The Civilized and Self-Cultured Black Man Essay -- Narrative Life Fred

The Civilized and Self-Cultured Black Man In Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Written by Himself, Frederick Douglass faces the problem of detailing his transformation from slave to man in a manner which is acceptable to both his audience and his own authorial purpose. Douglass must walk the thin line between being powerful and being threatening to his white audience. He attempts to avoid becoming a threat by appropriating the image of a self-made man, as defined in William E. Channing's essay entitled "Self-Culture." Douglass constructs his manhood in terms of civilization, a tactic later employed by Ida B. Wells in her anti-lynching campaign. Although physical strength and the escape from civilization into the wilderness was an equally popular construction of manhood at the time, Douglass follows Channing's belief that true manhood is achieved through knowledge, the mastery of letters and cultivation of manners. This conception of masculinity centers around moral uprightness and self-control a s a means of suppressing passions and desires, the latter being something that most of Douglass' masters lacked. If civilization indicates manhood, then the brutal masters described in Narrative are not men at all. This reversal makes Douglass, the slave turned self-cultured man, a representation of true manhood. According to Channing, every man has the potential to be a great man. Through self-culture, and the resulting moral and intellectual growth, men can expand and live up their potentials, becoming ideal men. Channing understands moral sense as the suppression of passions and desires that are inherent in human nature, but are not good for soul. When a man looks into himself, he discovers...d... ... image of this civilized man is reinforced by Douglass' narrative voice which takes on the Harvard style tone, that sounds much like Channing's voice in "Self-Culture." This tactic may have been to support his use of Channing's ideas, but it also gave Douglass the unique position of speaking in the same style as his audience. This would perhaps be unexpected by his white Northern audience, but nevertheless reinforces Douglass' civility. By taking popular conceptions of civilization, self-control and literacy, and applying them to himself, Douglass invents in himself the representation of true manhood. Works Cited: Channing, William E. The Works of William E. Channing. Boston: American Unitarian Association, 1875. Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Written By Himself. New York: Penguin Books USA Inc., 1968.

The Rugmaker of Mazar-E-Sharif

Mazari has been through all sorts of conflict throughout his lifetime from where he was a young boy minding sheep in Afghanistan to opening an authentic rug store in Australia. He first had a major loss happen to him when he was a young boy and his father was killed. This was a traumatic time for his family and there was a conflict within his family. When his father died, Najaf was forced to take on new responsibilities within the family and everyone had to do their part. When he was a young teenager his house was hit by a rocket causing major damage to his leg. His leg took over 6 months to heal properly and he was finding it difficult to cope in this time as he saw himself as a burden on his family which was a personal conflict. He has faced various conflicts during his time at Woomera detention centre, one of which was a religious conflict. Certain people could not talk to other people because of their religion. This made a somewhat difficult experience in his life even more difficult as he was continuously having trouble with other people because they believed in different gods. Finally when he was released and working freely in Australia he had conflicts at his work places. One of which was when he worked for a lady who was too demanding on him and he could not work to her expectations with him. This was a cultural conflict as he was not used to working under her conditions.

The Role of Nelson Mandela in Ending Apartheid in South...

Nelson Mandela’s role in bringing Apartheid to an end was very important, however, there were many other factors that contributed to the ending of Apartheid. The African National Congress, also known as the ANC, was a major factor in ending Apartheid. Even when the ANC became illegal in South Africa it moved to continue its work against Apartheid. In 1940 Dr. A. B. Xuma became president of the ANC; he rescued a struggling organisation. In 1944 he reorganised it, out its finances onto a secure footing and attracted some able, young, new members who formed the ANC’s Youth League. These new members consisted of of Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu and Oliver Tambo who all greatly helped bring†¦show more content†¦In 1993 he shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Mandela even though he was white. Walter Sisulu was the leader of the ANC. He was imprisoned for life in 1964. He was freed in 1989 and became the ANC deputy president in 1991. Oliver Tambo served as president of the ANC from 1960 to 1991. He helped build international opposition to Apartheid. Steve Biko was a leader of the Black Consciousness Movement in the 1970s . As a student he believed white-dominated political groups could never win against Apartheid. He contributed to bringing Apartheid to an end by making young black people believe they were important. Mass protests also helped bring Apartheid to an end; the examples are the Sharpville massacre (in 1960) and the Soweto (in 1978). Sharpville was a very important turning point in the fight against Apartheid. In 1960 the PAC organised a protest against the pass laws at Sharpville. Some 5000 unarmed protesters gathered. Stone throwing led to shooting. At the end of the day 69 Africans were dead and 178 wounded. Obviously this massacre caused devastation, upset and anger. The ANC called for a national day of mourning. The ANC and PAC were banned by the government, Mandela was imprisoned along with 2000 other anti-apartheid activists and Oliver Tambo fled abroad to set up ANC offices in safety. Soweto was also important because of the worldwide press coverage itShow MoreRelatedHow Far Has the Importance of Nelson Mandela in the Ending of Apartheid Been Exaggerated?1748 Words   |  7 PagesHow far has the importance of Nelson Mandela in the ending of apartheid been exaggerate d? It can be argued that the importance of Nelson Mandela in the ending of apartheid has been greatly exaggerated. Apartheid ended due to a combination of long term and short term events. 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