Theme: Education is power.
One of the many themes in the novel, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, is how education is power. In the novel, Douglass is a former slave who had to face wicked and cruel acts during his life. He learns to read and write and uses his skills to free himself and broaden his horizons. Douglass pursues his goals of learning by “making friends of all the little white boys” and “As many of these as I could, I converted into teachers.”(Douglass 44) He would “carry bread” in which “This bread I used to bestow upon the hungry little urchins, who, in return, would give me that more valuable bread of knowledge.”(Douglass 44) Through literature Douglass realizes the “bold denunciation of slavery, …show more content…
Davis, is the idea of how friendship is used for comfort and strength. During the novel, Douglass explains how he feels “indebted to the society of my fellow slaves.” He “loved them with a love stronger than anything” and “[believed] we would have died for each other.”(Douglass 76) He states, “We were one; and as much so by our tempers and dispositions, as by the mutual hardships to which we were necessarily subjected by our condition as slaves.”(Douglass 76) Companionship made slavery more bearable and sustainable. In the beginning of the book, Douglass explains how “Frequently, before the child has reached its twelve month, its mother is taken from it, and hired out on some farm a considerable distance off...to blunt and destroy the natural affection of the mother for the child” and vise versa.(Douglass 18) Because slaves did not have family to support and comfort them in times of need, they had to depend on their friendships to support their physical and emotional well-being. Similarly, there are cases of these kinds of unbreakable bonds today. In the article “Teens Share Enduring Friendship” by Vincent T. Davis, Adrian Pressey has a special friendship with Kassie Sanchez, a girl who was born with cerebral palsy. Adrian loves caring for Kassie and helps her with life one day at a time. “From the start, Kassie, now 19, would get excited as he’d enter the classroom. Adrian, now 18, would play games with her and help her write her name.”(Davis) Since Kassie is graduating, Adrian will have to “finish his last school year without her. She’ll attend a care center; he’ll catch up with her on the weekends.” ““It’s sad for me,” Adrian said recently, sitting beside Kassie in her living room, “I’ll make sure we’re both happy....”” Both detachable relationships from the novel and the article express that friends support each other
One of the many themes in the novel, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, is how education is power. In the novel, Douglass is a former slave who had to face wicked and cruel acts during his life. He learns to read and write and uses his skills to free himself and broaden his horizons. Douglass pursues his goals of learning by “making friends of all the little white boys” and “As many of these as I could, I converted into teachers.”(Douglass 44) He would “carry bread” in which “This bread I used to bestow upon the hungry little urchins, who, in return, would give me that more valuable bread of knowledge.”(Douglass 44) Through literature Douglass realizes the “bold denunciation of slavery, …show more content…
Davis, is the idea of how friendship is used for comfort and strength. During the novel, Douglass explains how he feels “indebted to the society of my fellow slaves.” He “loved them with a love stronger than anything” and “[believed] we would have died for each other.”(Douglass 76) He states, “We were one; and as much so by our tempers and dispositions, as by the mutual hardships to which we were necessarily subjected by our condition as slaves.”(Douglass 76) Companionship made slavery more bearable and sustainable. In the beginning of the book, Douglass explains how “Frequently, before the child has reached its twelve month, its mother is taken from it, and hired out on some farm a considerable distance off...to blunt and destroy the natural affection of the mother for the child” and vise versa.(Douglass 18) Because slaves did not have family to support and comfort them in times of need, they had to depend on their friendships to support their physical and emotional well-being. Similarly, there are cases of these kinds of unbreakable bonds today. In the article “Teens Share Enduring Friendship” by Vincent T. Davis, Adrian Pressey has a special friendship with Kassie Sanchez, a girl who was born with cerebral palsy. Adrian loves caring for Kassie and helps her with life one day at a time. “From the start, Kassie, now 19, would get excited as he’d enter the classroom. Adrian, now 18, would play games with her and help her write her name.”(Davis) Since Kassie is graduating, Adrian will have to “finish his last school year without her. She’ll attend a care center; he’ll catch up with her on the weekends.” ““It’s sad for me,” Adrian said recently, sitting beside Kassie in her living room, “I’ll make sure we’re both happy....”” Both detachable relationships from the novel and the article express that friends support each other