Freedom and Self Determinism
The two stories “Up From Slavery” by Booker T. Washington and “Incidents In The Life of A Slave Girl '' reflect very insightful history and significance of slavery in America and the aftermath of the Civil War on black america. By comparing and contrasting the two stories on themes of freedom and self determinism, we can find the complex significance of different philosophies and messaging that were proposed during this time of US history. Freedom elicits many meanings, but in the context of these two stories, I want to explore what freedom means for the two writers, and how they differ. “Up From Slavery” tells the story of Washington’s pursuit and success of educational and economic freedom, and “Incidents In The Life of A Slave Girl” tells the story of overcoming slavery and finding what freedom means for her and her children.
In “Up From Slavery” by Booker T. Washington, it is very evident that he was an extremely determined and strong willed person. Throughout the book, there are time and time again awful circumstances that are forced upon him that he refuses to back down from. Even through trauma from slavery, extreme financial hardships, and a seemingly inescapable hopeless life, he holds firmly onto his dream of getting educated and escaping the suffocating life of poverty and oppression. Through the telling of his story Washington conveys his philosophies of African American identity and success in America, which is focused on hard work and education as a dignified and empowering way for black america to build itself. There is little if any mention of inspiring systemic and political change and fighting against oppression, but rather individual drive and success. The theme of freedom seems to be centered around individual liberation through hard work and education, and to an extent disregarding the injustice and oppression happening systemically.
“Incidents In The Life of A Slave Girl” portrays the horrors and injustices that black Americans faced during and after slavery through the story of her life. Similar to “Up From Slavery” her incredible determination for freedom shows itself throughout her story. Immense pain and trauma never stopped her absolute will for breaking free from the oppressive powers of slavery. A major theme present is sacrifice for others, both from Jacobs herself and from other characters in the story. She sacrifices so much in order to protect her children and free them, also there is an astounding loyalty and trust within her friends who keep quiet about her hiding while there is significant financial incentive to betray her. Some don't just keep the secret but also secretly help her as well.
There are many similarities between the two presentations of freedom and self determinism, but I would argue that there are much more in the theme of self determinism. Both writers display their incredible resilience, Washington for his economic and educational dreams, and Jacobs for her and her children's freedom. Through Washington's story we can see the lengths at which his mind is tested through intimidation, disrespect, and awful conditions but he takes everything as an opportunity rather than a punishment. Through Jacob's story, we see her determination for her and her childrens' freedom defy the immense pain that Dr. Flint causes, the torture of being cooped up in a little part of a roof for 7 years, and the constant fear of being found.
While these two displays of self determinism have many similarities in the sense of willpower against pain, what their broader messages convey about the ideas of freedom and self determinism differ. While Washington puts a great deal of focus on his mindset and how his self determinism for education and economic success helps him and gives him dignity, Jacobs appears to focus more on the oppression that must be changed in America, and she appears to focus her story on incidents in her life that spread truth that will inspire change rather focusing more on spreading a message of a model individual mindset. Washington appears to focus his storytelling on the mindset that served his path to freedom, and freedom to him seems to be more individual and economically based rather than freedom and liberation from oppressive powers that Jacobs would probably argue for more. We see part of Jacob’s thoughts about black identity in the context of the historical moment through her dealings with Dr. Flint and her attitude towards salvation from the white lawyer in New York.
I found your insight on black identity in the case of these two texts particularly interesting. When you compared the two different types of determination, it stuck out to me of how much these two characters have in common, but also how different they are at the same time. Overall, nice job on this.
ReplyDeleteI really agree with your point about how determined both characters are. I think the two differ widely in their values but what they have in common is that they aren't willing to compromise on those values no matter what. I think that Washington not only values rising up, but also really values education just for the sake of education. He's willing to give up comfort in the moment for this higher ideal just like Jacobs is for her ideals about protecting her rights.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that both characters are determined to stick to their values and their ideas of freedom. It seems like their both after largely the same thing, but coming at it from completely different angles, and I agree that Jacobs seems to be thinking more broadly than Washington. It's clear that freedom is so important to them that they're willing to make a lot of sacrifices to get it, even if it means different things to them.
ReplyDeleteI like that you mentioned that Washington's mindset helped him on his path out of oppression. I think the interaction between his mindset/ideas and his environment is very interesting. He kind of got his mindset through necessity: he was too busy with finding a way to sustain himself to think about the big-picture systemic considerations that Jacobs was talking about.
ReplyDeleteWith your blog and others, I'm really starting to see a lot more similarities between Jacobs and Washington's. In your blog specifically, you demonstrate each character's perseverance and undying will to achieve liberation. They have their eyes set upon this goal of liberation, and to achieve it, they'll do it by the most extreme means necessary. Where they differ is how they personally define freedom, which I think you do an excellent job explaining!
ReplyDeleteI agree with your blog post! I really think what Booker T. Washington and Harriet Jacobs's try to achieve focuses strongly on their ideas of freedom and their determination. While Jacob's views freedom as more freeing themselves from racial oppression, Washington sees freedom as individual progress (specifically about education). I think it's telling that they both worked so hard for their goals, and especially how Jacob's sacrificed so much not only for her, but her children as well. Overall, great blog post!
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that both Linda and Washington had the ideal of determining their future through their actions; however, both of them also disagreed on the means of doing so, and they were conflicted regarding what they wanted their future to actually look like. Jacobs had an approach much more focused on bringing about systemic change than Washington's, but both writers worked incredibly hard to make their voices heard.
ReplyDeleteI like the way that you show us the ways that the two narratives are so similar in terms of the amount of determination that both characters show to reach their goals. They both have such strong drive throughout their stories that they both manage to achieve their goals, despite all the challenges that they have to face. However, you also still show the key differences between the stories that makes them play out so differently.
ReplyDeleteI agree that both writers significantly portray a sense of self-determination for their varying ideas of freedom. Like you discussed, the ways in which they fight for freedom indicate their character traits, as Washington seems to persist in hard work while Jacobs sacrifices for loved ones. I noticed that in his narrative, Washington's goals and journey seem more individually pursued, while Jacobs pursues freedom largely for her family. However, both of their end goals relate to escaping the control of slavery and they both work hard to do so, even if in different ways.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with what you say about how both Washington's and Brents' self determinism is something to behold. Even though they both have vey different experiences, they both stay determined to fight for their dreams and I think you interpreted this perfectly. Nice post, Frank!
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