Final Post - Douglass

The book “Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass” was one of the far most interesting books I have ever read in my life. It contained first hand incidents, not in much detail but extremely easy to picture. I actually expected most of the things I heard but some of them were doing way too much. One of the things that really made me think that this book was a fake was when Douglass discussed how there were people at the plantations that were not really of much authority and yet they did the most whipping. I figured that it was not true and I did not think that white people would be that horrible. The reason I felt that way was just because Douglass said that some of the white people on the plantations focused on the slaves every little move so that they could find reasons to whip them and when they were whipping a slave, they did it with no emotion. That naturally disgusted me, it was disturbing to think that people in the world did such things and I began to think that the book was, like I said, a fake.

I think that this was a narrative that was very inspirational and it had me questioning various things which I would like to address. First off, I was confused at how a slave could get away with doing half of the things that Fredrick Douglass did. For instance, in a previous book post, I discussed how Douglass had choked his master and from then on, had barely ever gotten whipped. That was probably the most surprising thing that I read. I was astonished at how he could have gotten away with it because considering the types of people he described in his narrative, I would have expected him to get whipped to death right on the spot. On top of that, I would have thought that because of his actions, Douglass would have been killed instead of left alone. These events lead to the next thing that got me thinking. Mr. Fredrick said that his years in slavery following that specific incident weren’t as bad as it could be. He encountered very sweet women that fed him well and work wasn’t as bad.

Although this book was the most interesting and inspirational thing I have ever read, I have to admit that I was bored out of my mind in the beginning. Slavery is something that catches my attention and learning about it is something that I have always enjoyed. However, I started to change my mind because the book felt like it was dragging and didn’t seem to really be going anywhere. It started off explaining the people he was with and all so I thought it was okay because it was just setting everything up. However, it kept on going and going for a few chapters. I can safely say that I read about 3 chapters just talking about who he encountered most of the time, and to be honest, I could care less. I was more interested in knowing what he went through, when he went through, and how he went through it. As I had to read these parts of the book, I could literally feel my eye lids getting heavier and heavier and they were about ready to drop and close shut. I read and read and realized that it was not just what he was talking about that made this book so boring, it was the words he would use. Half of the words that were used I did not understand which naturally made me bored.

Although this book bored me to death, I finally found it to be worthy of my time towards the middle and end. From the interesting to questionable to boring parts, I decided that putting it together, it makes just another book. Since I love reading, I was able to force myself to not give up but to rather keep on going and read. As I read, I found this book to have a strong moral. Although I find this moral in every single book I read, this time it was the most obvious. I felt like the moral of this book was to say that even though you feel like there is no way out, that you are stuck with the one lifestyle, and that you can’t change it, you are wrong. You can always get out of every situation if you are willing to do that for yourself. If you are willing to work on something and step up like Douglass did, you can get out of everything. Not necessarily choking someone but anything else.  

Overall, this book was boring, interesting, and through it all, I was engaged in it. Okay, AND I might sound like I am contradicting myself big time but the thing with this book is that most of the book was boring whilst other part were interesting. So yeah...

Fredrick Douglass #2

So far, my book has been one of the most interesting I have ever read. Compared to my last post, I have a lot more positive things to say. Starting off with the how the book is 100 percent more interesting, I actually read the book and visualized every scene rather than think about other things. I was surprised at most of the things I read because I would have never imagined that slaves were capable of doing most of the things they did. This is exemplified on page 68,

"Mr. Covey seemed now to think he had me, and could do whatever he pleased; but at this moment-from whence came the spirit I don't know- I resolved to fight; and suiting my action to the resolution , I seized Covey hard by the throat; and as I did so, I rose. He held on to me, and I to him. My resistance was so entirely unexpected, that Covey seemed taken all aback. He trembled like a leaf. This gave me assurance, and I held him uneasy, causing the blood to run where I touched him with the ends of my fingers." 

Mr. Covey had Douglass for only and year and until that year was over, Douglass was to obey and listen to everything Covey said until the one year term was over. After that, Douglass was going to be transferred to another person and serve another one year term. But that is beside the fact, what surprised me is that fact that for the first time a slave stood up for himself. What that shows is that it was a turn in slavery, if not a major turn, it was a turn that counts. In my opinion, I think that even one person that can stand up will eventually lead to a bunch of other slaves standing up. Overall, the book was inspirational and I got a lot out of this.

Fredrick Douglass

As I was looking for a book when I came across something boring looking yet interesting. I have always found myself to be interested on how it might have felt to be a slave. To have been a witness of people getting whipped, to sleep in the cold, to have limited food... I always wanted to know how the slaves were able to get through it. I stood and stared at the book in front of me, it was called "Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass, an American Slave" by none other than Fredrick Douglass himself. It was obviously the answer to most of my questions. So I decided to go with the book and have a lot to say about how it is.

So far, this book have given me the best visuals possible. Douglass does not really describe the situations in his book that much, yet I still picture every single part. I am able to follow. Considering the things he would say in the book, he made it obvious what the point of this narrative was.

"Slavery soon proved its ability to divest her of those heavenly qualities. Under its influence, the tender heart became stone, and the lamb-like disposition gave way to one of tiger-like fierceness."

 Before this part, Douglass was talking about how the lady that was his master's wife was the sweetest he had ever met and she really took care of her slaves. However, slavery changed this kind-hearted lady into a harsh and demanding control freak. I believe he is trying to say that slavery was something that messed with everyone's minds. Even the kindest soul can change dramatically once under the influence of slavery and basically just power over someone.

What I did not like about the book was how it got boring at times. Sometimes it just made me want to fall back and just go to sleep. It got to the point where my eyes were scanning the book while my mind would think about bagels and hot chocolate. So I would sit there, scan through the text and then think about what I should eat at lunch or what I should do for the weekend. After I was done reading, I would go back and reread because I wouldn't know what I just read. Although it was good, it was also twice as boring. But overall, I enjoyed it.