Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Douglass Memoir
"...I was, however, somewhat indebted to the society of my fellow slaves. They were noble souls; they not only possessed loving hearts, but brave ones. We were linked and interlinked with each other. I loved them with a love stronger than any thing I have experienced since." pg. 121 Ch. 10
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2 comments:
Casey, I love that passage in the narrative! I think it's such a perfect contrasting point to what he feels at the beginning of his tale. He seems to have found a sense of identity in the slaves he has encountered over the course of his servitude. Not only do his friends have loving and brave hearts, but he recognizes that he, himself, has the same heart beating within his chest. He has formed strong friendships with people who are just like him.
All I can think about is the first page of his narrative, in which he admits that never had knowledge of his age, "By far the larger part of the slaves know as little of their age as horses know of theirs, and it is the wish of most masters within my knowledge to keep their slaves thus ignorant..."
Douglass admits to missing a piece of his identity here (his age and birthday). I am glad that by the end of the narrative, Douglass presents evidence that he now "knows himself," even if he still doesn't know how old he is!
what a thoroughly thoughtful response to casey, megan.
aps
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