Analysis Of Follow The Drinking Gourd By Frederick Douglass

“The old man is a-waiting for to carry to freedom / If you follow the drinking gourd” (4-5). This song, and others, encouraged enslaved African-Americans to escape through the Underground Railroad in order to achieve freedom and equality in the North. To this effect, the development of African American slave vernacular and language promoted a distinct identity based off the situation of blacks in the mid-19th century. Slaves became more patriotic and aroused a sense of individualism derived by this augmentation of unity and fortification in their community. Songs such as “Follow the Drinking Gourd” and “Wade in the Water” aroused a sense of sadness, as confirmed by Frederick Douglass, with the purpose of leading slaves to liberty, and the specific dialect propagated characteristics such as respect and strength through …show more content…
As a result, these concepts produced cohesiveness within the community through a common struggle which empowered African American slaves with the desire for freedom and endowed them with a unique identity. African American slave culture used songs as a source of hope and motivation in order escape their entrapment for a far fruitful future. “Follow the Drinking Gourd” strongly emulates the principle of encouragement to free trapped slaves; the song explains: “The river bed makes a mighty fine road / Dead trees to show you the way / …Follow the drinking gourd” (12-15). This form of African American writing gave slaves authority over their own fate since the purpose of the song was to encourage slaves to escape towards the Underground Railroad and provide directions towards liberty. The gourd was a code name to represent the Big Dipper which points to the North, and each lyric provided