it did not help cause auld made Douglass go back to the covey farm but Douglass just hid in the cornfields and went back in to the forest a little while after where he met another slave whose name was Sandy Jenkins who told Douglass a root to take from a tree in the forest when he goes back to the fields so he wont get punished. Douglass did not believe sandy bet thought he would try it so he went back to the covey field and covey was being nice to Douglass though and Douglass believed that the root worked so Douglass mostly did what he wanted. But one day Covey caught Douglass at the stables and started to tie his legs but Douglass decided to fight back and grabbed Coveys throat so he would not whip him. Covey was so scared so he called two of his slaves but one got pushed down by Douglass and the other was too scared to fight douglass.Covey and Douglass fought for two hours and Covey never touched Douglass again. I probably would not have the courage to fight back because I would be too afraid of getting killed so Douglass is like a hero for me because he had the courage to do something that I would have no courage to do.
I think the importance of this book is to make people see how the slaves felt and to go in their situation and realize that having slaves is a bad idea because like our school golden rule “You should treat others the way you want to be treated”. Also this book is important because slavery was one of the sad parts of the United States history. People need to remember why and how it happened so that we can make sure it doesn’t happen again.
Reaction:
I feel like no one has the write to own another human being because blacks have the exact same rights of being in this world and living their life the way they want to as anyone else does. This book made my idea that slavery was one of the worst things that happened in history just more strong. I think that god is in all of us and helps us get through the hard times just like Fredrick Douglas.
Comparing Anne Frank and Fredrick Douglass:
They both had to deal with discrimination against their race and both could not live their life the way they wanted to.
I think that Anne Frank was better than Fredrick Douglass for me because I mostly knew about the black slaves because that was in America but I did not know much about the Jews and the Nazis so I got to learn new things in Anne Frank. I do think that both of these movies are great and I would recommend them to people my age or older.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Anne Frank Comparison (movie and book)
The comparison between Anne Frank the book and Anne Frank the movie was a tricky one. If you were the type of person that read the the book you would say it was very boring. With reaccuring scenes everyday and Anne's soap opera-ish style of writing (which does not appeal exciting to many). When looking at Anne Frank the movie you would get a better perspective on the emotional side of the story. The movie would give you a better insight on the story (that is if the story is accurate to the book) with its music, body language from the actors, and scenes. The downside of wacthing the movie is that it's already some other person's perspective on the story. If you had happened to read the book first you would already have a picture in your mind of every scene and wacthing the movie would be wacthing someone else's view on the story.
My responce: I think that the best thing to do is read the book and get a feel for the book then wacth the movie and look at someone elses point of view. Analyze the charachter's pesonalities, appearances, and body language to that of your own and try to compare the two and come up with your own perspective.
My responce: I think that the best thing to do is read the book and get a feel for the book then wacth the movie and look at someone elses point of view. Analyze the charachter's pesonalities, appearances, and body language to that of your own and try to compare the two and come up with your own perspective.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
The Life Of Frederick Douglas
The Life Of Frederick Douglas
Dylan Morrison - Fogel
The Life Of Frederick Douglas is a book about a black slave. He had been a slave his whole life. Douglas had lived his life serving a family in the city. There he learned to read and write from kids that pass by on the street. One day, Douglas was sent to Edward Covey, a brutal slave trader. Covey whipped all of his slaves severely and regularly. Covey made his slaves work all day, spying on them constantly to make sure they did their work. After working to his limits, Douglas collapsed in the fields from tiredness. Covey came up to him and started kicking Douglas in the stomach and back. After the beating, Douglas managed to escape and walk to a hospital. He asked for help from “Master Thomas”. Thomas didn’t believe the story so he let Douglas stay the night, but he had to go back in the morning. As Douglas walked back to the fields, Covey was sitting there waiting for him. Douglas managed to hide himself in the fields so Covey couldn’t find him. Douglas met a fellow slave named Sandy Jenkens, who believed in supernatural powers of plants. He gave Douglas a root that he needed to carry around on his right side. Covey, at first, was nice to Douglas. Then Covey attacked him, and Douglas had to resist physically. Two hours went by and Covey decided to back down. As Covey walked away, he told Douglas that he would not have whipped him half as hard as he would now. Covey did not whip at all. For the rest of the time Douglas spent at Covey’s farm he was not whipped once. Douglas started to realize, at the holidays came around, that the slave holders encouraged getting drunk. He saw that this was the way to keep slaves loyal or humble. A year went by and Douglas was “hired out” to William Freeland. He was happy with Freeland because he was never hit or given religious lectures. Douglas began to grow close to his slave friends, and decided to teach them how to read and write. He made a plan to take a canoe up the Chesapeake Bay to escape his slave holders. Before they even started they were betrayed by someone in their group. Douglas and the group was arrested and sent to jail where Thomas Auld came and ordered his release. Douglas was sent to Aulds brother, Hugh, because Douglas could have been killed by a slave in the community. Hugh sent him to William Gardner who was a ship builder. He then was used to run errands for about 75 men. One day, the people who Douglas was working around (white people), were afraid that the slaved were starting to be self sufficient and would take over their jobs. They started to hit and kick Douglas at the same time. Douglas had promised himself that if he had ever been hit or struck again, that he would fight back. Douglas started to hit back, and the fight just got worse. He was afraid that the men were going to kill him so he escaped and went back to Auld. Auld took care of his wounds and brought Douglas to Gardner to complain. None of the white workers would testify for Douglas and the what the black workers said didn’t count. Auld didn’t let Douglas work with Gardner any more. Instead, Auld sent him to a shipyard where he was foreman. Douglas started to take up caulking (waterproofing) boats. After a while, Douglas was so skilled in his work he was making as much money as the best caulkers. All of the money he made had to go to Auld, though, and this made him more and more determined to escape. Noticing that Auld had lots of money to spare, Douglas decided that he could go to a meeting 10 miles from Baltimore, and pay his weeks wages the next day. Auld was angry with Douglas that he had not received permission to go to a meeting. Auld refused to have Douglas caulking at his workplace anymore, so Douglas had to find work somewhere else. Douglas refused to work for a week in retaliation to Auld. The next week, however, Douglas brought Auld nine dollars (allot back then) and Auld was very happy. Douglas became a free man on September 3rd, 1838 (He did not explain how he escaped). He found a man named David Ruggles, who told Douglas to go to New Bedford to look for work as a caulker. Douglas met a slave named Anna (also free), and he married her. The book then explained the development of the nation after Douglas was married.
Reaction:
I think this book is a good book to read if you want to learn about the history and development of freedom for black slaves in America. This book also gives a first hand look at how slaves were treated and what they did for work. This was a well written biography of Frederick Douglas, because it gives, in detail, the feelings and events happening in his life. I think the book should of explained more on how he achieved his freedom from Hugh Auld and how he traveled out of the state.
Dylan Morrison - Fogel
The Life Of Frederick Douglas is a book about a black slave. He had been a slave his whole life. Douglas had lived his life serving a family in the city. There he learned to read and write from kids that pass by on the street. One day, Douglas was sent to Edward Covey, a brutal slave trader. Covey whipped all of his slaves severely and regularly. Covey made his slaves work all day, spying on them constantly to make sure they did their work. After working to his limits, Douglas collapsed in the fields from tiredness. Covey came up to him and started kicking Douglas in the stomach and back. After the beating, Douglas managed to escape and walk to a hospital. He asked for help from “Master Thomas”. Thomas didn’t believe the story so he let Douglas stay the night, but he had to go back in the morning. As Douglas walked back to the fields, Covey was sitting there waiting for him. Douglas managed to hide himself in the fields so Covey couldn’t find him. Douglas met a fellow slave named Sandy Jenkens, who believed in supernatural powers of plants. He gave Douglas a root that he needed to carry around on his right side. Covey, at first, was nice to Douglas. Then Covey attacked him, and Douglas had to resist physically. Two hours went by and Covey decided to back down. As Covey walked away, he told Douglas that he would not have whipped him half as hard as he would now. Covey did not whip at all. For the rest of the time Douglas spent at Covey’s farm he was not whipped once. Douglas started to realize, at the holidays came around, that the slave holders encouraged getting drunk. He saw that this was the way to keep slaves loyal or humble. A year went by and Douglas was “hired out” to William Freeland. He was happy with Freeland because he was never hit or given religious lectures. Douglas began to grow close to his slave friends, and decided to teach them how to read and write. He made a plan to take a canoe up the Chesapeake Bay to escape his slave holders. Before they even started they were betrayed by someone in their group. Douglas and the group was arrested and sent to jail where Thomas Auld came and ordered his release. Douglas was sent to Aulds brother, Hugh, because Douglas could have been killed by a slave in the community. Hugh sent him to William Gardner who was a ship builder. He then was used to run errands for about 75 men. One day, the people who Douglas was working around (white people), were afraid that the slaved were starting to be self sufficient and would take over their jobs. They started to hit and kick Douglas at the same time. Douglas had promised himself that if he had ever been hit or struck again, that he would fight back. Douglas started to hit back, and the fight just got worse. He was afraid that the men were going to kill him so he escaped and went back to Auld. Auld took care of his wounds and brought Douglas to Gardner to complain. None of the white workers would testify for Douglas and the what the black workers said didn’t count. Auld didn’t let Douglas work with Gardner any more. Instead, Auld sent him to a shipyard where he was foreman. Douglas started to take up caulking (waterproofing) boats. After a while, Douglas was so skilled in his work he was making as much money as the best caulkers. All of the money he made had to go to Auld, though, and this made him more and more determined to escape. Noticing that Auld had lots of money to spare, Douglas decided that he could go to a meeting 10 miles from Baltimore, and pay his weeks wages the next day. Auld was angry with Douglas that he had not received permission to go to a meeting. Auld refused to have Douglas caulking at his workplace anymore, so Douglas had to find work somewhere else. Douglas refused to work for a week in retaliation to Auld. The next week, however, Douglas brought Auld nine dollars (allot back then) and Auld was very happy. Douglas became a free man on September 3rd, 1838 (He did not explain how he escaped). He found a man named David Ruggles, who told Douglas to go to New Bedford to look for work as a caulker. Douglas met a slave named Anna (also free), and he married her. The book then explained the development of the nation after Douglas was married.
Reaction:
I think this book is a good book to read if you want to learn about the history and development of freedom for black slaves in America. This book also gives a first hand look at how slaves were treated and what they did for work. This was a well written biography of Frederick Douglas, because it gives, in detail, the feelings and events happening in his life. I think the book should of explained more on how he achieved his freedom from Hugh Auld and how he traveled out of the state.