Comparing Gwendolyn Brooks The Explorer And Robert Hayden's Frederick Douglass
There are many ways to interpret a literary text. You can interpret it from different levels, such as the literal level, the rhetorical level, or even the metaphysical level. Readers can also view texts from various critical lenses. This is due to the fact that when authors write texts, they often put in many different aspects of various things that can all be interpreted in any number of ways. Poets such as Gwendolyn Brooks and Robert Hayden are good examples of authors who write texts which can be interpreted in many different ways. Gwendolyn Brooks’, The Explorer and Robert Hayden's Frederick Douglass can both be interpreted in both a social perspective as well as in an archetypal perspective. By viewing Gwendolyn Brooks’, The Explorer and Robert Hayden's Frederick Douglass in a social perspective, it is clear to see that they both reflect the struggles of African Americans during the mid-twentieth century. Both of these texts portray a time in American history in which African …show more content…
Brooks does a good job of expressing universal longing in her poem by stating, “Grand griefs. And choices”(p.1064 line 11). By saying grand griefs, Brooks is relaying the idea that there are certain griefs that are felt by humans as a species, and not each one as an individual. Similarly, in his poem, Frederick Douglass, Hayden states, “When it is finally ours, this freedom, this liberty, this beautiful and terrible thing, needful to man as air, usable as earth”(p.1067 lines 1-4). In this excerpt, the author portrays the idea that freedom is something that all men need, not just whites or African Americans, but the entire human population of the world. Through this, it is clear that both authors texts can be seen through an archetypal perspective which expresses universal human
Southern Horrors Lynch Law In All Its Phases Summary
1195 Words | 5 PagesSouthern Horrors Lynch Law in All Its Phases Book Review Da B. Wells-Barnett has written the book under review. The book has been divided into six chapters that cover the various themes that author intended to fulfill. The book is mainly about the Afro-Americans and how they were treated within the American society in the late 1800s. The first chapter of the book is “the offense” band this is the chapter that explains the issues that have been able to make the Afro-American community to be treated in a bad way by the whites in the United States in the late 1800s.
Frederick Douglass And Emerson Comparison
213 Words | 1 PagesFor my topic on Frederick Douglass’ narrative and Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “Self-Reliance”, I will discuss several details and points. These points will include Douglass’ adversity as a slave and Emerson’s journey in making sense of his life and self-identity. Also, in the discussion, I will add the similarities and differences between the thoughts of Douglass and Emerson on how each felt about their masters or Whites in general. These thoughts include Douglass’ reasoning of writing his autobiography, so that the reader it was intended for could understand why abolishing slavery was so important and Emerson’s hope that people would use their inner voice and learn to confront the issues on hand and not what others wanted to instill onto slaves.
Douglass: Wordsworth Vs. Dunbar
430 Words | 2 PagesIn the poems "London, 1802" and "Douglass", although written 100 years apart, they described freedom fighters that fought for justice and equality. Although, the poems differ int he way they are structured and the style that they are written in, both poems were able to commemorate these politcical figures for their important contributions in unique and difficult situations. At first glance, the poems written by Wordworth and Dunbar have many similarities in structure and organization. Both of the poems start off with commemoration of important figures in the past, describe the source of trouble and the poems both end with highlights of the two freedom fighter 's characteristics. The similariteies between the two extend beyond stucture, it goes onto the imagery also.
Frederick Douglass: A True Hero
397 Words | 2 PagesWhen most people think of a hero, they may think of a fireman, police officer, or a soldier. Although this is true, my definition of a 'hero ' is someone who does something dangerous or brave to save another. Someone who just doesn 't get themselves out of a situation, but they also reach out and try to save the others. There are only a select few people who are brave, compassionate and selfless enough, to spend their days improving the world one act at a time with no regard for personal risk or reward. Frederick Douglass was such a man, and he saved the lives of many slaves.
Sandra Cisneros And Frederick Douglass Comparison Essay
2079 Words | 9 PagesGuzman,Alyssa At first glance Frederick Douglass, Malcolm X, and Sandra Cisneros come from different worlds and are completely different people, they lived during different centuries and experienced different things. Frederick Douglass was a slave, Malcolm X was in prison and Sandra Cisneros was the only daughter in a family with six sons. What could these people possibly have in common? They all let reading and writing change their lives, but not necessarily for the better. Reading and writing liberated their mind and help them a better connection to their goal.
Compare And Contrast Lincoln And Frederick Douglass
815 Words | 4 PagesAbraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass are American heroes with each exemplifying a unique aspect of the American spirit. In his recent study, "The Radical and the Republican: Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, and the Triumph of Antislavery Politics" (2007), Professor James Oakes traces the intersecting careers of both men, pointing out their initial differences and how their goals and visions ultimately converged. Oakes is Graduate School Humanities Professor and Professor of History at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He has written extensively on the history of slavery in the Old South. Oakes reminds the reader of how much Lincoln and Douglass originally shared.
Compare And Contrast Frederick Douglass And Benjamin Franklin
942 Words | 4 PagesFredrick Douglas and Benjamin Franklin are both one of the most famous successful in American history. They both followed a certain milestone to make them successful. Even though they are considered hard workers, they both have different obstacles and different views in their lifestyle. Fredrick Douglas used to be a slave who was a fugitive and Benjamin Franklin was young white man who had a rough time with his parent because his parents are very abusive to him. By comparing the difference and similarities by these two great people in American history even though they had their rough times, that does not stop them from their success.
African American Assimilation In America
1716 Words | 7 PagesI will show how abolitionists like Fredrick Douglass and W.E.B Du Bois used literature to fight the preconceptions about the black people. The black man and woman have always had struggles in America, difficulty to assimilate into a society that is mainly made of white people. " Twenty years after Columbus reached the New World, African Negroes, transported by Spanish, Dutch and Portuguese traders, were arriving in the Caribbean Islands.
Frederick Douglass: Overcoming Obstacles
392 Words | 2 PagesThe legendary abolitionist and orator Frederick Douglass was one of the most important social reformers of the nineteenth century. Being born into slavery on a Maryland Eastern Shore plantation to his mother, Harriet Bailey, and a white man, most likely Douglass’s first master was the starting point of his rise against the enslavement of African-Americans. Nearly 200 years after Douglass’s birth and 122 years after his death, The social activist’s name and accomplishments continue to inspire the progression of African-American youth in modern society. Through his ability to overcome obstacles, his strive for a better life through education, and his success despite humble beginnings, Frederick Douglass’s aspirations stretched his influence through
How Did Frederick Douglass Impact The Slave-Free World
1177 Words | 5 PagesFredrick Douglas was a leading American Abolitionist and anti-slavery activist; born a slave, Douglas freed himself when he was twenty years old. Being an activist from the early 1840’s until about 1890 when the Jim Crow Laws were coming to affect (Jim Crow being laws that forced racial segregation). He made waves and changed the lives of millions. In this paper I will discuss what era he lived in, just a few of the thousands of speeches he gave, journal entries he’s written, how he impacted the slave free world we know today and following with some criticism he got when doing such a brave act of giving many people hope. To start, Fredrick was born in February of 1818, dying around February of 1895.
Examples Of Dehumanization In Frederick Douglass
871 Words | 4 PagesFrederick Douglass: An American Slave Destined to Escape the Menacing Effects of Slavery and Humanize Himself in the Eyes of White Culture Frederick Douglass, a former slave and human rights leader in the abolition movement, was born into slavery in Tuckahoe, Maryland in 1818. He spent the first seven years of his life living with his maternal grandmother in a plantation owned by Colonel Edward Lloyd in Talbot County. He was eventually sold to a man named Hugh Auld and sent to live in Baltimore. It was here that Douglass first acquired the skills that would vault him to national prominence as one of the most sought after anti-slavery speakers of the nineteenth century. Defying tremendous odds, Douglass secretly taught himself to read and write.
Critical Analysis Of Learning To Read And Write By Frederick Douglass
1474 Words | 6 PagesFrom the moment Frederick Douglass was given the tools to read “books” he was overcome with a joy and excitement for knowledge that inspired him to persevere regardless of the beliefs of others. As a slave Douglass was sent to live with his masters the Hugh family, during his time there his master’s wife began to teach him to read “books”. The lessons gave the young boy a chance to explore worlds he never imagined and was the beginning of an undeniable love for literature. Unfortunately when his master was informed of this he immediately halted all the lessons. Douglass recalls Mr. Hugh explaining to his wife that studying “books” was not suitable for slaves and
Frederick Douglass Use And Desensitization Of Freedom
155 Words | 1 PagesThe narrative of Frederick Douglas breaks down the very mechanisms used to enslave African Americans; from the deprival of education to an over use and desensitization of violence. What also occurs: is the realization that slavery as a system is able to damage those who are in power and use slavery. Corrupting the morals and empathy of white Americans who come in contact with the societal structure of enslavement. The same cycle which keeps African Americans from breaking free also keeps slave owners on a continuous path of cruelty. As an industry slavery seeks to survive and to do so it must have full support and no opposition; by both parties being changed to fit their roles it is able to do so.
Essay Comparing Frederick Douglass And Harriet Jacobs
486 Words | 2 PagesAfter having read both Frederick Douglass’s Narrative and Harriet Jacobs’s Incident 1. How were Douglass and Jacobs similar and different in their complaints against slavery? What accounts for these differences? In both the inspiring narratives of Narrative in the Life of Fredrick Douglass by Frederick Douglass’s and in Incidents in the life of a slave girl by Harriet Jacobs the respective authors demonstrate the horrors and disparity of slavery in there own ways.
Summary Of Toni Morrison's Nobel Prize Lecture By Toni Morrison
1440 Words | 6 PagesThroughout the course of African American Experience in Literature, various cultural, historical, and social aspects are explored. Starting in the 16th century, Africa prior to Colonization, to the Black Arts Movement and Contemporary voice, it touches the development and contributions of African American writers from several genres of literature. Thru these developments, certain themes are constantly showing up and repeating as a way to reinforce their significances. Few of the prominent ideas in the readings offer in this this course are the act of be caution and the warnings the authors try to portray. The big message is for the readers to live and learn from experiences.
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