“ The white man’s happiness cannot be purchased by the black man’s misery”. Slavery and Labor are central themes that are similar in both slave girl in california and the Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass. However there are very opposing themes such as Family and Time as well. Both of these stories talked of slavery; moreover, they are in different ways. Douglass was born into slavery and Shymia was sold into it by her own family.
Both of these stories have slavery in common. Since Douglass witnessed a lot of things such as rape, beatings, and killings he was traumatized. In chapter one of the Narrative of Frederick Douglass he states that as a young child he was taken away from his mother. “Frequently, before the child has reached its twelfth month, its mother is taken from it, and hired out on some farm a considerable distance off, and the child is placed under the care of an old woman, too old for
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She was sold to a family who at the time lived in Cairo, Egypt. In exchange for her work, her family paid the ibrahims forty-five dollars a month. While she was there she was forced to clean. She wasn 't able to do anything such as play sports or go out with friends. “Shymia often worked 18 hours a day. Many nights, while the family slept, she stayed up ironing their outfits for the next day.” I don’t believe a 12 year old little girl she be forced into cruel labor.
Douglass and Shymia’s stories are similar in a lot of ways. However she had a family background and Douglass had barely any contact with his. “She lived with her parents and 10 brothers and sisters sharing a small one-bathroom home with three other families.” Although she didn’t have the best living conditions; she often felt loved. At least she knew her parents; and was able to live with them. Douglas; however, was born into slavery and was taken away from his mother at birth. He doesn’t even know who his father