My Topic and Central Argument for my Essay **10/21/2010 its been too long.**...

The topic I chose for my essay is topic number 5 "Using The Narrative of the  Life of Frederick Douglass, create a reasoned argument that demonstrates how owning another human being can corrupt a person and negatively alter their character." I chose this topic because I think it is important to argue the idea that owning a human being can destroy a person morally and ethically. The central argument for my essay is exactly the reason I chose to write about this topic and that is that owning another human being can and will eventually destroy your moral values and ethical values. Now, so that Mr. J doesn't decide to argue with me about what moral value and ethical value are, I will define ethical and moral value as the same "word" with the definition being "pertaining to or dealing with morals or the principles ofmorality; pertaining to right and wrong in conduct." as provided by dictionary.com. 


**i cant believe its been 6 months**

End of Frederick Douglass

I thought the end of this was fantastic. It made me so happy when Douglass ended up free. I also enjoyed that Douglass honored other escaped and free slaves as well as he subtly hi-lighted  and hinted at the underground railroad. Sorry this is so short.  I know there are a lot more things I could talk about but honestly, I did not read the rest of this very carefully and I did not analyze it as much as I have analyzed other sections of reading.

Questions and Comments Chapters 5, 6, and 7 (Frederick Douglass)

Dear class, This is both Randi and I working on these :)))))   <---- super smile!!! :)) hehehe

CHAPTER 5!

Questions: Randi- Why was Douglass so excited that he was leaving the plantation?
                   Ashleigh- Why did Colonel Lloyd suddenly gain a sense of "respect"  for Frederick Douglass?


Comments: Randi- In this chapter, it was sad to see Douglass so excited because he was leaving the plantation and going to Baltimore.
                    Ashleigh- I find it quite interesting that the Colonel for some reason decided to give Douglass     an opportunity towards living as opposed to keeping him miserable as a slave.

Chapter 6!

Questions:  Randi- Why did the mistress start to teach Douglass how to read and write in the beginning?
                    Ashleigh- Why did the mistress decide to help Douglass in the first place?


Comments:  Randi-
                     Ashleigh- I find it really sad that the mistress' personality changed so much after being reprimanded for helping Douglass to learn.

Chapters 5, 6, & 7 (Frederick Douglass)

I find that these chapters reflect how his master really influenced Frederick's life and writing. At times, his master actually stood up for him and treated him with respect as opposed to treating him like a re-usable piece of property. I also find it interesting how comfortable Douglass and the other slaves were interacting with each other completely undressed. I also think these chapters reflect how important Douglass's ability to write was to him. This writing is much easier to read than anything else that we have read this year and it is really giving me insight to the lives of slaves as well as is giving a very detailed insight into how slavery has formed our country and its values to this day. Slavery had a direct influence on how we as a society interact with people today and how our moral code is used day to day. These chapters really helped me to see this in many ways.

Chapters 2, 3, & 4 Frederick Douglass

I thought that these chapters were very disturbing in the sense that they were written to convey the feeling of almost joy that the slave master was seemingly encountering as he beat his slaves. I also found that the chapters were meant to convey the lifestyle and hardship the slaves had to suffer through when it came to food allowances, and punishments. I find it ridiculous that slave masters restricted the amount of food that was eaten on a monthly basis. You cannot determine the amount of food that a human needs to eat in a certain amount of time. Every human is different and the slave master was entirely inconsiderate as well as all slave masters were inconsiderate of the natural human need to eat. Which always makes me wonder why you would want to starve and beat your slaves. If I had someone working for me free of pay, I would provide them with food and shelter as well as a comfortable living environment. I would want them to stay alive and healthy not just alive enough to work. These chapters were disturbing and completely un-enjoyable because they were all about how much people had to suffer as a slave.

American History --> Reaction to Amistad Videos

What is your reaction to all of this? Would you jump off the ship? Why or Why Not? If you were on board with your baby what would you do?


This is absurd. I have no idea how any of the African slaves managed to endure the torture and the harsh conditions that occurred on the ship. I would most definitely jump off the ship. It is so much better to die than to endure the torture and conditions the Africans were put through just to be a slave. Either way, the slaves were unpaid for doing what they did so it is completely pointless to endure that just for a life of nothing more than torture. Plus, the "food" that the Africans were given looked absolutely disgusting!!! I would much rather jump off of the ship than take my chances of eating that disgusting looking slop and getting sick and being thrown overboard instead. If I were on board with my baby I would also jump off the ship. I would never want my child to have to endure that and I would rather a baby die a peaceful death than die of starvation on a ship covered in someone else's vomit and excrement.

Freewrite 1- American Lit (Frederick Douglass)

I thought the purpose of the two letters of introduction were to attempt to convey Frederick Douglass's emotions about his situation as a slave. After reading Chapter 1, I felt very bored and tired. The information in the chapter became dry and boring. There was a lot of information which made the story boring to read and put me to sleep yet again. I really don't like this as much as I liked reading Edgar Allen Poe. I don't like reading this because I find that biographies are uninteresting. I really don't enjoy reading the stories about other peoples' lives and why they were either fantastic or completely miserable. When I think about it, I'm completely fine with reading a short story or a few paragraphs about someones life but after a while it becomes boring. The first chapter seemed to give a lot of information about the basics of Frederick's lifestyle as a slave as well as provided quite a bit of information about what it was like to listen to, watch, and experience the brutal happenings within the lifestyle of a slave. Although, I did find the descriptions of what it was like to hear the punishment that the slaves had to endure quite disturbing.