Great Works II

After reading the first part of Douglass’ biography, I was overcome with emotion.

This was one of the very few books that actually cut me to the core as I absorbed all the vivid detail of the cruelty Douglass faced when serving Colonel Lloyd and then the Aulds. I was surprised by his strength and will seeing that his innocence was broken from the day he was born (being separated from his mother and what not) to what was his present state when it was time to recall all those memories of his misadventures and misfortunes. However, I was taken aback to how he was hardly affected when his mother died when he was seven years old. I guess maybe it’s that he was never able to experience the bond between mother and child, but even so, this was his mother, the same mother that gave birth to him from her womb, the same mother who made the trek of 12 miles just to be there with him on those cold and hopeless nights.

Looking at his experiences with literacy, and his subsequent indirect interaction with Hugh Auld and his wife, Douglass realizes the foil of slavery: not having any knowledge. When he learns this lesson, he attains enlightenment and realizes that in order to be free, he would need to learn and seek knowledge to change his circumstances. I view this as the rebound of his life as he is finally given one chance to escape his life as a slave and live freely. He subsequently exploits his enlightenment to further improve ability to recognize the alphabet and his minute reading skills as his continues to practice them with the help of some local boys who he asks for lessons in exchange for bread. He does this for seven years.

When it came for him to learn how to write, he showed equal determination and continually as well as painstakingly learned how to write. Tragedy befalls him again having been threatened to go back to the plantation to work under Captain Andrews, but narrowly escapes with sheer luck. I can only say how remarkable it was for Frederick Douglass to withstand the horrors of slavery especially at such a young age. His perseverance for literacy is also remarkable considering how impassioned he was when it came to learning that there could be more ways than one to escape the miseries of slavery. It takes real courage and determination to push forward and fight the oppression that has bound him for so long.