The Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass - 2037 Words

Frederick Douglass By reading the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, one is able to further their knowledge of certain aspects of slavery that aren’t always talked about. In this work, one is able to learn more about what Frederick Douglass has to face as a slave, and even what he faces once he escapes. There should be absolutely no doubt in anyone’s mind that Frederick Douglass—and every slave—faces many hardships throughout their lives. Even so, Douglass remains optimistic that what he faces will lead to a better outcome: â€Å"Without a struggle, there can be no progress.† This quote applies to many of the hardships he’s faced, as he is often able to take a bad situation and make something good out of it. While†¦show more content†¦One tactic slaveholders use to try to keep their slaves docile is to instill in them a fear of the punishments they could face if they disobey their masters. So, to keep their hold on them, th ey refrain from teaching them anything other than how to get their job done, and keep whipping, beating, and even killing them. Frederick seeks to gain information at an early age. However, his masters purposefully withhold information from him for his entire life. Not only does this surely frustrate him, but it also causes sadness to wash over him, as the only ones able to enlighten him deny him: â€Å"A want of information concerning my own was a source of unhappiness to me even during childhood.† Frederick sees that other kids around his age are given information about themselves whenever they think to ask for it—the only difference between them and Frederick being the color of their skin. He is never told when, exactly, he was born, and therefore is never entirely sure how old he is. On the other hand, the white kids are able to from a young age. Douglass doesn’t know anything about his father, other than the fact that he’s white, which he is told by those that know his mother. He is also separated from his mother at a young age, and therefore is never able to form a strong bo nd with her, especially since she dies when he isShow MoreRelatedNarrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass987 Words   |  4 PagesLife of Frederick In the â€Å"narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass an American slave written by himself† Frederick reveled to audience the time he was living as a slave and the moments of brutal treats for example psychological, emotional and physical abuses. He was suffering terrible moments during his 20 years as a slave in the twentieth century. In addition, he describes in his own words the strategies he used to escape from the slave holders and to be free. This story the â€Å"Narrative of theRead MoreNarrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass1730 Words   |  7 PagesOne of the most well-known slavery narratives was lived and written by Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. Frederick Douglass was a civil rights activist who was born into slavery on a plantation in eastern Maryland in February 1818. His exact birth date is unknown, he states in his narrative, â€Å"I have no accurate knowledge of my age, never having seen any authentic record containing it.†2 His birth name was Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, which was given by hisRead MoreNarrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass Essay1102 Words   |  5 PagesDate Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass Writing in the favor of black people has always remained controversial from the very beginning. Critics regard such writing as â€Å"a highly conventionalized genre† indicating that â€Å"its status as literature was long disputed but the literary merits of its most famous example such as Frederick Douglass s Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass†¦are widely recognized today.† (Ryan:537) Despite of such severe resistance, writers like Douglass have pennedRead MoreThe Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass1566 Words   |  7 PagesThe â€Å"Narratives of the Life of Frederick Douglass† is the story of Frederick Douglass’ life from the time he was born into slavery, to the time he escaped to freedom in the north. When Douglass wrote this book, slavery was still legal in a large portion of the United States. After Douglass’ escape to freedom and his continuation of his education, he became an abolitionist through his works of literatu re and speeches. In â€Å"The Blessings of Slavery†, by George Fitzhugh he states that southern slavesRead MoreNarrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass1257 Words   |  6 PagesBook Review By Mary Elizabeth Ralls Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass: An autobiography written by Frederick Douglass Millennium publication, 1945edition 75 pages Frederick Douglass whose real name was Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey approximately birthdate is in1818, the month or day is not known, he died in 1895. He is one of the most famous advocates and the greatest leaders of anti-slavery in the past 200 or so years.Read MoreNarrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass Essay1498 Words   |  6 Pagessoutherners believed that one of the most essential means of life was slavery. In the novel, Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, Douglass challenges and debunks the idea of slavery being a necessary part of the white lifestyle; many pro-slavery arguments consisted of religion justifying slavery, slaves being â€Å"easily manipulated†/ignorant, and slavery keeping the southern economy from disappearing (The Proslavery Argument). Frederick uses personal experiences and other tactics to expose theRead MoreThe Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass1363 Words   |  6 Pages In The Narrative of the Life of Frederic k Douglass, Frederick Douglass portrays the importance of education because of its influence in leveling the playing field between the races in the 1800s. Education and knowledge are themes that are heavily dwelled upon throughout the novel, inspiring the reader to see the full power of such important ideals and to take the full advantage of both at all times. Douglass gives the reader a new appreciation for education as he delivers his message regardingRead MoreNarrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass1255 Words   |  6 PagesFrederick Douglass, throughout Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, uses religion to get many of his points across. In one way, religion plays a huge role in Douglass’ ability to become literate throughout the text. With the Bible and other Christian texts, Douglass is able to further his ability and the ability of others to read. This becomes important because as Douglass points out the slaveholders believe a literate slave is not a good slave. This union of literacy and religion show theRead MoreThe Narrative Life Of Frederick Douglass1583 Words   |  7 Pages‘The Narrative Life of Frederick Douglass’ is an autobiography of Frederick Douglass, the slave who escaped and became one of renowned social reformers of his time. The book is a collection of actual experiences of the author during his time in slavery and experiences of fellow slaves. He describes brilliantly the oppressive conditions into which he was born, lived, as well as his struggles and triumphs. The author meant to make the reader comprehend life of the African Americans in slavery beforeRead MoreThe Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass939 Words   |  4 PagesRevolutionary Freedom In 1845, an African-American man named Frederick Douglass released a thought-provoking autobiography that would become a turning point in revolutionary change. The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass was the first autobiography Douglass had written focusing on the real life struggles he has faced during his time spent in bondage. During his time, it was not common for an African-American to have the skills to read and write, and it was especially uncommon to publish

Theories of Socialisation

Question: Evaluate contrasting theories of socialisation with reference to different different types of socialisation (you have to describe the learning and evolutionary theory, also you have to evaluate both theories i.e discuss the advantages and disadvantages of both)? Answer: Introduction Socialization is a name given sociologists to the life long procedure of inheriting and dissemination of the customs, norms and ideology. It is providing the individual the skill to participate in the society. Behavioural and Evolutionary theories of attachment are two contradictory ideas which tells how a child is attached to the primary care giver. It states there are innate and acquired cognitive abilities developed during the life cycle provided by the biological mechanism and the experiences faced.. To explain the process there are so many theories adapted. Of them the important are the learning theory and the evolutionary theory. In the essay the focus is on both the theories their process, advantages and disadvantages. Defining the evolutionary and learning theory Evolutionary theory of socialization is on the nature side which says attachment is biologically innate in a new born (Bereczkei, 2007). It states that the infants cry, smile and laugh as they know they will get a response from the adult. It is biologically inherited and has a critical period of 2.5 years of age. It states infants are more attached to the comforting person who provides protection, support and is basis for future relations. On the contrary the behavioural or the learning theory says it is on the nurture side. It says that attachment is a sequence of the behaviours that are learned from the surrounding environment and they are not at all inborn or innate (Mowere, 2000). It is a learned theory with no critical period and the infants are attached to the sources of food. Concept of evolutionary and learning theory The learning theory is based on the concept of classical conditioning and operant conditioning. Classical Conditioning means the association of the infant for his/her food with the care giver. The care giver provide comfort and fulfil their needs so they become the attachment figure (Ivan et al, 2006). Classical conditioning has the following factors: Unconditioned stimulus: A stimulus which provokes up a reaction naturally like hunger. Unconditioned response: A response that happens on its own like salivating. Conditioned stimulus: This stimulus pairs with the unconditional stimulus but does not cause a unconditioned response. Conditioned response (CR): It a response that the individual learns. The Operant Conditioning means the new born leanrs to grab the attention from the adults by smiling, crying or laughing. The response given by the care giver or any other one than turns as a base to them. The condition suggest that the attachment is based on the provision of care and is the most with the one who provides the utmost care (Tolman, Richie Kailash, 1990).Evolutionary theory sates the survival is the need for attachment. The infant has innate instinct that in order to survive they need to attach to someone. This attachment is developed during the critical period and is learned once in a life time. The critical period is the amount of time which a particular things take to develop (Bjorklund Pelligrini, 2000). Like a bond with the primary care giver which is mostly mother. It states the humans are born to be social as it is the way of the human species to go on. Like for example parents use high pitch voice to control or to scare their children. This is followed everywher e in the cities to small tribes of the whole world. The evolution theory also has developed some characteristics that are same for the males and the females throughout regardless to their age, ethnic origin, sexual posture etc. Like males are more healthy and females have a patient nature. Advantages and disadvantages of the evolutionary theory The advantages of evolutionary theories are as follows: It gives a brief description about the existence of all the species in the way they are and they tells how they will change in response to the environmental disturbances. It explains the nature along with strong evidences. It deals up with the system, structure, adaptation and change as part of social stratification. It gives all the explanations about the social complexity like integrating the technology in to human live, their perception, the technology effects, the tolerance levels and the beliefs relating to values and norms (Buss, 2008). The disadvantages of the evolutionary theory are as follows: It does not hold any scientific facts. It relies on speculations that have happened in the past years. It also lacks in detail knowledge of the selection pressure that the human race has faced in the past million years. It also does not explain the differences in culture and the differences on the individual basis. Some behaviours are not adaptive. Advantages and disadvantages of the learning theory The advantages of learning theories are as follows: It focuses on the individuals behavioural changes. The concept of association between the individuals is well explained (bower, 1975). The disadvantages of learning theories are as follows: The approaches are reductionist. The behaviour is decreased to simple association between the behaviour and the environment. It neglects the cognitive factors that are necessary for ones behaviour (Seward John, 1970). It also limits the explanation about behaviours as all type of behaviour is not learnt. It argues that anger is behavioural trait that is learned whereas the biological approach says that the hormones like testosterone are responsible for such behaviours. Conclusion At the end it can be said that both the theories have their pros and corns. Both the nature and nurture operate in sequence to influence up the development. They follow a interactive rather than an independent pattern. The aspects and point explained for both of them hold logical and reasonable facts. So, both the theories of attachment are involved for the development of full individual. References Bereczkei T. (2007) Parental impact on development: how proximate factors mediate adaptive plans. In: Oxford Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology (Eds. R. Dunbar and L. Barrett. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 255-272. Bjorklund, D. F., Pelligrini, A. D. (2000). Child development and evolutionary psychology. Child Development, 71, 16871708 Bowrer, G.H. Cognitive psychology: An introduction. In W.K. Estes (Ed.), Handbook of learning and cognitive processes. Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1975. Buss, D. M. (2008). Evolutionary psychology: The new science of the mind. Boston, MA: Pearson Ivan, Zs. And Bereczkei T. (2006) parental bonding, risk-takin behavior and life history. Journal of Cultural and Evolutionary Psychology 4: 267-275. Mowrer, O.H. On the dual nature of learning -- A re-interpretation of conditioning and problem-solving. Harvard Educational Review, 2000, 17, 102-148. Seward, John P. Conditioning theory. In M.H. Marx (Ed.), Learning: Theories. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1970. Tolman, E.C., Ritchie, B.F., Kalish, D. Studies in spatial learning. II Place learning versus response learning. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1990, 36, 221-226.