Theme Of Mobility And Freedom In Frederick Douglass

The themes of mobility and freedom are themes that recur throughout many slave narratives. Mobility in slavery times often led to the freedom, and eventually publishing of the slave narratives that exist today. Frederick Douglass, a great abolitionist and author, was able to obtain his freedom through his mobility, the experiences and knowledge he got through said mobility. On the other hand, Harriet Jacobs was able to obtain her freedom through the opposite of mobilizing, staying in one place and being still. Jacobs’s experiences of immobility were still valid ones that promoted her freedom as well as Douglass’ mobility did. Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs’ narratives help us understand how crucial mobility, or in the case oh Jacobs …show more content…
In addition, the two slaves narratives show how gender shapes their lives, their opportunities were also shaped by gender and patriarchy. The differences that gender makes in the two narrative are vital to understand slavery and mobility, and how even though becoming free was difficult for every salve, the obstacles put in place were greater for women slaves. In chapter five of Douglass’ narrative, the reader learns about that pivotal moment in Douglass’ life. It was a moment that dictated the course of his life. It was also the first example of the mobility that led to his freedom. Douglass is sent to Baltimore to be the servant of the Aulds, the brother captain Anthony’s son in law. In the chapter 5, Douglass makes sure that the reader knows that that would be a pivotal moment in his life. It is a marker of the start of his thriving towards freedom. The paragraph says that he left the colonel 's plantation with joy and the days before his departure were the happiest of his life. The details in which he confesses his joy to the reader, are placed there for the purpose of causing irony or for anticipating big events. The setting in which he will be mobilized to also matters in the case of …show more content…
When Douglass is going from Baltimore to St. Michael 's, he focuses on the ships and the routes they take to go to the North, in specifically Philadelphia. He says, “On my passage, I paid particular attention to the direction which the steam boats look to go to Philadelphia… I deemed this knowledge of the utmost importance.” This knowledge helps him make up and essentially set his mind on escaping. When something is valuable to his escape, Douglass tells the reader so that the reader will anticipate upcoming events. This is a recurring feature in his narrative, he emphasizes the importance of certain events, and in the end we can see why that emphasis was put in