Would it be possible to live without fear? Can fear change one's perspective on life? Fear is defined as an unpleasant emotional feeling caused by belief in the possibility of danger or pain. No matter how big or small, everyone has fears. In the “Slave Narrative of Frederick Douglass” written by Frederick Douglass and the 1951 John Huston film The
Red Badge of Courage, a person's fear has a profound impact on them. This essay is meant to demonstrate the types of fears featured in these compositions and how it affects the characters. Literary works like these illustrate how fear can have a powerful physical, psychological, and emotional grip on individuals.
Fear can be a physically exhausting disadvantage for a human’s body. Too much
fear
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This trepidation causes him to run midbattle for safety. Both examples from these literary works show the pain and harm resulting from a mental effect. These outcomes of fear end up showing readers and watchers how strong
Frederick and Henry are.
When fear and emotions combine a deadly weapon is acquired. An emotion as basic as fear exists in every human being. A single emotion like fear triggers a multitude of emotions, causing panic. Despite Douglass’s and Henry's fears, they persevered for their own reasons. Frederick Douglass wrote his narrative to show people what it was like to be a slave and all the hardships that came along with it. He had a strong will to survive and was emotionally exhausted, but he wanted to earn equality and be the first step toward abolishing slavery. In Henry’s case, he was scared of being sent to war because he feared disappointing his mother and not showing courage on the battlefield. Henry's goal in the film was to prove he wasn't scared and would fight courageously. Later in the film, it is discovered that he runs away, midbattle, driven by terror. As a means of feeling respect and glory, he wanted to fight. As a result of his participation, Henry thought
Henry was a novice fighter coming into his first battle, Battles can be scary especially being new to it and not having experience. The first battle made Henry nervous. Henry didn't want to be a whimp and run again so he fought. He had to show he was not a weak soldier. Henry wasn't expected to be a great soldier at first.
Take for example people who hate feeling fear. If someone hates the feeling of fear and goes ahead and reads a horror story their experience will be quite a displeasure due to their dislike. With this in mind, As I read through the story “The Intruder” by Andre Dubus I at first felt a feeling of worry which then transformed into confusion. Though most would think that I disliked this piece due to my reactions I quite enjoyed it because these feelings enhanced the suspense and surprise that came at the end of the story. Nevertheless, my worries came to fruition quite early in the story.
After witnessing the effects that warfare has to the unfortunate and seeing other soldiers flee, Henry loses all memory of the commitment he´s made to his regiment as he is consumed with fear. Due to the horrors and truth that he had just experienced, Henry abandons his fellow soldiers in order to save himself, only to be worried about how he will be viewed and labelled by others, reinforcing his primary concern of vanity and self glory. As Henry fled, this shows that he was not mentally fit to be enrolled into the army as he could not commit to his position due to personal insecurities and fears that are ultimately common in all
By examining Douglass’ narrative his resilience to educate white audiences about the horror of slavery can be seen through his own story. Douglass’ narrative is set up in order for him to give an example of someone who has suffered through slavery and has witnessed first hand the harsh lives of slaves. Although the narrative feels like a success story, Douglass understood that his freedom wouldn't truly feel like freedom until slavery was abolished. By writing, “Sincerely and earnestly hoping that this little book may do something toward throwing light on the American slave system, and hastening the glad day of deliverance to the millions of my brethren in bonds … relying upon the power of truth, love, and justice, for success in my … efforts and solemnly pledging myself anew to the sacred cause, I subscribe myself” (Douglass 76). Sheds light on the idea that slavery was good for the slave.
How Douglass Demonstrated His Courage and How it is a Defining Element of The Human Spirit Frederick Douglass demonstrated many acts of courage in his narrative, many of which gave hope and inspiration to fellow slaves at the time. Slaves were treated very poorly and were given a low place in society. Those who supported slavery despised those who were against it, and any slaves who attempted to stand up for themselves or others were punished severely. To boldly stand up for what is morally right, especially during that time, was an enormous act of courage in itself. “It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog” (Twain).
Courage, shown through mental toughness and physical actions in everyday situations. For instance, war veterans show physical courage fighting for their country. Others show mental courage by simply getting through the day with a positive attitude.
The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass addresses an intensely problematic issue the South had been facing for decades: slavery. He was one of the few slaves who could read and write, which allowed him to be able to write his book. The main reason Douglass wrote the book was to educate people from the North about how slaves were being treated in the South and to attempt to have slavery abolished. Douglass uses his personal stories as a slave to make a persuasive case against slavery.
To begin, Douglass masterfully hooked the reader by relating his experiences to those of the readers. When Douglass related to the reader's experiences it helped him create a deeper connection between them, leading to a deeper understanding of his arguments. He emphasizes: “It caused me more pain than anything else in the whole transaction. I was ready for anything rather than separation.”
Frederick Douglass’s determination freed him from slavery while Henry Fleming’s determination led him to finally earn the courageous gratification he strived for. Douglass is aware of the physical destruction slavery has on a person and is determined to escape and abolish that. Douglass understands the withhold in capability being illiterate has on a person, and he was determined to teach himself how to read and write. Fleming’s determination allowed him to achieve his goal of becoming a courageous hero, although it was not an easy task. Fleming entered the War as a youthful, innocent, soldier and transformed into a tried and trustworthy man.
His motivation was freedom. Witch hit home with me because I have had to fight for my freedom. Furthermore, all Frederick Douglass’s raw, heartfelt emotions are justified, for he was born a slave. He didn’t get to make that choice. All the choices Frederick Douglass did make were for his ultimate goal his freedom.
Fredrick Douglass’ primary intent for writing this autobiography is to expose the horrific realities of slavery to white readers and convince them that he has humanity. In order to do so he shares events in his life that required a great amount of courage. These anecdotes of courage appeal to readers’ ethos and pathos, causing them to sympathize with Douglass and admire his unwavering courage. Therefore, in admiring his courage, white readers are able to recognize Douglass’ humanity because he refuses to become dehumanized by slavery and become his own man. One of Douglass’ most admirable form of courage is his emotional strength.
To show his perception on the very cruel slaveholders, Douglass uses a multitude of adjectives to create an image in his reader’s mind, while also using metaphors to better comprehend the situation. For example, Douglass stated, “No words, no tears, no prayers, for his gory victim, seemed to move his iron heart from its bloody purpose.” By using this metaphor, Frederick Douglass made the reader question how one could be so cruel to another human being. By visualizing one whipping another without any guilt, it makes the audience understand the inhumanity of slavery. In total, this metaphor creates a agonizing image in the reader’s
In “The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass”, Douglass narrates in detail the oppressions he went through as a slave before winning his freedom. In the narrative, Douglass gives a picture about the humiliation, brutality, and pain that slaves go through. We can evidently see that Douglass does not want to describe only his life, but he uses his personal experiences and life story as a tool to rise against slavery. He uses his personal life story to argue against common myths that were used to justify the act of slavery. Douglass invalidated common justification for slavery like religion, economic argument and color with his life story through his experiences torture, separation, and illiteracy, and he urged for the end of slavery.
Throughout the narrative, the author includes his personal stories about experiencing the violence of slavery first-hand. For example, on page 20, he writes about the first time he witnessed a slave, his own aunt, getting the whip. “The louder she screamed, the harder he whipped; and where the blood ran fastest, there he whipped longest…I remember the first time I ever witnessed this horrible exhibition… It struck me with awful force. It was the blood-stained gate, the entrance to the hell of slavery…” The author including his experience of his aunts whipping, in detail, appeals to the emotions of the reader.
This is a clear sign that Henry was not prepared to enlist in the war and was. A true hero would have stayed through it all and would have never given up. At the beginning of the story when only wanted to go against what his mother said, he was immature and misunderstanding. Henry’s mother told him, “Henry, don’t be a fool” (Crane 4). Even though his mother attempted change his mind, the next morning he set out to enlist.