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LITR 4332 American
Minority Literature 2013 Student Midterm Samples #1. Short essay (4-6 paragraphs) on 1 of 2 options
option 1a. Highlight and analyze |
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Rebecca Chlapowski
Love in Fear
I have chosen three
paragraphs from
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American
Slave.
This story really touched my heart and taught me something
by the end.
Paragraphs 8.6 through 8.8 (minus Whittier’s poem) go hand
in hand, you cannot read or comment on one without the other.
These three paragraphs give the reader another side
of slavery.
Most people know and have become accustomed to the stories
of slavery, and its horrible history.
However, this entire story gives a new perspective
on slave life, Instead of telling a story of horror and terror mingled with
death and waste, there is happiness, learning, and pride and above all, love.
This story enticed me to
continue reading; there was something new on every page to learn.
We often learn the history of slavery and its
violence while growing up in history classes, but this story has such a personal
point of view that one cannot help being moved to tears and laughter while
reading and a sense of accomplishment and learning when done.
There are many passages that move the reader, teach
the reader, and motivate the reader; but the three I have chosen did all this
plus some for me.
The language used in these
passages show hatred, contempt and love all at the same time.
It gives you a sense of being there and the ability
to tangibly reach out and touch the people.
The love one has for a grandparent can surpass the
love for a parent or sibling.
During slave times, it was rare to have any, and
when the one considered most valuable is cast aside, there are many emotions
with it.
Douglass gives the reader these emotions and allows them
to have them with him.
His imagery is vivid and alive, and the reader sees
it as though they are looking through his eyes and feeling with his heart.
We can even feel the contempt he has for the slave
owner that died and for the new ones.
Our course objective
“voiceless and choiceless”, is the epitome of these three paragraphs.
Using the definitions of these words, without voice
and without choice, we get the definition of slavery.
Douglass personifies this objective in these three
paragraphs.
He talks about how his grandmother’s owner dies and leaves
her to someone else who has no pity on her and moves her to a cabin in the woods
to die alone, “she stands-she sits-she staggers-she falls-she groans-she dies”
despite all her contributions to the previous slave
owner.
Even the previous slave owner cares less of what becomes
of her after his death.
The grandmother, Douglass, and the other slave have
no voice or choice in what happens to them and their loved ones, they are at the
mercy of others.
This
story is also a slave narrative.
Frederick Douglass was a slave who learned to read
and write by sheer determination to “be free”.
His story is one of violence, fear, happiness, and
love.
It is written by a slave about the life and experiences of
a slave.
This is the first slave narrative I have read, not
something I am proud of, but nonetheless happy to say that I have now.
Frederick Douglass’s life was definitely worth
writing about, reading about and learning from.
Even though slavery ended in 1865, twenty years
after he shared his story, almost one-hundred fifty years have passed, and the
reader can still learn from this story.
Frederick Douglass used his history, language, and
imagery to create a world for the reader that will never disappear.
Since reading this, I have discovered a new genre
of literature that I want to explore even more.
