Title The key to success is within. This can be within yourself or within a book. Ben Franklin constructed his own future by making the best of all his situations and working hard. Frederick Douglass changed history by finding out the difference between the African Americans and the whites. Ben Franklin and Frederick Douglass found their success within themselves; although, they took completely different approaches, they continually worked with what was available to rise from what they are to what they can become. The distinction of self-education between Franklin and Douglass was drastic. Ben Franklin was the ideal self-made man, but he was a product of self-education. Learning, for Franklin, was tough, but he had resources to utilize. One resource was his “father’s little library, [which], consisted chiefly of books” that he became interested in (81). To gain wisdom he maximized the library to learn everything it could offer. Being born into a family that has a library shows the intelligence that his family is surrounded by. A library in a house symbolizes how highly a family holds education in the house. With this library, Franklin was set up to be an intelligent fellow. He not only had family resources, but utilized public libraries as well. Franklin writes about how he learned even more at public libraries, because they “afforded [him] the means of improvement by constant study” (143). Franklin, growing up around a library at home, allowed him to find comfort in other libraries and a place where he can grasp all the knowledge available. Libraries helped a lot in gradually improving Franklin’s education. The third edition of the Spectator helped Franklin learn to write very well. The Spectator seems to be a journal that Fran... ... middle of paper ... ...s, Douglass understood the conditions which slaves were being held under and “envied [his] fellow-slaves for their stupidity” (268) because Douglass found it agonizing that he knew what the problem was. Educating themselves sparked a fuse to create a self-made man. Although different by Franklin wanting to become successful and Douglass wanting to become free, they both used this theme of being self-educated to become self-made. Franklin is known for being the face of being the “American Dream” or having the “American Spirit,” but Douglass put his place in history and would have been even more known if not for the way he was born during this time. Douglass changed what some people believed could not. People say history repeats itself, but Douglass shown that it doesn’t. In matter of fact, history does not repeat itself because the circumstances are never the same.
In the end, Frederick Douglass was a very successful and smart African American. Infact of him being a slave back then. Most slaves couldn’t receive education due to slavery and racism.
He believed that the ability to read makes a slave “unmanageable” and “discontented” (2054). Douglass discovered that the “white man’s power to enslave the black man” (2054) was in his literacy and education. As long as the slaves are ignorant, they will be resigned to their fate. However, if the slaves are educated, they would understand that they are as fully human as the white men and realize the unfairness of their treatment. Education is like a forbidden fruit to the slave; therefore, the slave owners guard against this knowledge of good and evil.
Franklin’s accomplishments arose from the influence of family, friends, education, and personal experience with being African American. He had a difficult task as an historian as he was writing about the neglected history of his minority group while being an advocate for the rights of this group. This could be perceived as a conflict of interest, but he thought of it as being beneficial. His method of writing was not to promote African Americans, but to interpret their involvement in the framework of American history. This was not something that had been done extensively and thoroughly before. Franklin set the stage and helped to create a widely accepted field of history.
Douglass’ was to free himself from slaver, while Twain’s was to come back to his village with glory. Everyone also had different ways to get an education—Douglass’ was to learn from the white children in his neighborhood secretly, while Twain’s was handed to him by Mr. B. But the different ways of learning do not really matter, as their education resulted in them realizing that knowledge would not always bring beauty to life, if anything, knowledge would usually strip the beauty off life. I guess, knowledge is not all it’s cracked up to
When first introduced to Douglass and his story, we find him to be a young slave boy filled with information about those around him. Not only does he speak from the view point of an observer, but he speaks of many typical stereotypes in the slave life. At this point in his life, Frederick is inexperienced and knows nothing of the pleasures of things such as reading, writing, or even the rights everyone should be entitled to. Douglass knowing hardly anything of his family, their whereabouts, or his background, seems to be equivalent to the many other slaves at the time. As a child Frederick Douglass sees the injustices around him and observes them, yet as the story continues we begin to see a change.
...igned it would still be three years and thousands of American men and boys, black and white, before emancipation was finally achieved. Douglass had written about the heinous crimes of slavery to expose the defense of these immoral acts by Southern plantation owners, and to strongly urge the people of the Northern states to push for abolition of slavery on American soil. By doing this Frederick Douglass along with his abolitionist comrades accomplished their goal and made America, in the words of Francis Scott Key, "a land of the free". A land with freedom for all races and nationalities.
Frederick Douglass the most successful abolitionist who changed America’s views of slavery through his writings and actions. Frederick Douglass had many achievements throughout his life. His Life as a slave had a great impact on his writings. His great oratory skills left the largest impact on Civil War time period literature. All in all he was the best black speaker and writer ever.
After reading both “Self Reliance,” by Ralph Waldo Emerson and “The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave,” by Frederick Douglass, one might notice a trend in what both writers regard as the key to happiness or self-fulfillment. Emerson and Douglass both imply that acquiring knowledge is what people should strive for throughout their lives. However, their perceptions on the kind of knowledge should be attained is where their ideas diverge; Emerson is the one that encourages one to develop the soul whereas with Douglass, it is the mind.
Born into slavery, Frederick Douglass’ life work as an abolitionist, writer, and orator, arguably made him the most important and influential black American leader of the 19th century. In his book, The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, he recalls his life as a slave for various masters, and finally but briefly tells of his escape to New York where he would live as a free man and begin his fight and case against slavery.
... important people Douglass wanted to do his own thing, without violence, and his most important thing which was to get the slaves free. His ideas helped him find a way to help free the slaves through his writing and lecturing. Frederick Douglass did say, ““Without Struggle There Is No Success,” (Baker) proving that he wanted to do everything on his own.
proved to be invaluable to him in life. In Douglass's own words, "In learning to read, I
The significant of education in “Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass” is the most important theme in the entire passage. Frederick Douglass understands that the only way to freedom, for him and also other slaves, is through learning to read, write, and also have an education. Education helps Frederick to understand things that slowly will destroy his mind, and heart at the same time. Understanding the full extent of the horrors of slavery can be devastating to a person who has just set mind on morals, and values. In the passage Frederick says, “It opened my eyes to the horrible pit, but offered no ladder upon which to get out” (Douglass 61). Using this quote as your guide, the reader can examine the meaning and importance of education with slavery time, and modern day.
...e proper descriptions of Douglass’s experiences. These words also justify that he is brilliant and not no fool. His influential words in the narrative support the message of him being smarter than what some people may believe.
American success history recognizes the contributions made by two of its renowned leaders. The two are regarded as heroes despite the obvious differences between them abound. The two figures are regarded with comparable amounts of reverence even though they lived their lives in different ways. Nevertheless, both Benjamin Franklin and Fredrick Douglas gained their status through treading pathway of hard work. This paper, therefore, seeks to discuss the experiences that shaped the lives of both Franklin and Douglas. It also seeks to analyze the life of Fredrick Douglas as presented by John Stauffer. In comparing the two personalities, I will lay much emphasis on the role education played in making better the lives of Franklin and Douglas. In this regard, it is worth noting that although their education was not that formal, it shaped their lives immensely. Franklin education, for instance, came while working under his brother James as an apprentice printer during his teen years. On the other hand, Douglas’s tale is much bleaker, but it depicts the use of wits coupled with natural talent to pull oneself to a respectable stature (Zafar 43). It is clear that Franklin persuasive rhetorical skills, which came in handy, in writing and oratory skills were natured by induction to printing apprenticeship as well as a great access to a variety of books. Critiques in later years would argue his love for books and learning made Franklin become an accomplished speaker, thinker, author, and a statement. In a nutshell, access to books and love for learning shaped Franklin’s Character to a great extent.
They both approached their story with a "rags-to-riches" idea. In addition, we must realize that both Franklin and Douglass are powerful writers. In that sense, I mean that Franklin was a "well-educated" man in which he filled his life with bountiful knowledge through reading and productive dialogues with peers. On the other hand, Douglass mode of writing, like ones of William Lloyd Garrison's is sentimental and contains compelling language.In The Autobiography by Franklin and Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave by Douglass, both narrations are generally composed of series of life events and encounters with hardship that eventually brought them success. I shall put forth some parallel ideas of both the authors have in common. In Franklin's Autobiography, his chapters of life events and improvements are symbolized by his travels, especially on the boat. His first travel signifies his "new beginning" and it caused great hardship. He was "cut so a miserable figure" when he started out. (Franklin, 1771:196). However, Franklin was quick to gain ground. His move to another city or country signified his advancement and his prologue to his success to come are in his description of his boat travels. By this I mean that, Franklin intentionally gave the details of his boat travels to prepare the reader for the kind of successes or failure that he was going to face in the next chapter of his life. For example, he described his first travel as an unpleasant one, and nevertheless his first move to another city was a struggle. In Franklin's later travels, he spoke of being around some prominent figures such as Governor Hamilton and nonetheless, he landed with a successful job at a famous Printing House in Bartholomew. With this characteristic in mind, Douglass's narration ...