Truth vs. Fiction in Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass and Uncle Tom's Cabin It is often said that truth is stranger than fiction. Perhaps, this is so, as truth wears no veil; it is stark reality. There are no soft edges in truth. Only the most zealous hunters, those willing to meet the sword, actively seek it. The majority, while considering ourselves open to the truth, may only realize it when it comes disguised as something else. In short, it seems that we need to see it as not threatening, but molded and plied into something we can digest. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave is a brilliant and powerful piece which details one of the worst times in American History. After reading Douglass' work, those seeking the truth about slavery could not help but to have been compelled to denounce this institution and those who upheld it. Yet, while there are many who undoubtedly applauded his work, those were difficult times with no easy answers, and truth is relative, at best. In sharp contrast to Douglass' eloquent narrative is Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin. This piece of sentimental fiction, while based on factual accounts, offered Americans an idealized view of slavery. The slaves were relatively content with their kind masters, and the vivid images of brutality that Douglass describes are not seen in Uncle Tom's Cabin. However, Stowe, writing from a woman's standpoint, presented her own truth in a context that Americans could relate to at the time. In spite of her gender and subsequent social position, and perhaps because of it, through her fiction, Stowe succeeded in portraying the institution of slavery for the abomination that it was. Both Uncle Tom's Cabin a... ... middle of paper ... .... The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2002. http://www.gonzaga.edu/faculty/campbell/enl311/domestic.htmhttp://philjohn.com/papers/pjkd_ga06.html#h43v Lauter, John. The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2002. Mieder, Wolfgang. Do Unto Others as You Would Have Them Do Unto You:Frederick Douglass' Proverbial Struggle for Civil Rights . Journal of American Folklore 114 no453 331-57 Summ 2001. Piacentino, Ed. Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin. The Explicator 58 no3 135-8 Spr 2000. Stowe, Harriet B. Uncle Tom's Cabin. The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2002. Stowe, Harriet B. The Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin. http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccer-new?id=StoKeyu&tag=public&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&part=0
In conclusion, the main point of The Green Berets was to convince its audience the Vietnam War was essential; conversely, the Ugly American attempted to berate it. However, it is also clear that both had a common goal; one that expressed the cruelty war can have. John Wayne’s defeat-all-communists approach was becoming a less popular opinion by the time the movie was released. Instead, the ideals The Ugly American conveyed were the most popular. Unless these two styles of thinking are reconciled, the countries of the world are destined to be trapped in a prolonged war.
The use of steroids in our society today is very common, that is with prescription. But that is not the kind of steroids I am talking about, I am talking about Anabolic Steroids. Anabolic steroids are a very sensitive issue in the world of sports today. Even though the side effects are life threatening, men and woman alike continue to submit their bodies to this illegal drug. Anabolic steroids are taken either through pills or injected directly into the blood stream with a needle. In 1994, 1,084,000 Americans, or 0.5 percent of the adult population, said that they had use anabolic steroids, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Household Survey on Drug Abuse. Under Federal Law it is illegal to possess or distribute anabolic steroids for nonmedical uses. However, heavy demand has generated a black market with estimated sales of up to $400 million a year, according to a NIDA Research Report, Anabolic Steroids: A Threat to Body and Mind (NIDA July/August1997).
Longman, Jere. "OLYMPICS; Drug-Testing Agency Tells of a Steroid Scheme by U.S. Athletes." The New York Times. The New York Times. 17 Oct. 2003. Web. 27 Feb. 2010.
The illumination of the brutal treatment of the slaves, both physically and mentally, are also apparent in the works of Stowe and Jacobs. Stowe, in Uncle Tom’s Cabin, uses the stories of Eliza, Harry, Uncle Tom and Cassy to show how slavery, with both cruel and kind masters, affects different members of the slave community. In Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Jacobs focuses her work on the how the institution is “terrible for men; but is far more terrible for women” (B:933), adding sexual abuse to the atrocities of slavery. Douglass’ Madison gives the reader a masculine perspective on the
In, “The Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass”, readers get a first person perspective on slavery in the South before the Civil War. The author, Frederick Douglass, taught himself how to read and write, and was able to share his story to show the evils of slavery, not only in regard to the slaves, but with regard to masters, as well. Throughout Douglass’ autobiography, he shares his disgust with how slavery would corrupt people and change their whole entire persona. He uses ethos, logos, and pathos to help establish his credibility, and enlighten his readers about what changes needed to be made.
Slavery is a term that can create a whirlwind of emotions for everyone. During the hardships faced by the African Americans, hundreds of accounts were documented. Harriet Jacobs, Charles Ball and Kate Drumgoold each shared their perspectives of being caught up in the world of slavery. There were reoccurring themes throughout the books as well as varying angles that each author either left out or never experienced. Taking two women’s views as well as a man’s, we can begin to delve deeper into what their everyday lives would have been like.
In sum, all of these key arguments exist in “The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass” because of the institution of slavery and its resulting lack of freedom that was used to defend it. This text’s arguments could all be gathered together under the common element of inequality and how it affected the practical, social, and even spiritual lives of the slaves.
In The Narrative of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass, an African American male describes his day as a slave and what he has become from the experience. Douglass writes this story to make readers understand that slavery is brutalizing and dehumanizing, that a slave is able to become a man, and that he still has intellectual ability even though he is a slave. In the story, these messages are shown frequently through the diction of Frederick Douglass.
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, brings to light many of the social injustices that colored men, women, and children all were forced to endure throughout the nineteenth century under Southern slavery laws. Douglass's life-story is presented in a way that creates a compelling argument against the justification of slavery. His argument is reinforced though a variety of anecdotes, many of which detailed strikingly bloody, horrific scenes and inhumane cruelty on the part of the slaveholders. Yet, while Douglas’s narrative describes in vivid detail his experiences of life as a slave, what Douglass intends for his readers to grasp after reading his narrative is something much more profound. Aside from all the physical burdens of slavery that he faced on a daily basis, it was the psychological effects that caused him the greatest amount of detriment during his twenty-year enslavement. In the same regard, Douglass is able to profess that it was not only the slaves who incurred the damaging effects of slavery, but also the slaveholders. Slavery, in essence, is a destructive force that collectively corrupts the minds of slaveholders and weakens slaves’ intellects.
Robert Kraut et al. presented the no side of this issue. Kraut focused on two major themes, Internet for entertainment, information and commerce, similar to the television, meaning it could reinforce social bonds or reduce social involvement, and interpersonal communication, similar to the telephone rather than the television.
The Internet is an exceptional place. Anyone can be a part of the wonders of the cyber world. By simply logging onto a network-connected computer, one can express his/her own cyber voice. From Facebook to memes to Hulu, the net has endless opportunities for entertainment, social interaction and information. But what effect does the Internet have on today’s children? A child growing up is a natural, beautiful part of life. Many aspects of the Internet can inhibit this subtle stage of life, such as social media or internet addiction. Although the Internet offers beneficial effects, the way in which today’s children use it has a negative impact on their physical and mental development.
Inside the majority of American households rest the unlimited territory of the internet. The unlimited and always advancing possibilities have unlocked powerful new tools in communication and socialization. Tools such as: long distance visual communication, international circulation of personal thoughts, and massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG) have all led to a closer but more distant community of people. The positive side can attribute to the fact that the younger generation seems more in tune with their international counterparts. Youth have the ability to anonymously communicate with others through various message boards, mostly governed by one policy, freedom of speech. The anonymity of the internet has created a community where social outcasts mingle freely with others; a society where jocks can converse with geeks without fear of reprisal. This community releases people from the bounds of their own flesh. Yet, technological advances have pushed society into the next dimension of communication and socialization that seemingly override traditional and more personal vessels of communication.
For example, it has become a new medium for play and entertainment for children, but is this a healthy alternative to older forms of play? And what about parents who use technology just to keep their kids quite? As with all new technologies, there are pros and cons. Although, it is unfair to blame a technology because of the content people put on it. Greenfield, Patricia, and Zheng Yan put it best when they say, “Just as we cannot ask whether a knife is inherently good or bad, we cannot ask whether the Internet is good or bad; we can simply document how it is used.” So, as much as some may blame the Internet for its problems, the real war is against the substance within the Internet (Greenfield, Patricia, and Zheng Yan 390-93). And thus comes the main argument against the Internet, is the composition of the Internet harmful to
When it comes to the topic of technology, most people will readily agree that it has been growing non-stop at a significant pace. About 16 years ago, technologies, such as computers were not a necessity in mainstream life. Since then, technology has progressed and people have become extremely reliable on. In the essay “What’s the Matter with Kids Today?” by Amy Goldwasser, she talks about the positive aspects of the Internet. Although she mainly focuses on the positive she also contradicts herself and mentions some negative aspects. “Twenty-plus years ago, high school students didn’t have the Internet to store their trivia”(Goldwasser 238). Those unfamiliar with this school of thought may be interest to know that it basically boils down to the fact that over the years the Internet has become a necessity in ones life. Although the Internet provides sufficient information, and has proved to be a valuable resource, there must come a point where one can draw the line on spending too much time on the computer. Internet addiction has become a serious issue in society today because it causes people to neglect work, social relationships, and, in some cases it could alters one’s health.
No matter if you are an internet junkie or you can’t stand the thought of the internet, there is no denying that the internet has changed the world as we know it. It is up to us as the users of the internet to make sure that it is used for good. Too much of anything is not good for people and that is relatable to the internet. Too much internet can cause bad social habits that become unbreakable and will stunt social development for kids everywhere.