History Of America

Frederick Douglass- Response Paper

The excerpt focuses on Douglass's strong determination to learn to read and write. Douglass's strength stays with him through the maze of obstacles he over comes to reach success of obtaining such skills. As a result he gains his freedom by manipulating the white man . Douglass's freedom is very depended on his cleverness and his abilities to read and write, which shows throughout the reading.

In the excerpt it characterizes the majority of the white race as heartless, cruel and harmful as slavery settles in this society. I agree with this indication because in this first paragraph Douglass states, “she at first lacked the depravity indispensable to shutting me up in mental darkness.” Another description of this indication is the word Brute. A term that Douglass uses to describe how negatively his mistress views him, which is defined as a beast or brutal person. With theses descriptions I became completely aware of the disturbing prejudice attitude his mistress displays and converts to.

Douglass's excerpt is extremely interesting. To read about a slave out smarting the unrighteous white man and successfully reaching his freedom by over coming slavery's injustice, is great. The reason for it's greatness is because reading about slavery's injustice in general is upsetting, frustrating and creates many more emotions. So, to read about a slave obtaining the knowledge and educational skills an average slave would not have is interesting and pleasing to hear. Even more exciting is a slave individual, who is looked down upon as incompetent and nothing more than laborer is able to gain the intelligence to beat the whites at their own game.

A part I favor in the excerpt is when Douglass states, “I could regard them in no other light than a band of successful robbers, who had left their homes, and gone