Who Was Frederick's Relationship With His Father
FREDERICK DOUGLASS QUESTIONS 1. Who was Frederick’s father? Who was his mother and did he really have a relationship with her?
Pages 16-17 Frederick’s father was a white man. Interestingly, Frederick’s father was also his slave master. His father did not acknowledge him as his son. His mother was named Harriet Bailey. Harriet was the daughter of Isaac and Betsey Bailey, who were both colored. Frederick never really saw his mother. The only time he did see her was at night and only for a short period of time. She worked for Mr. Stewart, whose home was about 12 miles away. Each time she visited Frederick she had to walk the distance to reach him. Frederick even claims that very little communication ever took place between them. She died …show more content…
Douglass’ mother had no way of supporting her son and at the time, she was enslaved on a ranch not within short walking distance. Douglass’ was greatly inhibited by the lack a motherly figure in his life. If his father had been a different kind of man who was willing to love and appreciate his son, then he could have made a huge difference in Douglass’ life. The fact that Douglass’ father was emotionally absent from his life put all of that weight onto his mother’s shoulders. Single-parent families today suffer similar struggles. Single-parenting today unfortunately comes with financial stress, pressure, and a lack of support. Poverty and crime are statistically two common outcomes resulting from single parent …show more content…
How did Douglass go about learning how to read and write? What started to happen inside of Douglass after he learned how to read?
Pages 48-52 Douglass learned to read by making friends with the little white boys. He would meet them in the street and turn them into teachers. Sometimes he would insist he was a better writer than the other boys, and they would challenge him, eventually teaching Douglass. Douglass would take Sophia’s child’s writing book and practice with it. Douglass uses personification when he says “They gave tongue to interesting thoughts of my own soul,”. He was learning from documents. Douglass was being enlightened but he was also beginning to detest his enslavers. The reading of the documents enabled him to speak his mind and fight against slavery. He even considered learning to read a curse instead of a blessing at times. It had opened his eyes to his current condition and it disgusted him because he had no remedy. 10. When did Douglass see the most brutal effects of slavery? How did his grandmother fit into this
Pages 16-17 Frederick’s father was a white man. Interestingly, Frederick’s father was also his slave master. His father did not acknowledge him as his son. His mother was named Harriet Bailey. Harriet was the daughter of Isaac and Betsey Bailey, who were both colored. Frederick never really saw his mother. The only time he did see her was at night and only for a short period of time. She worked for Mr. Stewart, whose home was about 12 miles away. Each time she visited Frederick she had to walk the distance to reach him. Frederick even claims that very little communication ever took place between them. She died …show more content…
Douglass’ mother had no way of supporting her son and at the time, she was enslaved on a ranch not within short walking distance. Douglass’ was greatly inhibited by the lack a motherly figure in his life. If his father had been a different kind of man who was willing to love and appreciate his son, then he could have made a huge difference in Douglass’ life. The fact that Douglass’ father was emotionally absent from his life put all of that weight onto his mother’s shoulders. Single-parent families today suffer similar struggles. Single-parenting today unfortunately comes with financial stress, pressure, and a lack of support. Poverty and crime are statistically two common outcomes resulting from single parent …show more content…
How did Douglass go about learning how to read and write? What started to happen inside of Douglass after he learned how to read?
Pages 48-52 Douglass learned to read by making friends with the little white boys. He would meet them in the street and turn them into teachers. Sometimes he would insist he was a better writer than the other boys, and they would challenge him, eventually teaching Douglass. Douglass would take Sophia’s child’s writing book and practice with it. Douglass uses personification when he says “They gave tongue to interesting thoughts of my own soul,”. He was learning from documents. Douglass was being enlightened but he was also beginning to detest his enslavers. The reading of the documents enabled him to speak his mind and fight against slavery. He even considered learning to read a curse instead of a blessing at times. It had opened his eyes to his current condition and it disgusted him because he had no remedy. 10. When did Douglass see the most brutal effects of slavery? How did his grandmother fit into this