Tag Archives: slavery

Alice Walker “In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens”

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Alice Walker argues and proves the artistic abilities of oppressed Black American mothers, grandmothers and daughters during their enslavement and also within her own community growing up. Alice uses a lot of imagery within her text to prove the artistic ability of the slaves, and also what held them back from it. The abuse the women of the time endured, “…forced to bear children who were more often than not sold away from her-eight, ten, fifteen, twenty children” in addition to the lashing and rape, Alice asks the question of how? How could it be that the after all of this the Black American woman survived, to show her strength and artistic ability? Alice uses Phillis Wheatley as an example. She briefs us on her life, and the very few free years she had to express her poetic gift without a white man dictating what she did. Instead her priorities must be elsewhere, with her children. Even though, at the time her work was not considered great by any means, Alice proves “Its is not so much what you sang, as that you kept alive, in so many of our ancestors, the notion of song.”

Alice related her own life with her mothers duties within and outside of their home to that of the life of a slave. She doesn’t do it directly but there is a comparison that she is trying to make. Her mother worked long hours, made sure her children went to school and “made all the clothes we wore, even my brothers’ overalls.” This is her moms ways of not letting the world and others oppress her. “In the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C., there hangs a quilt unlike another in the world. …it portrays the story of crucifixion. It is considered rare, beyond price. Though it follows no known pattern of quilt making…it is obviously the work of a person of powerful imagination and deep spiritual feeling…a not that says it was made by “an anonymous Black woman in Alabama, a hundred years ago”” This here explained that even with the little to no support and even materials she had she still expressed the artistic ability she had, just the same as Alice’s mother did. This, the power of courage and spirt, was what kept the poetry, song and artistic ability alive in the Black American woman after all this time. Well, that, and hope, hope that someday things would change, and there would be a way to express themselves for who they were.

Conclusion of Frederick Douglass

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The conclusion of “Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass” focuses on the hardships of Douglass’ life as he enters adulthood, and his eventual escape from slavery as he heads north. The final two chapters and the appendix show a huge difference when compared to the first few chapters of the story. In Chapter X, we see Douglass go from a passive observer of violence to experiencing the violence first hand. Mr. Covey’s actions of whipping and kicking Douglass are one of the first instances where Douglass is the subject of violence directly to himself. This is a change from the beginning of the story where in the first chapter, Douglass witnessed his aunt being subjected to the violence at the hands of a slave owner. This incident opens Douglass’ eyes even more to the hardships that the slaves had to endure. This situation leads to the start of a plan to escape slavery and head to the north. Ultimately, the original plan doesn’t work out but eventually Douglass is able to reach the freedom that he desires.

Religion plays a huge role in this story, and Douglass addresses it in the appendix. One question that should be asked is why does Douglass feel the need to bring up the topic of religion? Religion was a huge part of the story in the beginning, but in the final few chapters Douglass didn’t speak about it as much and it didn’t play an important role in the conclusion of this story. In the appendix, Douglass explains his reasoning for speaking about religion. He talks about he was talking about “slaveholding religion” and that he was not making references to Christianity. However, after saying this, Douglass makes comparisons between slaveholders and the Christian religion. For example, Douglass says “We have men-stealers for ministers, women-whippers for missionaries, and cradle- plunderers for church members.” Douglass makes these references to religion to show that the slavery culture in the south is similar to the idea of a religion. One other comparison that Douglass makes is, “The slave auctioneer’s bell and the church-going bell chime in with each other.” Douglass makes the notion to show two specific parts of slavery and religion and how they can be in conjunction with each other. Douglass brings up the topic of religion to show how they are similar. Religion and slavery are very different, especially regarding violence. However, Douglass makes comparisons between religion and slavery to show that the slavery culture in the south is like a religion to the slave owners.

Narrative of Frederick Douglass Life

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Frederick Douglass presents us with details of the way life was as a slave, the way society worked in that time era and his train of thought. By reading his story we could create an understanding what it was to be a slave and feel what he felt. We never think or remember the ways we are expose to certain situations because they are not dramatic or have no impact in out life. In the first chapter Frederick Douglass describe a dramatic scene that was welcoming him to a horrible life where his aunt was whipped when she disobey her master, “I was quite child, but I well remember it. I never shall forget it whilst I remember anything…. It was the blood- stained gate, the entrance to the hell slavery”. When he noticed that this was the way life was going be, I was question him. Did he just find out he was a slave? How come he not knows much about it? I figure that no one is really going to tell a kid the awful things and unjust they suffer. As he explains further on he was never expose to anything at this magnitude because he was placed in a come or less peaceful location where the elderlies and kid were.

Later on I found my self-angry at the way of thinking slaveholders had. They were not satisfied that they controlled the freedom of people but they needed to control their way of thinking. Slaves no longer or probably never had the right to speak freely after Colonel Lloyd notice that one of his slave was talking bad about his master to s stranger, “In pursuing this course, consider myself as uttering what was absolutely false”. Slaves were force to make their master seem kind and the best master a slave can have but here he says that he felt that he had no voice. We also see how he had to hide his knowledge after he learns to read and gain more information in his situation because he cannot trust anyone. “I fear they might be treacherous” after the accident of the slave who spoke the truth by he already understood that people were not trustworthy if they were not yet untried.

The life changing scenario for Douglass in my opinion was when master Auld prohibited his wife to instruct him any further because he could become a threat to everyone. He figures that knowledge was something every master fear. As he said the mistake was already done by teaching him the A, B, C from there he thought himself and trick kids on teaching him and trick them in a way he can practice. Here we can see his intelligence. Even though he founded knowledge a curse it was the best thing he could of done.