ipl-logo

Compare And Contrast Chopin And Frederick Douglass

860 Words4 Pages

Student’s Name
Mrs. Gore
English 3
11/02/17

Women’s Rights in Society

Realism writing was used by many authors in the 1800s to describe how life was for different races, genders, and social classes. Realism writing expressed the difficulties that faced many different people during this time period. Many authors used realism writing as an outlet and a way to express their thoughts and beliefs about topics that were too personal for the average person. Despite how everyone felt about these topics, there were a few people who believed in the same thing, and they would use their passion for writing and go on to create some of the best realism writing from that time. Out of these authors were Kate Chopin and Frederick Douglass, who wrote stories …show more content…

In Frederick Douglass’s autobiography, My Bondage and My Freedom, Frederick Douglass reveals in his work that women are forced to obey their husbands despite, how they truly feel. Frederick Douglass uses the method of dynamic character to show the internal conflict that women have to deal with because of their husbands. In My Bondage and My Freedom, Mrs. Auld’s the wife of the slave master, is a kind-hearted woman, and wants to treat Frederick Douglass as a normal human. This can be proved when Douglass stated “Mrs. Auld - my mistress - was, as I have said, a most kind and tender-hearted woman; and, in the humanity of her heart, and the simplicity of her mind, she set, out when I first went to live with he, to treat me as she supposed one human being ought to treat another.” However she was advised by her husband to treat him like a slave, which is shown when Douglass wrote “My mistress - who had begun to teach me - was suddenly checked in her benevolent design, by the strong advice of her husband.” That shows that Mrs. Auld’s wanted to treat Frederick Douglass like a normal person. However, her husband created an internal conflict within her, by controlling her actions. Lastly, Frederick Douglass seals the deal by saying that “Nature had made us friends; slavery made us enemies.” Through his use of internal conflict, Douglass proves that women were forced to go against their own thoughts, to obey their husbands. Proving that women are not free in their

Show More
Related
693 Words | 3 Pages

In chapter VII, Douglass says of Mrs. Auld that “Slavery proved as injurious to her as it did to me.” It didn’t really injure her as much as Douglass because of all the stuff that he went through as a slave. Such as watching his aunt got whipped by his slaveowner (Chapter 1), he couldn’t do anything but just to watch. Not only his aunt, but also many other strangers that he saw got whipped by their slaveowners, and himself got whipped. This not only hurts him physically, but also mentally.

Read More
1148 Words | 5 Pages

Douglass’ anecdote provided evidence to support his assertion that slaves often fought over the relative merits of their masters, adding to his argument’s ethos and establishing credibility. The substance of the anecdote also added to his argument by showcasing a harmful effect of slavery; its inconsistencies distorted the slaves’ view of the world, causing them to debate over their masters’ relative goodness and consider even the most basic of mannerisms to be indicative of a kind master. Though the readers obviously knew the true nature of the slave owners from the previous accounts of Frederick Douglass, the fact that slaves were so far

Read More
794 Words | 4 Pages

In the 1800’s, there was a huge power dynamic between slaves and their “owners”. There is a lot of social inequality during ths time of slavery, thus creating unequal dynamics. A huge concept of the conflict theory is how the elite control the poor and weak, and for Frederick Douglass, who was hardly even considered a person during these times, is a prime example of how conflict theory within sociology. According to Alfred Gray, a sociologist, conflict theory is a result of constant struggle throughout society to determine who has authority, and how far it goes (Gray, 10). In the narrative, Douglass discusses how he was supposed to be treated unequally, and when he got a new mistress, quoted, “It was at least necessary for her to have some training in the exercise of irresponsible power, to make her equal to the task of treating me as though I were a brute” (Douglass, Chapter VII).

Read More
1496 Words | 6 Pages

Jean Cocteau once said, “true Realism consists in revealing the surprising things which habit keeps covered and prevents us from seeing.” In 19th century France a movement developed with the main objective of representing reality by depicting real-life events and conflicts in a Naturalistic matter. French painter Gustave Courbet named this movement Realism. In literature, Realism represents real-life events and conflicts; detailed Realism shapes human characters through Naturalism. Throughout the Realism period, writers used gender roles, economic struggle, and the effect of the environment to develop human characters within their stories.

Read More
180 Words | 1 Pages

Frederick Douglass, a slave of the deep south makes his escape into the free north, but even after his escape he can “trust no man”. No matter the color of one’s skin either black or white, Douglass has a deep sense of mistrust in any man, engraved into his person by the years of “the wretchedness of slavery”. Douglass’ diction in his narrative shows how slavery can shape a man into a self conscious and paranoid person. Throughout his life as a slave, Douglass was constantly exposed to conditions in which the only way to survive was to fight for his life. Like the sisters who were raised by wolves -Amala and Kamala- Douglass is not adapted to society and does not trust anyone but himself.

Read More
550 Words | 3 Pages

Mr. and Mrs. Auld ; Mrs. Auld was generously kind enough to allow Douglass to know how to read as well as to write but unfortunately this generosity came to an end. Mr Auld was not found of Douglass being able to be like a regular human; therefore learning how to read and write. While Mr. Auld gives a lecture to Mrs. Auld on how douglass would be “Spoiled” in addition to be “Unfit to be a slave” this is also when the kindness of Mrs. Auld comes to an end. When Douglass was growing to adulthood he remembered these horrifying moments and wrote them down.

Read More
387 Words | 2 Pages

In the beginning of chapter six, Frederick Douglass focuses the reader’s attention on how slavery can affect even the best and most innocent people. While talking about how slavery removes the good from slave owners, Douglass also explores how slavery is not only detrimental to them, but corrupts their ethics as well. Douglass remarks, “The crouching servility, usually so acceptable a quality in a slave, did not answer when manifested toward her. Her favor was not gained by it; she seemed to be disturbed by it” (19; ch. 6). Douglass’s word choice and use of antithesis in this section shows how Sophia Auld was a kind and hardworking woman who treated Douglass like a human being.

Read More
316 Words | 2 Pages

According to Frederick Douglass, “Nothing seemed to make her more angry than to see me with a newspaper “(Douglass 191). The mistress took

Read More
498 Words | 2 Pages

The Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass shows the imbalance of power between slaves and their masters. In his book, Douglass proves that slavery is a destructive force not only to the slaves, but also for the slaveholders. “Poison of the irresponsible power” that masters have upon their slaves that are dehumanizing and shameless, have changed the masters themselves and their morality(Douglass 39). This amount of power and control in contact with one man breaks the kindest heart and the purest thoughts turning the person evil and corrupt. Douglass uses flashbacks that illustrate the emotions that declare the negative effects of slavery.

Read More
247 Words | 1 Pages

Frederick Douglass is making many different arguments in his autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave. One that sticks out in the novel is that some slave owners would suffer just as much as a slave would. When we are first introduced to Douglass’s new owners, Mr. and Mrs. Auld, he describes Mrs. Auld as, “ […] A woman of the kindest heart and finest feelings” (Douglass, 19). When Mrs. Auld was “caught” teaching Douglas how to read and write she was then forbidden to teach him anything.

Read More
665 Words | 3 Pages

The nineteenth century was a breeding ground for many literary movements, including realism, romanticism and naturalism. Realism consists of literature that is consistent, predictable, and sticks to the “simple truth” of how regular people live and talk. Romanticism is literature that contains things of intellect, strangeness and remoteness and tries to make the familiar unfamiliar. Finally, naturalism is literature that has regular people in extraordinary circumstances; the hero is at the mercy of larger social and natural forces, which are cruelly indifferent; traces of social Darwinism can be found in the literature and there is generally a brutal struggle for survival. Realism can be seen in The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman,

Read More
753 Words | 4 Pages

    Douglass uses deep characterization to show the change in behavior of slaveholders who have uncontrolled power. A good example of this is Sophia Auld. Before slavery took effect, she was a kind and caring woman who comprehended moral righteousness. She had never owned a slave before Douglass. Owning Douglass soon changed her into an evil slave owner when she realized the power, “the white man’s power to enslave the black man” that she had (Douglass 41).

Read More
1647 Words | 7 Pages

Dehumanization of both slaves and slave owners must occur for slavery to exist. Slavery harms everyone involved, including the slaveholders who superficially seem to profit from the arrangement. Douglass’s narrative acknowledges the damage inflicted on both sides of the institution of slavery, emphasizing that a human being’s personality and disposition form per the laws and socially acceptable practices exhibited within the society. Douglass has an excellent example how he seen with his own eyes how his mistress became demonized when she became an owner of a slave. Douglass became Mrs. Auld's first salve owner and at the begging when they first met “she [was] of the kindest heart and finest feelings” (38).

Read More
543 Words | 3 Pages

Douglass’s Message to Women Frederick Douglass gives many examples of the treatment of women like the following passage: “this is done too obviously to administer to their own lusts, and made a gratification of their wicked desires profitable as well as pleasurable; for by this cunning arrangement, the slaveholder, in cases not a few, sustains to his slaves the double relation of master and father.” (Douglass 1183) Through this passage, Douglass brings to light that enslaved women are raped by their masters because of the master’s lust and the master’s desire to produce more slaves. By looking at the passage in the context of the rest of Narrative of Life, Douglass makes it clear that women who are raped by their masters and birth a child from the rape have it worse than others because of the excess brutality they receive from the master’s wife.

Read More
1030 Words | 5 Pages

After Douglass had just begun to labor for Mr. Covey, he ran away to his former master Mr. Auld to plea for release, he described his appearance as “a man who had escaped a den of wild beasts, and barely escaped them” (59), which directly describes how he barely got away from Mr. Covey’s plantation. Douglass is sure to note that slaveholders were dehumanized in the process of dehumanizing slaves, which is expressed clearly by Mrs. Auld. She was, at first welcoming, kind, and the opposite of oppressive, but she changed from have “lamb-like disposition” to having “tiger-like fierceness”(32); again, transitioning from prey to

Read More

More about Compare And Contrast Chopin And Frederick Douglass

Related Topics

Open Document