Frederick Douglass Video Biography

Frederick Douglas 2.

“ I know of such cases; and it is worthy of remark that such slaves invariably suffer greater hardships, and have more to contend with, than others.” (Douglas, 924.) Frederick Douglas narrative speaks on many beatings he has witnessed through his times as a slave. Douglas however, was hardly ever beating by his masters. He has though suffered hunger and coldness.

His first occurrence he saw was with his Aunt Hester. His slave master ordered Aunt Hester to never go out on the evenings and he must “never catch her in the company with a young man.” (Douglas, 925.) Hester didn’t follow these orders. She went out and was with a young man named Lloyd Ned. When she returned the master beat her. He “stripped her from neck to waist, leaving her neck, shoulder’s, and back entirely naked.” (Douglas, 925.)

Another beating he witnessed was done by Mr. Severe. Douglas referred to him as a “cruel man.” He has seen him beating mothers, and has taken pleasure in the beatings.

Douglas’ has also witnessed people being torn away from their families. Master Colonel Lloyd was said to be so rich and own so many slaves he didn’t know them all. He asked a slave once was his owner treating him well, the slave responded “ No, sir.” The result of this led the man to be taken away from his friends and family, something Douglas states is a “ a hand more unrelenting than death.”

Douglas has witnessed many beatings and people being taken away from their homes. I call him a brave soul. To encounter and witness so many troubling and awful siting’s makes you courageous in my eyes.

Hedda Gabler

What is Power? According to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary power is defined as ability to act or produce an effect; ability to get extra-base hits; capacity for being acted upon or undergoing an effect; possession of control, authority, or influence over others.

This definition fits Hedda Gabler perfectly. Although beautiful, Hedda was a women who loved to be in control, and have power over others. The entire novel basis itself as Hedda as the main character who dominate everyone, and very selfish. “ Brack: And you didn’t really care in the least about the house? Hedda; God knows I didn’t.” ( Isben, 1486.) Instead of Hedda being happy for her and her husband’s home, the concern is always with herself.

Hedda was aware of the relationship Mrs. Elvsted had with Loveborg, and wanted to use that as power over the two. Loveborg was in love with Hedda, and even though she didn’t feel the same, she used that as leverage as well.

One can only wonder someone lived for control. Maybe because she was a general’s daughter she felt that was something that she deserved.

When Brack knew that she gave the gun to Loveborg for him to kill himself the power was out of her hands. What does she do? She doesn’t want to allow the Judge to have control over her. “ From now on I’ll be quiet.” ( Ibsen, 1518.) Since the power was out of Hedda’s hands she decided to gain back the control and end her life.

Frederick Douglas.

“ My mother was named Harriet Bailey. She was the daughter of Isaac and Betsey Bailey, both colored, and quite dark.” (Douglas, 923.)

“My father was a white man. He was admitted to be such by all I ever heard speak of my parentage. The opinion was also whispered that my master was my father, but of the correctness of my opinion.” (Douglas, 923.)

If found this to be very interesting. Multi-racial children were popular during these times. Slave owners often had sexual relations with their slaves. because this epidemic was a popular one I decided to do some research. Research shows that “Slave women were forced to comply with sexual advances by their masters on a very regular basis. Consequences of resistance often came in the form of physical beatings; thus, an enormous number of slaves became concubines for these men.” (bowdoin.edu.) Women feared being beaten so they decided to give in to their masters and have sex, and children would be a result of this.

The children were seen as African American and like Douglas was often unaware of whom their fathers were. Due to the fact that the owners wouldn’t claim their children. However there were some that would. They were treated as slaves and had to endure the same activities their mothers and or parents did. “Sometimes paternal manumission – where a master frees his children out of fatherly affections – would occur. ((bowdoin.edu.) Although this was very seldom. It hasn’t to determine why slave owners would commit such actions, and why the salves would allow them. One will always wonder.

www.bowdoin.edu/~prael/projects/gsonnen/page4.html

Song of Myself - Jade Youngblood

Walt Whitman was not only a great poet; he was an extraordinary man. He spent his life putting others before himself. He sent money to his widowed mother every week. He nursed soldiers from the Civil War and spent the little money he had to buy needed supplies for them. In 1848, he moved to New Orleans and saw slavery firsthand. He hated it. The theme of democracy and equality are in many of his poems. “A Southerner soon as a Northerner, a planter nonchalant and hospitable down by the Oconee I live.” (984) The entire sixteenth section of Song of Myself is about how everyone is equal, not matter where you live.
My biggest challenge with Song of Myself was deciding who the narrator was. My husband personally thinks Whitman made God the narrator. “I pass death with the dying and birth with the new-washed babe, and am not contained between my hat and boots,” (983) I don’t think I agree. I think Whitman is using himself as the narrator, but he is explaining how his spirit (or soul) is flowing in and out of everything. He thinks he is everywhere, almost like God, but not quite. (I’m not saying he thinks he’s God, I just meant his spirit flows.)
The most interesting section of Song of Myself is in section thirty-two, line eighteen. “A gigantic beauty of a stallion, fresh and responsive to my caresses,” (986) After reading this, my husband informed me that Whitman was a homosexual. I personally think that Whitman is referring to a man in this section. “His well-built limbs tremble with pleasure as we race around and return.” (986) I could be completely wrong, but it would add a little spice if I was right.

Fredrick Douglass

Perpetua Onyekwelu

Fredrick Douglass

      Fredrick Douglass was an American slave.
A powerful black man, that was not sure of his own age. His father was an unnamed
white man. His mother, Harriet Bailey was also a slave. When Fredrick was born,
he was separated from his mother. He was raised by an old woman “too old for
field labor” (pg923). The old woman raised him with other children that are not
old enough to work in the farm. His mother Harriet work hard in the farm plantation
field, and few times, at her peril, she ventured in to the night to visit her
son. “She would lie down with me, and get me to sleep, but long before I waked
she was gone” (pg923). Fredrick Douglass life as a slave deprived him to be
around his siblings. It caused him constant hunger, sleeping on the ground, and
bare foot, dressed in one cloth sometimes necked. He didn’t know about family affection
as a child.

              When Fredrick was around the age of
seven, he was sent to Hugh and Sophia Auld’s home in Baltimore. He was very
happy to go to the city. “Going to live in Baltimore laid the foundation, and
opened the gateway to all my subsequent prosperity” (pg936). It was in
Baltimore, under the instruction of Mrs. Auld that young Fredrick first learned
the alphabet. However it did not last long, before Mr. Auld discovered these lessons.
He strictly forbid it in words that left a profound impression on young Fredrick;
that while knowledge and learning of the world around him could bring him great
unhappiness, it could also give him great power over his enslavers who
preferred their chattel to remain ignorant and unthinking.

            Fredrick proceeding from intense and
serious state of mind plan to continue to learn to read and write on sly, aided
by the white children he met on the street and among the shipyards and docks.
At this point he knew that education will set him free and eventually education
certainly set him free.

Hedda Gabler

Hedda Gabler is certainly an interesting story to say the least. One might say that it is quite an easy read, since there is always something happening. It can also be said that the story is full of drama. There is also some suspense involved. Some of the characters are somewhat mysterious and it is not until the story is over that they are better understood.
The one character that surely catches the reader's attention from the beginning to the end would have to be none other than Hedda. She is a quite complex character and is definitely a "handful" one might say. Hedda is a beautiful charming girl in the story and might look innocent, but this girl is not innocent. She knows what she wants and she finds a way to get it. One might say that Hedda is addicted to power. She loves having power over others, such as here husband, George Tesman. A couple lines in the story that stand out, come during a conversation between Judge Brack and Hedda. Judge Brack says, "For one thing you've got the home you always wanted." and Hedda replies, "You really believe that story." (Ibsen 1486). It would be easy to say after hearing this that Hedda is quite a sneaky person. She clearly did not have the home that she had always wanted. She had talked her poor husband into buying it though, so now they shared it together. When Judge Brack asked, "And you didn't really care in the least about the house?" Hedda replied to Brack, "God knows I didn't." She had only brought up the house in conversation so they would have something to talk about. One might say Hedda has a lot of nerve and is a bit too cocky conducting herself as she does. Hedda also gets bored very easily which makes one wonder how loyal she is too her husband. It seems as though the poor guy does not have a chance. This might lead one to feel bad for Tesman, since he seems to be such a good guy and his wife, well just seems to manipulate him to get what she wants.