Analysis Of Frederick Douglass s The Great House Farm

Ashlyn Higgins Mr. Stadick American Literature - Green 26 September 2017 Within the Circle Early in his narrative, Frederick Douglass stresses his lack of understanding and his absence of a personal history due to being enslaved. He begins by telling stories of his main home during his time as a slave: the Great House Farm. He focuses on the songs the slaves use to sing about the Great House Farm. While singing these songs, Douglass states about being â€Å"within the circle† (26). Frederick Douglass highlights his lack of a personal history history by stating that he was, at that time, â€Å"within the circle† (26) and further explains the implications and consequences of being apart of the circle: his goal to recognize the tension in the†¦show more content†¦I was myself within the circle; so that I neither saw nor heard as those without might see and hear† (26). Douglass argues that only after moving away from a culture can one gain interpretation from it. There is tension here, between the literal meaning of the songs and the true meaning in which Douglas hopes to reeducate. Douglass corrects white reader’s misconceptions about the slave’s assumed happiness by illustrating the song’s true meaning through his personal experience â€Å"within the circle.† Douglass is astounded that northerners believed they were singing songs out of happiness; he says, â€Å"I have often been astonished, since I came to the north, to find persons who could speak of the singing, among slaves, as evidence of their contentment and happiness. It is impossible to conceive of a greater mistake† (26). Douglass explains that the songs create a common experience among all slaves. Therefore, those outside the circle are ignorant to believe that their songs are out of happiness or contempt. In actuality, â€Å"slaves sing most when they are the most unhappy. The songs of the slave represent the sorrows of his heart; and he is relieved by them, only as an aching heart is relieved by its tearsâ⠂¬  (26). Douglass makes it clear that slaves are actually evident on a sub-conscious level of deep unhappiness. The singing is a coping mechanism, per say, to the aching hearts. The songs are not a pastimeShow MoreRelatedNarrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass Essay1102 Words   |  5 PagesNarrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass Writing in the favor of black people has always remained controversial from the very beginning. 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