English Term Paper on American Slave Narrators

Introduction

Douglass was a slave from America who wrote a narrative about himself that privileges in the year 1849. He was born in Tuckahoe and had no specific idea of his age just like the other slaves. The contribution of him not knowing his real age was as a result of the unhappiness that he experienced during his childhood (Fredrick Douglass, 2018). The white children were allowed to know their real ages and he could not understand the reason behind the being deprived of the same privileges. He was not allowed to ask his master details about his age who was always dimming such requests. He estimated his age to be between twenty-seven and twenty-eight years from some of his master's information that he eavesdropped. It was whispered that the master was his father and his mother left when he was really young.

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The slave masters did not want the slaves to learn how to read and write because the knowledge was a pathway to freedom from slavery. At the age of twelve, Douglass was secretly taught the alphabet by his master's wife. As he grew older, he decided to take control of his own learning by getting books and newspapers and reading them in secret. He was one of the lucky few slaves who often taught others how to read and write. The young slave used to listen outside their master's houses as they taught their children. When enslaved people were found reading or writing, they would be punished severely together with their teachers. The slaves and those who taught them often took a risk which for many of them was because of their commitment, passion, and imagination.Mr. Auld asked his wife not to teach Douglass because this would make him unhappy and not fit to be a slave because he would learn about freedom but won't be able to gain it. This passage is found on page 19 of chapter 6. Douglass gives information about how people confessed to Christianity in the slavery era. The Christians explained that the men who meet them on Sunday morning as their class -leader to show them the way of life and salvation are the same ones who robbed them of their earnings. The also talked about them being denied the opportunity of learning how to read the name of God who made them. They claimed that they were ribbed millions of influence that were sacred by those religiously advocated marriages. We also read about a character called Edward Covey who was at one time his master about how he persecuted him. There was a leader and a Christian called Covey who devoted extremely in the Methodist church by praying every night, morning and noon seemed to be the most religious. He was a Christian who at all costs avoided breaking God's Ten Commandments and considered sin as a big offense to God.

We also see how the prosecutors covered their sin with Christianity cloth. His self-justifying practice examples show that Christin doctrine manipulation was done. He discovered that the slave Christian leaders were so cruel to the slaves. In his experience, he realized that these Christian slaveholders were the basest, meanest and cruel. Being a slave to a Christian master was amongst the biggest calamities that could befall a slave. The reverends were merciless and used to withhold food from their slaves. We also see how Islam has people committing terrorist crimes. We should not use religion to cover bad deeds.

Harriet Jacobs is a black woman who believes that slavery is for men and much terrible for women. She was influenced to write about Incidents in the life of a slave girl by her friend who was a feminist activist and a Quaker abolitionist called Amy Post. She was born into slavery and endured sexual abuse when she was barely a teenager for years. She later became a social worker, educator and an abolitionist speaker (Harriet, 2016). She started a consensual relationship Samuel Treadwell Sawyer was her white neighbor and had two children with him by the name Joseph and Matilda. A man called Norcom realized that she had problems with her husband, took her children, made them his property and threatened to sell them as plantation slaves if she denied his sexual advances. She was able to get her children and hid them at their grandmother's place.

She decided to write a story that will help women in slavery and bondage. She did not know how to write although she knew how to read. The main subject in her story talked about the harassment that the enslaved woman went through, sexual abuse which was not allowed. The readers were shocked by some of her writings. She had difficulties in exposing her past but later was able to give people fictitious names in her narrative. This story became an open topic about the sexual abuse that women endure. Andrew published contributed to the publishing of double-voiced in the incidents in the life of a slave girl with the other publishers. Jacobs writes a message to the black people urging them to fight for their human rights because they are equal to the white people. Du Bois was born in the year 1868 in a place called Barrington. He attended schools for the black called Fisk University which was sponsored by several churches. After he graduated, he joined Harvard University to receive advanced degrees in history. He then proceeded for his Ph.D. at Berlin University until his funds ran out. He later received his doctrine at Harvard University.

A book called the souls of black people was written during this period of time which invented the double consciousness idea. The Africans were supposed to consider the view of the world who are the white people have on them not only their view all the days of their lives. He also joined a movement called Niagara movement by joining Washing ton rivals that were to seek equality and justice for African Americans. Racism could not allow equally between African Americans and the white. Slavery prevented the security of the family, stability, and formation. The enslaved people were not allowed to marry in an American state or colony. Some couples loved each other while others did not and some children obeyed their parents while others did not. There were abroad marriages whereby a father might have had one owner who is his wife and the children another. It was a threat to separate families from each other. A father or mother might be sold away and leave the children behind. A lot of the owners advised marriage for them to protect their slave investment. The abolitionists also attacked slavery by pointing out the inflicted harm that was done on the families.

Slavery was equally practiced to both men and women. They were mentally subjected, physically mistreated and forced to hard labor. They were often beaten mercilessly, treated as property and separated from their loved ones regardless of their sex. Booker T Washington started the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute in Alabama that trained Africans in agricultural activities. Booker believed in the industrial, crafts education, skills in farming and enterprise, patience and thrift cultivation (Booker, 2018). He was an influential African leader who advised the black people to accept discrimination and work hard in order to elevate themselves and prosper in their material at that time. He said that all this would win respect from the whites and make African Americans be accepted fully as citizens. DuBois is famous and well known for fighting for American African rights, and opposition of racism. He extensively wrote about the rights that American Africans deserved. Although many people were afraid to raise their voices and complain, DuBois was not afraid to speak on behalf of African Americans. In the book of the souls of black, Dubois gives the story about his early teaching to the death of his son who was an infant and the differences that he had with Booker T.Washington.These African leaders differed in economic and social progress, but they were great leaders. Their philosophies differed in how to end the racial and class injustice, what the role of black leadership was all about and what the haves owe the have-not the communities of the black. They taught African American very things and many things have really changed even in the present day.

Work Cited

Booker T. Washington in American Memory." (2018): 1697-1698.

Harriet A. Slave narrator." The Cambridge Guide to African American History (2016): 141.

Powell, Andrea. Publishing for Purpose. IET, 2017.

Young Frederick Douglass. JHU Press, 2018.