“If there is no struggle, there is no progress” – Frederick Douglass. Douglass suggested that if you do not struggle to reach your goals and aspiration, you will not take the steps to reaching your goals. Frederick Douglass was born in 1818 near Talbot County, Maryland. Douglass was born right into slavery and soon taken from his mother before he turned one. Douglass was a very educated Black man, even though being a black man during the 1800’s was arduous he stuck through and faced the obstacles that was required with being a black enslaved man.
The Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass as an autobiography that explained Douglass life when he was a slave and how he personally dealt with life during the 1800’s. Even though sympathy played a role in Douglass life, his perseverance more effectively allowed him to conquer his struggles. Due to the fact, sympathy played a role in Douglass life in order to help him overcome his difficulties ,he was always humble and sympathetic to other slaves. Throughout the whole Narrative Douglass never portrayed his situation as being the worst.
Even though he was also like many other slaves being beaten and tortured he would still find a way to make his situation seem ess brutal while acknowledging other slaves that had been beaten or tortured even worst. In The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, a group of slaves including Douglass was being sold to wealthy white slave owners. While he was waiting to be bought, Douglass thought to himself how lucky and how kindly he had been treated by his master and mistress.
He said that other slaves backs had scares that represented the suffering and abuse they had been through while his was still tender because of the little amount of whipping he had received, due to the kind and warmness he had sustain by his past slaveholders. Sympathy was a way for Douglass to overcome his difficulties because he had pity for himself. He always looked at his situation as being lucky and how blessed he was because he didn’t have to experience nearly half of the other things other slaves had to.
Therefore by Douglass being humble it showed how being humble and having sympathy for others helped him overcome great hardship. A second way sympathy played a role Douglass life is when he got chosen to go back to Baltimore and live with Mrs. Lucretia . Douglass and other slaves were all lined and were getting ready to be sold. Douglass was mortified because he knew that there was a ossibility he would have to leave Baltimore. Baltimore was like a safe place for slaves. Even though slaves still had to work hard and obey their masters they would somewhat be treated like humans instead of being dehumanized.
But when slaves were brought father into the south they would get beat and experience excruciating pain because slave owners would have such animosity towards them. When Douglass got chosen to remain in Baltimore he had a was relieved. He was happy that he got to remain in Baltimore but he was also worrisome because he knew that other slaves that had been chosen to go ore down south would be demean by their new master. Sympathy can be given and received. Here, Douglass was giving empathy to other slaves that was going to experience more pain than he ever experienced.
Therefore empathy played a role in his life because if it wasn’t for him being sympathetic he would have never achieved the goals that he accomplished later on in his . Even though Douglass showed sympathy he mostly had perseverance. Perseverance help him reached his goals when he tried to escape a second time after he got caught the first time. Douglass and two other slaves came up with a plan to scape and head up North where they would be free. Douglass ended up writing three free passes for him and the other slaves so when they head up North they wouldn’t have any interruptions, but that didn’t go as planned.
As soon as they were about to head out three white men came and arrested Douglass and his two other friends. The two friends ended up getting released while Douglass remained in jail. Even though Douglass plan didn’t work the first time Douglass continued to persevere and stick with his plan. After the hard work and dedication Douglass finally ran away and was able to be free. This is an example of perseverance because even though his plan the first time did not work he still kept on going and did not give up. That caused him to later on in his life be free and accomplish many goals that he once had.
Another way Douglass showed perseverance is when he did not give up on his education. When Douglass was young, one of his mistress’ taught him ABC’s. When his master found out he had forbidden his wife to teach Douglass anything else that had to do with education and said that a smart negro is a dangerous negro. Even though Douglass was forbidden to learn he stuck through ith learning and didn’t let anybody ruin his ability to learn. Douglass ended up having to trade food with poor little white boys so they could teach him what they had learned in school.
When his master would send him on a duty he would finish his duties fast and then spend the rest of the time leaning. By Douglass never giving up on his learning and sticking to his aspirations shows the determination he had to learn and fill his brain up with knowledge that could help him understand the world he lived in. A final way Douglass showed tenacity to help him overcome his obstacles was by being brave. Douglass had a aster name Mr. Covey. Mr. Covey was known as the N*gga breaker, so his job was to basically take weak slaves that had been treated kindly and break them.
One day Douglass and other slaves were working in the field. Douglass was attached to a plower and the plower got out of control and ended up crashing into a tree. Douglass ended up getting hurt really badly. Instead of Mr. Covey being concerned about Douglass well beings he ended up beating Douglass and forcing him to work again. Douglass soon got tired and could not perform his duties. Therefore he ended up running away to his master Thomas and sked his master for help. After coming to conclusion that his master wouldn’t help him he ran to a free slave named Sandy Jenkins who gave him a “magical” root.
The root was design to help him get out of trouble and it did. When Douglass returned to Mr. Covey everything was find but soon after, Mr. Covey went back to his old ways . Him and Douglass began to fight and of course Douglass won and from that day on Mr. Covey left Douglass alone. This statement is an example of perseverance because instead of Douglass giving up he stood his ground and showed an act of bravery by fought Mr. Covey back. Douglass vercame his hard obstacles by using his perseverance and dedication to conquer his goals.
This relates to the work as a whole because this essay explains how even slavery could not block him from accomplish one of his biggest goals which was to be free. Also that if you have perseverance and a little sympathy it will take you a long way. The theme of Douglass Narrative is never to let anything get in your way of accomplishing your goals. That’s the theme because Douglass continued to persevere even when times were difficult he still kept his head up and continued to take the steps to achieving his desire.
