Preview

Fredrick Douglas and Catching Fire

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
408 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Fredrick Douglas and Catching Fire
The autobiography by Fredrick Douglas and the novel Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins, both show situations of characters being alienated by society. Fredrick was a slave in America during the 1820’s, when slavery was on its way to abolishment. Katniss Everdeen from Catching Fire on the other hand, had no choice of her lifestyle because of where she lived. Due to alienation, these characters lives resulted in being left lonely.
His master had kept Fredrick a slave for most of his life. He had no way of being social or living life like he had wanted. Fredrick had dreamed of being a free man and living in Baltimore. Whipped daily and barely fed, Douglass was "broken in body, soul, and spirit." Not only was he treated horrible physically, he had mentally been missing out on education needed as time went on. Finally, Douglass reestablishes a sense of self and justice through his struggles and had escaped to freedom the second time.
In Catching Fire, all members of the district are forced to be alienated from the capital. The capital alienates all twelve districts from a normal supply of food, resources of living, and especially personal decisions. The hunger games are a constant reminder that the Capital has full control over their lives. To remind them to never rebel against the capital again, they randomly pick a girl and a boy to fight for their own lives. Katniss was forced to go back into the hunger games with no choice of her own. You can try your hardest to win this game but the capital has all control over the ending result because they make all the decisions of the games environment. Even though she was alienated from her destiny, fortunately, Haymitch and a bunch of secret rebellions had a plan for her to survive the games while she was being secretly protected. Because of the fact that no one told her what her destiny was, she had no choice of the resulting life she had to live.
Many novels have characters that suffer from alienation, such as

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Fredrick Douglass was born into slavery in 1818, he spent his youth being sold from plantation to city, then all over again. At a point during his youth, he realized that slavery was wrong, and eventually once becoming aware of the north, he planned to one day escape captivity and be free. His determination was strong, so strong that he would one day escape captivity and establish a legacy of work in the North, that made him one of the core members in the fight to abolish slavery in the middle of the 1800’s. He is know historically for his publications and speeches in the fight for abolition, being a convincing and proactive voice which comes from first hand experiences in what life is like for slaves and slave owners. The purpose of publishing the text, Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass, an American Slave, was to put into context the details of Douglass’ life, which include his feelings and tribulations, during his journey as a slave and escape to freedom. His conviction to reveal this story, was not hindered or halted by the fact that he would be exposing himself to the public, which often for an escaped slave would be a dangerous situation. The book was first published in 1845 when Douglass was twenty-seven, at this time slavery was legal, and the book that he had just published was incriminating evidence full of names, dates, and times, which make it very easy for someone to find him and return him to captivity by law.…

    • 1213 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Douglass begins by telling us he was born into slavery in Maryland, his mother’s name was Harriet Bailey, and he was separated from her at birth. He reveals he is not sure how old he is and that his father was a white man rumored to be his first master. He was later sent to Baltimore where his new master’s wife began to teach him to read. His Master Hugh found out and put a stop to it insisting Douglass would become unmanageable and unhappy. When Douglass heard this he realized that the lock on the bonds of slavery was ignorance, and education was his key to freedom. Eventually he succeeded in teaching himself to read and write with help from his white friends. After educating himself he developed a better understanding of slavery and began to regard his enslavers as wicked. When he is sent to be broken by Mr. Covey he is whipped on a regular basis and almost loses hope, but he ends up fighting back regaining confidence in himself. Douglas marks this as a turning point and vows never to be whipped again. Later, Douglass learns the trade of caulking, has a disagreement with his master over wages, attempts another escape and succeeds in reaching New York…

    • 734 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Katniss Everdeen Quotes

    • 1511 Words
    • 7 Pages

    To begin, the main character Katniss Everdeen survives the life obstacles of providing for her family and surviving the Hunger Games. Katniss first obstacle is…

    • 1511 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    When Mrs. Auld began teaching Frederick how to read was Douglass’s first real foray into rebellion. It was illegal to teach a slave how to read and write and after Mr. Auld reprimanded Mrs. Auld, Douglass realized that “to wit, the white man’s power to enslave the black man” (Douglass 20). The seed of rebellion had been planted and he had discovered his path to freedom. He was proud of his new ability and tried to practice it as often as he could by challenging children to writing letters (Douglass 26). Douglass cultivated this new ability and treats it as the reason he was able to become free.…

    • 737 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The book Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, by Frederick Douglass, is a story about Frederick Douglass’s life as a slave and how he goes on his quest to achieve freedom. Douglass was born into slavery and goes from master to master, and he finally sees the power of education when he reaches Baltimore to work for some new people. Here Douglass begins to learn how to read and write and he uses this to his advantage in hopes of becoming free one day. He manages to teach himself how to read in secret and then helps the other slaves become more literate. Eventually Douglass does manage to escape but he doesn’t stop there, he becomes an activist himself in hopes of ending all slavery one day. Through this book, Douglass reveals that learning is essential in order to achieve freedom, friends can help you to achieve your goals, and that slavery can have a very negative effect on a slave’s mind.…

    • 1379 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Fredrick Douglas Paper

    • 1217 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Fredrick Douglass throughout this book uses experiences to show why slavery should be abolished. Fredrick Douglass was born in 1818 and he died in 1895, and he was born into slavery in Talbot Country, Maryland.(Fredrick Douglass facts page) In chapter 1, Fredrick Douglass said that he had witnessed these beatings and that it had happened often. “I remember the first time I ever witnessed this horrible exhibition. I was quite a child, but I well remembered it. … It was the first of a long series of such outrages, of which I was doomed to be a witness and a participant…” (Douglass pg 21) For example, the last paragraph of( page 21) going to( page 22) is the first experience of the beatings he witnessed. “He took her into the kitchen, and stripped her from neck to waist, leaving her neck, shoulders, and back entirely naked….” By using experiences, he is able to show people that even…

    • 1217 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    By the time he was twelve he had been sent to live with, professor of religion and poor farm-renter, Mr. Covey. Covey was notorious for taking slaves from different slaveholders “for the sake of training” (Ch.9 pg.69). While living with Covey, he underwent being a field hand for the first time. Being a first-time field hand meant experiencing severe whippings. One specific beating left a sour taste in his mouth, but lead to his next glimmer of hope. While working alongside three other men on the hottest day in August 1833, Douglass fell ill, so ill he could barely stand on his feet; Consequently, Covey beat him so horribly he was bleeding not only from his side but from his head. On his hike, back from talking to Master Thomas, he encountered another slave that gifted him a “root” of protection. To Douglass, I believe this root was the sign of hope that he needed to stand up to not only Mr. Covey but to all slaveholders. Eventually, Douglass got his hands-on Covey then, gave him a taste of his own medicine; This event scared startled Mr. Covey so much he “trembled like a leaf” (Ch. 10 pg. 81). I believe this event was significant to Douglass because, it gave him a taste of what freedom was to not take orders from any slaveholder. I also believe Douglass was proud of himself for showing the slaveholders what it’s like to be in the hands of another person and have no control over what comes next.…

    • 1412 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is a journey through Frederick Douglass’ life as a slave, how he learned, and his escape to freedom from slavery. He was a slave who never knew his mother. He witnessed and bore the countless beatings, humiliation, and oppression that marked the existence of African-Americans of that era. He vowed to overcome, not just for himself, but for all the black men and women who were stuck in a life entirely not their own and a life without freedom. Fredrick Douglass may be seen as a hero to some people, because he knew firsthand the suffering and hopelessness of what it meant to be a slave in America.…

    • 1428 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Douglass begins his narrative as far back as he can remember, explaining that shortly after birth he was separated from his mother Harriet Bailey and was never truly sure of who his father was, although everyone suspected it to be his master, Captain Anthony. Douglass describes the horrible conditions by which slaves were forced to live, including intense labor and exhaustion, meager to no portions of food each day, a few shabby articles of clothing, and the absence of a bed. He goes on to talk about the frequent whippings slaves received, whether they were guilty of breaking rules or their masters simply wanted to express and establish their dominance. Douglass tells of how he was sold to several different masters, one of whose wives (by the name of Sophia Auld) decided to teach him the fundamentals of reading -- an act that became the beginning of Douglass’s realization that he could change his circumstances for the better. He talks about his continuation to work his way through the learning process by gaining help from local boys who could read, and as he learns to read and write, he becomes aware of the actual evil nature of…

    • 1997 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Katniss Everdeen, from Suzanna Collins, is a sixteen year old girl who grows up in a world where the government also controls everything but to a different level. In Katniss Everdeen’s world there are these things called the Hunger Games, which is where one boy and girl from each district, or tributes, are chosen by random to go into an arena and fight to the death until there is one winner. Katniss Everdeen becomes a tribute by volunteering for her sister and becoming the first volunteer from district twelve. When Katniss Everdeen is in the games she has to pretend to be in love with the boy tribute from her district to get gifts to stay alive. With that becoming true the Capitol, the government, says that there can be two winners if they are from the district. Katniss Everdeen and Peeta, the boy from her district, are left at the end but the Capitol takes away the new rule. So as an act of “rebellion” Katniss Everdeen and Peeta decide to both die, but the Capitol must have a winner so they save…

    • 927 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “My natural elasticity was crushed, my intellect languished, the disposition to read departed, the cheerful spark that lingered about my eye died; the dark night of slavery closed in upon me; and behold a man transformed into a brute!” This quote from his narrative is the best example of the mental and physical pain that slaves endured during this time. Fredrick was considered one of the few privileged to be raised in the North where the people were more understanding of his needs as a human being not just a black man. He was educated but also beaten into submission by his owners. He bought his freedom at the age of 21 and set his life goal as educating all people of the inhumane slaughter and descent of his people. He will forever be one of the greatest individuals to take part in the end of…

    • 346 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Frederick was one of the many that helped abolish slavery. “ Douglass’s reputation as a fighter gives him a leadership role in his local slave community. He uses this quality to teach other slaves to read and write and the engineer a run away plot.” During his time…

    • 920 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    I read the book "Catching Fire" and it was very fascinating and mind blowing. "Catching Fire " is about a young girl named Katniss who has won the recent Hunger Games and goes back home victoriously. What she doesn’t know is that her decision to suicide with Peeta in the last Hunger Games created a thought of rebellion throughout all the districts. After finding out about the outbreaks of rebellions, Katniss realizes that she must either escape or fight for everyone's life. Which will she do?…

    • 461 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    To conclude, The Hunger Games is a dystopian novel acting like a utopian society, which would lead you to think it was a perfect place, yet in the end it is either kill or be killed, so it is far from the perfect place. Katniss sees the games simply as a death…

    • 435 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Catching Fire

    • 442 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Suzanne Collins is a mutually celebrated writer of many books, including The Hunger Games trilogy. Catching Fire is just one of these astounding books.…

    • 442 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays