Douglass

For my College Writing 101 course today, we had to read a portion of Frederick Douglass' life story. Very cool reading. It was very interesting to read and I am thinking I will pick the whole book up to read. I think it is one I would rather own than check out from the library and hurry to read.

I had just a couple of thoughts about this text. I thought I would post them here rather then just forget about them. Might make for interesting reading at a later date.

1. He talks in one area about Irish-Catholic Emancipation. I am not sure what this is...so research is in order.

2. At another point, he meets up with some Irish dock workers. I wonder why he makes a point of stating that they are Irish. Would being English or German or French be different? Why not just "men" in general???

3. He also makes a wonderful note of how his grandmother was responsible for replenishing the slaves on the plantation. She had twelve children who all remained, plus their children and their children. Amazing concept to think of this woman as a brood mare of sorts.

4. In true horseman style, when the grandmother was too old to do anything for the plantation, incuding having more children, they simply gave her a place to live - all alone - in the middle of the woods. There she had to live on her own with no one to care for her or keep her company. Effectively putting her "out to pasture" so to speak. He does not say what happens to his grandmother, but the assumption is that she basically starved to death from lack of food and lack of love. To go from being in the center of the slave world, to being kicked out of it completely would kill almost anyone. How sad.