Welcome to your online discussion of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave!
Together with members of your book group, you’ll be reading Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass over the next several weeks. Although you're not required to take notes while you read, it would be wise to keep track of important events and characters for your own clarification. You are, however, expected to participate regularly and thoughtfully in an online discussion of FOUR essential questions.
Here's how it works:
Divide your book into three roughly equal sections. You need to have read and blogged about these sections by the due dates below.
There are two kinds of posts in this discussion: responses and comments.
Responses = direct responses to the essential questions
- Post at least TWO responses for each section of your book (SIX overall).
- You must comment on all of the essential questions over the course of your reading.
- One of your six responses can be a “free-response" post.
Comments = comment on someone else’s posted response or comment
- Post at least THREE comments for each section of your book (NINE overall).
Due dates:
- Post your first set of responses and comments by Friday, April 1.
- Post your second set of responses and comments by Monday, April 11.
- Post your third set of responses and comments by Monday, April 25.
Essential Questions:
- How does the story (setting, characters, plot, etc.) illuminate aspects of African-American culture? Be specific! (Page references are helpful.)
- How does the story (setting, characters, plot, etc.) illuminate aspects of African-American history?
- In what ways does this book refute the notion of the “single story”?
- How does the story (setting, characters, plot, etc.) reflect or illuminate the current state of race relations in our country? Have we made any progress as a society?
** Free-response option: Address another issue/episode/or passage in the book that you find
significant for any reason.
Assessment: To earn maximum credit, post thoughtful responses that are at least a short paragraph in length—and carefully proofread! Do not misspell characters' or authors’ names! Also, be sure to include specific references to the text (either details or short quotations). Page numbers, too, are always helpful.
Response to Question #1: I'd like to launch the discussion by highlighting Douglass's observations about slave songs on pages 25-27. Although he was writing decades before the emergence of black gospel music and the blues, he powerfully describes the origin of these popular musical forms—in the wild and woeful slave spirituals. And he's astonished to discover that Northerners often assume that these songs express contentment. To the contrary. He states, "Slaves sing most when they are most unhappy. The songs of the slave represent the sorrows of his heart; and he is relieved by them, only as an aching heart is relieved by its tears" (p. 26). Interesting to think that R&B and even jazz derive from these songs rooted in sorrow.
ReplyDeleteTHOMAS's responses (posted by Ms. Vail)
ReplyDelete1. How does the story (setting, characters, plot, etc.) illuminate aspects of African-American culture? Be specific! (Page references are helpful.)
From page 26-27 Frederick Douglass explained how within the plantation farms the lives of the black slaves are depressing and horrid. By explaining that in the fields you could hear the songs of the slaves. They were singing about how black people are only meant to serve and it is the only songs they know. This brought great sadness to Frederick and he said that just by listening to the songs of the slaves would make him cry and feel only depression and sadness. The culture of African Americans is very dim because. They weren’t aloud to have a culture. They became outcasts of a culture formed by white men.
4. How does the story (setting, characters, plot, etc.) reflect or illuminate the current state of race relations in our country? Have we made any progress as a society?
YES, I believe we have made tremendous amount of progress but their still a long way to go. And sadly I think we are losing progress. Not just with black people. But with Asian, Muslim, and Latino people. We judge people with just a single story and believe that these people are poisoning our country by moving here and immigrating but we don’t seem to realize that this country was founded by immigrants! All Americans BORN in America had relatives or ancestors who were immigrants. For an example I AM an American citizen born in America but my father is from England. I also have relatives who were from Sweden, Poland and Italy. We all need to get a grip and realize that we are all descendants of immigrants from different races and should not discriminate other races who are from places that our relatives or ancestors may of been from.
I totally agree with the amount of progress we've made but I think a lot of the hype about racism (at least around here) isn't really anything but made up. I know only one really racist person And I really don't like him.
DeleteI've not grown up with the single story issue on this topic and I'd never judge someone by the color of their skin, And I feel most people are the same way.
I agree with your observation on his description of the plant farms. I think partly they were racist just because they thought they were superior but also because they needed to assert their authority so they could continue production of cotton and other products. This doesn't mean that its ok.
DeleteWhen you spoke about the other races and religions being prejudiced against, I definitely agree. I see more attacks on them than I do on blacks. I don't know why so many people don't like them, partly out of fear for some possibly.
DeleteI agree with the amount of progress as well although we have seem to come to a plateau I think it is because of what types of people within these races we are looking at not the race itself I've also noticed people and very uneducated about what racism is, there are different types of people too there are ones who make racial jokes but most of these people are in facting joking and making a laugh then there are true racist who believe there should be no more of these people they should be exterminated or like with African Americans at one point enslaved.
DeleteIn response to your first post, I urge you to consider that African-American slaves, though terribly oppressed, did indeed have a unique culture, which was a mixture of various influences, including that of white slaveowners. Christianity, for example, was compelled by whites. But there were many vestiges of African culture, too, especially in the music. As Alex mentions later, we owe the blues, jazz, and—to some extent—rock n' roll to African-American slave culture.
Delete(Alex H.) Response 1: Frederick Starts off by telling mainly the cruelty he sees in the actions of masters and their kin. In pages 34 and 35 he tells about the murder of many slaves and how no one was taken to court for the deeds. One time an old man on sunday was searching for oysters, strayed off of his master’s property and was shot by another slaveholder. Or when the cousin of Douglass’s wife fell asleep when caring for a baby, and didn’t hear it cry, her mistress beat her to death with a piece of firewood. Neither was taken to a court for trial.
ReplyDeleteIt's awful how cruel some people were back then. How could someone torture another human being? And enjoy it?! It's a relief that issues such as this don't occur often as they did back then.
DeleteI agree with both of you the fact that someone can sit and there and whip someone to the point of bleeding and till they are screaming bloody murder, then on top of that find enjoyment in doing so. It is insane to think that there were people like that.
DeleteJett Gould
Unfortunately, I fear the appetite for torture is alive and well. Maybe not obviously in our everyday world (though we know domestic abuse is a big problem in Maine), but we know about groups that use torture with captives. Even the U.S. has engaged in torture recently, in Abu Graib and Guantanamo. So it's a present-day reality.
DeleteIn my opinion, there is a HUGE difference between whipping a slave and waterboarding a known terrorist or enemy to the united states army. Torture is a difficult subject, its all grey with very little black and white areas (no pun intended towards the slavery.) But for people who behead our soldiers and citizens and if not stopped are (and have previously been) a direct threat to us?
Deletethats different than beating a man for disobeying his "Master"
In response to your comment, Alex, I would only say that an "insubordinate" slave and a terrorism suspect might be considered equally threatening to their respective masters (white slaveowner & U.S. captors). Both would have their own reasons for arguing that torture is a fully justified means to an end. But that wasn't my point; I was merely acknowledging that torture is still practiced. It's not a vestige of the past.
Delete(Alex H.) Response 2: Douglass tells about the songs the slaves sang when heading to get their monthly food allowance or yearly clothing allowance. He says many men thought it was because they were happy, but it was actually the opposite. They sang about their sorrows and all the misdeeds that had been done to them, their friends, or their family. How they’d been separated from their mothers, or had been whipped by a cruel master. Along with these songs and the songs they sang in the fields, this really started what we know as Jazz now.
ReplyDeleteIndeed it did start what we now know as jazz and as they sang in the fields can picture the setting and scene of what they are doing the book gives great detail I think and purposly paints a very clear image in your mind about what really happened.
DeleteIt's interesting how they managed to get through days and years of working such hard labor. Very hard life for them.
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ReplyDeleteI think we have made progress in elmintating racism but the argument I see all the time is the immigrant arguement and this is where people can sound quite dumb this is the way I look at you may have a different opinion but this is mine I'm fine with immigrants but illegal immigrants I will not accept all it is unessecary to argue their case about why they should be able to stay if you want to come over and stay you do it the legal way I this to the African Americans they brought over during the slave times I accept those people because the government created an amendment that made those people legal citizens so I can understand if white people did not like the ones that came in after that but THAT GIVES THEM NO RIGHT TO TREAT THEM THE WAY THEY DID.
ReplyDeleteI agree completely. People who are legal citizens I have absolutely no issue with. But when people come here illegally, thats when I have a problem with things. Then theres the issue of slavery - the government, in the 13th amendment, made all slaves of american people legal citizens. That, as you said is completely acceptable. People who come in after the fact and claim to be citizens but aren't are where the real problem is.
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DeleteAlso on page 39, He calls leaving to Baltimore a gateway, and that if he'd never left Lloyd's plantation he'd never have been as successful as he was when he wrote this book. Very likely actually, if he'd never left he'd have been a slave his whole life.
ReplyDeleteHe was also the only one who got that chance from Lloyd's plantation. And immediately he claims that this wasn't chance, it was divine intervention. It was his chance given to him by god. He inadvertently shows how religion was important to him, and as such, likely important to other slaves as well.
would have been a slave until 1865 when the 13th amendment was passed that is. not his whole life.
DeleteWell, of course religion was important to them it was the only thing good that they had to hold onto and to participate in it was also one of the only things that boosted the slaves spirits as well as giving them hope.
DeleteIt kept slaves on their feet. They thought that if they continue working and pushing there would be a paradise waiting for them. It would be their reward.
DeleteOn page 39 he says "And here I saw what I had never seen before; it was a white face beaming with the most kindly emotions; It was the face of my new mistress, Sophia Auld".
ReplyDeleteI saw this as not only an insight to the slaves life of so many masters being cruel to them, but also as an insight to the average master; they were cruel yes, but to keep power. This lady, on the other hand, was nice to Douglass, and that would want to make him stay there more than any cruel master would.
But on page 40 and 43 she changes. She stopped teaching him the alphabet and "the tender heart became stone," and she became cruel to him.
It didn't stop him from reading though.
No it encouraged him to read it drove him gave him a desire to read and what you have said here is very true I agree that what is being portrayed is that barley anyslaves had ever seen someone so nice but it's was only to become a crule joke after she learned what slaverey indeed was.
DeleteYes, she abruptly stopped teaching him how to read. Why? One warning from her husband, the plantation master, was all it took. I'm glad you called attention to this episode because it was "a revelation" to Douglass, who says, "From that moment, I understood the pathway from slavery to freedom" (41). The power of literacy! Why was literacy among slaves so threatening to whites?
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ReplyDeleteI found the fact that Fredrick used his freedom of welcomed bread to give the poor hungry kids in exchange for them to teach him I think this goes to show that it was the adults of that generation that interpreted colored people as slaves because the kids didn't see a difference he was no different than you or I only difference was the color of his skin and of course to the kids its not a big deal.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised how compassionate he was to others considering what he's been through. Most people would look out for themselves.
DeleteWhen Fredrick called his trip to Baltimore a gateway he in a sense is right it for him was a gateway to knowledge which although he may not have found that important or hadn't understood the importance of the knowledge he was learning, it would open up a gateway for the realization that colored men were not slaves they were not less than any white man around him at the core they were indeed the same but it was perception of skin color that truely separated them in my understanding that is.
ReplyDeleteWhen Frederick explained how so many white people in his plantation were never punished for murders I found it dreadful. Beating another human being is bad enough. Murdering them in cold blood is even worse. I wonder how many slaves were abused that badly back then. What's even worse is that there is more slaves today in our country than ever before with human trafficking.
ReplyDeleteIn what ways does this book refute the notion of the “single story”?
ReplyDeleteBack then people thought of slaves as animals. Unimportant people that were just used as tools. But those people never felt their pain, their suffering. I’m sure if any slave owner lived the life of a slave he wouldn’t enjoy it whatsoever. People grew up thinking that black slaves were worth nothing. But that is just a single story because black slaves were just the same as any white man. The only difference being the color of their skin. The fact that people judge people just by their skin and not their emotions or personality is just wrong and ignorant.
Yes, Thomas, it strikes us today as terribly wrong and ignorant. But owning human property was a pillar of white power back then. They found any means to justify it as their right. They even claimed the Bible as a source of justification. Douglass's master, for instance, justified whippings by quoting Luke: "He that knoweth his master's will, and doeth it not, shall be beaten with many stripes" (57). Ever heard Shakespeare's line "The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose?" There you go.
DeleteIn a way I admire Frederick’s determination. As a slave who knew nothing who couldn’t read write or knew how to handle money he managed to teach himself how to handle that. I mean the man taught himself how to read! I find that amazing. He is also very compassionate after everything he's been through most people would fend for themselves but he gave food to others showing kindness. It’s a shame we don't have more people like that. But I am grateful we do have people in this country, and in this world that have a kindness with in their heart.
ReplyDeleteoh definitely. I know very few people who would have near the ability to stay strong for that long, but it was all so trivial! people deeming others inferior and beating them, because what?
DeleteThey wanted free work, and created something that still creates tension between people today.
Going off Alex's comment I think that america today reflects why we had slavery at that time. I mean look at how lazy the people in america are today its absurd how lazy and how small of a drive they have to get anywhere in life. However part of this is most likely cause by how easy it is to get government aid these days show that it possibly may have been like that then so they just used people to do the work and they didn't have to do anything except count their money.
Delete^^^ by jett gould
DeleteOverall I found this autobiography very interesting. It gives you a different view point of life back then. There is a huge difference between being a white person and a black person back then, and is interesting. I found this story to be very inspirational as well. Frederick has an amazing determination and care for his people. But it also shows how cruel and corrupt white people were when it came to slaves. At least there were many white people in the north who disapproved when it came to slavery. Which of course is one of the reason why The American Civil War occurred
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DeleteI agree, but slavery was just one of the reasons for war. Political tensions were brewing, and it was a powder keg ready to blow, it just needed a spark.
DeleteSlavery was that spark, and it gave a reason for them to start the sensless killing.
I'd also say that his notes on singing, and how the white men thought it was to be joyful, when it was really pain were very deep and impressive, and showed another of the gaps between whites and blacks then. They couldn't understand each other
DeleteI as well find it very interesting we got to see a view through the eyes of someone who was once a slave and incredibly was able to tell his story by learning how to read and write, its phenomenal feat done probably only by him and maybe a handful of others if that. So this autobiography was spectacular in the view and insight that it gave of slavery.
DeleteI was very interested in Douglass' book, and he can definitely give a better perspective on it than some historian looking back now. He definitely could show the cruelty showed not only to him, but to everyone, even from just his perspective. Pity that the southerners supported it for so long, but it was because of the plantations that they deed. They wanted cheap labor.
ReplyDeleteExactly these historians can bull-crap they're way through how hard it was for slaves to live, work, etc... but they cant come close to how Frederick Douglass was able to tell how hard a cruel slavery was because he was a slave! and if that cant tell you how hard and cruel it was than nothing can.
DeleteI was in the end surprised at how much cruelty there was – obviously the slaveholders wanted to keep their slaves, but senseless cruelty? they didn't really even believe that they were human, or at least they didn't want to.
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine even the worst of people doing that to someone that was human too. Maybe that was another reason they didn't deem them human, their guilt pushed them to it.
That was the issue of slavery how do you stop people from doing something that in the majority of the publics eyes was ok? People didn't want to admit that these people they were beating, killing, torturing, driving into the dirt were human I think that part of the issue was people didn't want to wrap their head around the fact that they were people it would make them feel to guilty as to have they have been doing to the men, woman, and children. If I had done this I wouldn't want to believe that they were human either the amount of guilt felt would be unmeasurable.
ReplyDeleteI found this book much more interesting than I had originally antisapated it to be. Learning the trickery that was hidden and built into slavery I found astonishing. The cruelety was more than I had imagined, and seeing this cruelty through the eyes of a slavey was fasenating. No other aunther could have know slavery better than this man. They fact that he conqured the almost impossible feat of reading was quite spectacular. I would recommend this book so somebody because of the great story that this man Mr. Fredrick Douglass has to te
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