Frederick Douglass and His Fight for Freedom and Knowledge
Autor: Adnan • August 5, 2018 • 1,080 Words (5 Pages) • 524 Views
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Douglass fled with other slaves to the north in the pursuit of freedom, and eventually obtained it by using a document that would allow him to sail as a free man. In the new land, Douglass begins working and eventually marries Anna Murray who was a free black woman. He has now achieved the end of the “Path to Freedom” and acquired literacy. Douglass goes through the “Crossing the Return Threshold” (Stages 17), in which Douglass on his return sets himself on another path, the path to fight slavery and support freedom. In 1848 the abolitionist William Garrison employs Douglas as an antislavery speaker, and is invited to attend the Anti-Slavery meeting held in Nantucket. In 1847, Douglass also founded an anti-slavery newspaper called “the North Star” and begins his association with the women’s right movement participating in the Women’s Right Convention in 1848 (Robert O’Meally 10). In this Campbell’s stage, Douglass pushed through with altruist actions, fighting for others freedom and sharing knowledge with the rest of the world.
“Frederick Douglass taught that literacy is the path from slavery to freedom. There are many kinds of slavery and many kinds of freedom. But reading is still the path” (Sagan 363). Sagan takes Douglass’ story and points out that knowledge is the universal chain breaker. These chains are not always physical; they can be economical, sociological, and even spiritual. While simply gaining knowledge will not bring freedom in itself, knowledge has the power to expand one’s mind, and allow them to find better solutions for their predicament.
Douglass, by fulfilling the three stages of Campbell’s; separation, initiation and return, fulfilled the path of a true hero. He was not only his own hero, but also a hero to the society by supporting other’s freedom and fighting against slavery.
Works Cited
- Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written by Himself. Norton Critical Edition. Ed. William L. Andrews and William S. McFeely, 1997.
- Sagan, Carl. Demon-Haunted World “Chap. 21: The Path to Freedom”. Ballantine, 1996.
- O’Meally, Robert. “The World of Frederick Douglass and Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas”
- Campbell, Joseph. “Monomyth/The Hero’s Journey”.
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