Comparing Douglass And Bierce's What To A Slave

The American nation was first united under extreme oppression from British authority. Colonists realized the intensity and absurdity of what they were suffering, and decided to stand together to fight the Revolutionary War in the late 18th century to become free from their oppressors. However, after the war was won, the brand-new citizens were not sure how to run the nation now that they were not under another authority. Every aspect of American life was affected by this; the people questioned everything from the proper way that the government should run to what freedom means and who receives that freedom. These questions and the subsequent answers created the foundations for the new nation, which revealed the theme of criticizing society,
This story serves to criticize the war for its bloodiness and destructiveness toward families. Though all three writers criticized war and Americans’ reactions, Bierce’s motives differed from his predecessors. Henry and Hale used their writing to encourage their countrymen to fight, while Bierce portrayed the violence and horror of war.
Rather than focusing on war, other writers of this era chose to criticize the nation’s treatment of other people by speaking out against societal issues. Frederick Douglass was one such writer, whose speech “What, to a Slave, is the Fourth of July” criticized the institution of slavery. As an escaped slave, Douglass felt strongly about the cruelty of slavery and the need for abolition. His speech served as a criticism of Southern society and the belief held by slaveowners that the merciless system was an integral part of their culture. Southerners defended the morality of slavery through several ideologies, such as paternalism - the belief that African Americans needed white people and the system of slavery as a way to live, that they needed white people as a father figure to show them how to be civilized
One of Thoreau’s idols was Ralph Waldo Emerson, an icon for the Transcendentalist era of literature, writing poems and essays about nature, God, and finding one’s purpose. One of his poems, “Nature,” claimed that nature “is old, but nowise feeble,/Pours her power into the people,” (Emerson, 4-5). He viewed nature as a symbol, as a way for mankind to connect with the divine and as an opportunity to immerse themselves in something pure and beautiful. Rather than criticize society, Emerson reflects that he would choose to become one with his natural surroundings. William Cullen Bryant was a renowned American poet who wrote about the beauties and godliness of nature as well. As expressed in his poem “Inscription to the Entrance of a Wood,” he believed that nature was a source of solace and peace. In the poem, he acknowledges that the world of man is “full of guilt and misery,” but claims that “The calm shade/Shall bring kindred calm, and the sweet breeze/That makes the green leaves dance, shall waft a balm/To thy sick heart”(Bryant, 6-9). Bryant is aware of the wrongs going on in the world, yet he chose to retreat to nature and find solace among the trees. Philip Freneau was another American poet who chose to retire to nature. The majority of his life was spent fighting the Revolutionary War, writing vehement poems