The Role Of Man In Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass

Humans have come a long way, being able to create advanced technology, many different ways to communicate with one another, and many different ways to live, and each human in the world has a role in the world. Each human is unique and have many different traits that define one another. For example, in Frederick Douglass’s “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass”, written by Frederick Douglass himself, is a autobiography of his life growing up around slavery and his path to freedom, and also how becoming literate changed his whole perspective on the way he lived. Another example would be in Abraham Lincoln’s 2nd Inaugural Address, where he discusses the fact that the civil war was unnecessary and also how the country should end the war

For example, in Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, written by Frederick Douglas himself, Douglas rebels against slavery because he does not want to live in fear of slavery. Towards the end of the book, Douglas receives a root which supposedly protects him from getting whipped, and this motivates him to fight back against Mr.Covey, Douglas states “I must go with him into another parts of the woods, where there was a certain root, which, if I would take some of it with me, carrying it always on my right side, would render it impossible for Mr. Covey, or any other white man, to whip me [....] Mr. Covey seemed now to think he had me, and could do what he pleased; but at this moment-from whence came the spirit I don’t know-I resolved to fight ”(Douglass 80). The root, which symbolizes hope, allows Douglass to become brave and fight for his freedom against slavery, instead of letting his life slip away by the chains of slavery. Due to this newfound hope, he felt obliged to “resolved to fight,” instead of getting punished by Mr. Covey and be continue to be abused. Mr. Covey abused his power over Douglass since slaves were considered property, and he “could do what he pleased,” however the root rendered Mr. Covey powerless by changing Douglass’s perspective and helped reveal

For example, in The Black Minister’s Veil, Reverend Hooper wears the veil to attone for his sin, and in the process he scares those around him because the veil means much more than what it really is. When Mr. Hooper speaks out his sermons, those around him feel threatened and fearful, the text states, “The subject had reference to secret sin, and those sad mysteries which we hide from our nearest and dearest [...] Each member of the congregation, the most innocent girl, and the man of hardened breast, felt as if the preacher had crept upon them, behind his awful veil, and discovered their hoarded iniquity of deed or thought” (Emerson 17-18). Mr. Hooper’s black veil creates a sense of fear and creepiness because it makes the townspeople feel as if the “preacher had crept upon them” and “discovered their hoarded iniquity of deed or thought.” From this, we can infer that the black veil that Mr. Hooper wears scares those around him because it reminds humans that there are secret sins that exist deep within humans. The townspeople hide these secret sins from “our nearest and dearest” because they do not want to reveal their true self, because humans are naturally evil and only live to self benefit themselves. The townspeople do not want to