Twain and Douglass Essay

                                                     slavery in text                                      David Heusel
                                                                                                                     English 3
                                                                                                                     1/31/2012



           “I could, as a free man, look across the bay toward the Eastern Shore where I was born a slave”(Fredrick). For years the social structure for blacks to be slaves for the rich as be part of the American culture. Not many people in history accept slavery as a way of life, but see it as a moral issue of the country. Mark Twain saw the issue of slaver as something that divides two races a part, and twists the thought of justice to many people. Douglass was a victim of the social class in the United States of the time, but was able to overcome the trials of the time. These two people proved that the rule to slavery can be broken with the human determination to follow what you believe.

             Douglass has overcome the trail in slavery with the determination to one day be a freedman. “Mater Thomas ridiculed the idea that there was any danger at Mr. Covey’s killing me.”(Americain 568) Slavery was looked upon as a very honest moral in the time of Douglass. Thomas not thinking to help Douglass, but takes side with Mr. Covey because Douglass is looked more as a property then a human being. The idea of slavery has become a great part of the American way, and got people to think of blacks a property and nor a human life. “For this time I was never again what might be called fairly whipped, though I remained in slavery four years afterwords’ had several fights, but was never whipped”(Americain 570). Douglass still remained a slave for years, but got his hope back for a better future. The rule for Douglass setting was to remain hopeless, and work for his master for his life. Douglass was able to educate himself, and work hard for improvement in life.
           Douglass wanted to be a free man, and even some whites agreed the human mind was destroyed by slavery.Slavery can twist are inner being to be something we are not.”Eight hun’d dollars for me, en it’uz such a big stack o’ money she could’n resis”(Twain).Miss.Watson had promise Jim that she would not see him down the river,but the thought of Jim only being property had gave Miss.Watson caused the greed to be shown. Miss.Watson showed that in the society with slavey a human life just becomes something that people can make money. With promise to help greed can still come in with the right price, but for some people a frenshipp could mean more than anything to them. “Give Jim up, would you feel any better than what you do now?No,says I,I’d feel bad” (Twain). Huck is feeling bad for wanting to to turn Jim into Miss.Watsonthinking it is God’s will. Huck friendship he made with Jim has coused Huck to statrte have felling for a run away slave.This broke a rule to the setting that slaves can’t have frendship. Huck had give Jim friendship, and went to go help, and didn't care about the ideas of others.  
       
         The twisted idea of slavery has distorted so many people hope in life, but with determination people can set new rules in society. Fredrick Douglass was with a master Mr. Covey that tried to destroy everything in his slaves that could make them hope or have any ideas of being free. Mr. Covey ways of destroying his slave’s spirits work on Douglass for some time, but when Douglass found himself again he had found hope. In Mark Twain used the Adventure of Huckleberry Finn to show of how slavery twisted the conscience. Huck thought that God wanted Jim to be in slavery, and tried to harden his heart to turn Jim in. Huck thought hell was better than to let one of his best friends to be in the life of slavery, and wanted to go help Jim out of slavery. In conclusion slavery has twisted human conscience, but many people has tried to give people to knowledge of the wrong in slavery in the books to help give people the knowledge of the problem of slavery.
Applebee, Arthur N. "Narrative of The Life Of Fredrick Douglass." The Language of Literature. American Literature. Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell, 2000. 563-70. Print.

"Frederick Douglass Quotes - BrainyQuote." Famous Quotes at BrainyQuote. Web. 30 Jan. 2012.

Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Print.