Frederick Douglass Group

Question:

amick9788
amick9788
Student
College - Sophomore

What details about the life and writings of Frederick Douglass, and about his character, would help your reading of the poem named for him?

http://www.history.rochester.edu/class/douglass/home.html 

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Posted by amick9788 on Wednesday November 4, 2009 at 3:06 PM and tagged with "frederick douglass", frederick douglass.

Answers:


  1. akannan Teacher
    Middle School

    eNotes Editor

    Douglass, himself, is an extremely complex and divergent thinker.  I think that one of the critical details about Douglass would have to be his experience as a slave.  In his Narrative, one of the overriding themes would be how slavery and the existence of it seems to pose direct and authoritative challenges to the promises and possibilities of America and its history. For example, the idea of freedom being denied, in general, but also being limited by slave codes that prevented slaves from gaining literacy plays a powerful role in Douglass' life as he recognizes the implications of slavery on both the individual and the social order of America.  I think that understanding the impact slavery had on Douglass would be essential.  Another fact about his life that would have to be fully grasped is his role as an abolitionist, a force that demanded that America's consciousness cannot be cleansed with the presence of slavery or discrimination within its fabric.

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/narrative-life/themes

    Rate answer:

    Posted by akannan on Wednesday November 4, 2009 at 3:32 PM