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Jacobs decides to obtain her freedom so that she could protect her children from the horrible conditions that she herself has experienced and so that they may be free. She decides to do this by running away (so her Master thought) and hiding in a 9x7 garret at the top of her grandmothers shed. She stayed inside that garret for 7 years so that she could keep watch over her children as best as she could and so that she could wait for the opportune time to escape to the north. The disadvantage of Harriet Jacobs method by which she obtained her and her children’s freedom is that she lost any little freedoms she did have in order to receive full freedom. She lost a relationship with her children for seven years; she lost sunlight and fresh air, and many other things. Another disadvantage was that she had to endure physical and emotional hardships. Jacobs stated in Chapter 21, paragraph 1 “This continued darkness was oppressive. It seemed horrible to sit or lie in a cramped position day after day, without one gleam of light” (298). Douglass took a different route and perspective to freedom. He was so intrigued with intelligence and education, that intelligence and education was his route to freedom, so that he could become intelligent and educated. With these tools, he would then educate others on the sufferings and wrong doings of the slaves in the South. In Chapter 6, paragraph 3, Douglass states “…I set out with high hope, and a fixed purpose, at whatever cost of trouble, to learn how to read” (410). As a man, he strongly looked at slavery and at freedom right in the eyes. In Chapter10, paragraph 9, Douglass states “You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man” (424). In this quote he is explaining how he defended and stood up for himself against his Master. This action
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The dream that they both shared was freedom for themselves and for their future. As a little girl, Jacobs never even realized that she was a slave. She lived in a comfortable home and had the pleasure of living with and maintaining relationships with most of her family members, therefore, she need not look to the future for freedom. She already felt that she was as free as she needed to be. As a teenager, she realized that she was nothing more than a piece of merchandise to her Master and by the age of twenty, had two children. Jacobs’s concern as a female slave was to provide and protect her children. This was her primary source of persistence and motivation and ultimately led her and her children to freedom. As a man, Douglass’s take on slavery and how he gained his freedom was almost opposite of that of a females. As a child, Douglass had already come to realize that he was owned property. He did not know his mother or father, nor did he know how old he was. He did not have a comfortable home or clothes to wear. Where Harriet Jacobs looks to comfort in times of turmoil, Douglass looks to the prospect of freedom in his future. This outlook saved his life in the darkest of his days. He believed his route to freedom was through education. Douglass insisted on becoming educated, and through his persistence to learn throughout most of his life, he obtained his
The dream that they both shared was freedom for themselves and for their future. As a little girl, Jacobs never even realized that she was a slave. She lived in a comfortable home and had the pleasure of living with and maintaining relationships with most of her family members, therefore, she need not look to the future for freedom. She already felt that she was as free as she needed to be. As a teenager, she realized that she was nothing more than a piece of merchandise to her Master and by the age of twenty, had two children. Jacobs’s concern as a female slave was to provide and protect her children. This was her primary source of persistence and motivation and ultimately led her and her children to freedom. As a man, Douglass’s take on slavery and how he gained his freedom was almost opposite of that of a females. As a child, Douglass had already come to realize that he was owned property. He did not know his mother or father, nor did he know how old he was. He did not have a comfortable home or clothes to wear. Where Harriet Jacobs looks to comfort in times of turmoil, Douglass looks to the prospect of freedom in his future. This outlook saved his life in the darkest of his days. He believed his route to freedom was through education. Douglass insisted on becoming educated, and through his persistence to learn throughout most of his life, he obtained his