Overcoming Fear

Paper Summary:

This paper uses several well-known writings to demonstrate the power of fear and its influence on human behavior. The paper talks about how fear has been used on slaves to keep them from wanting to become free, how it can be used to make people do things that are contrary to their own well-being, and how great strength and courage are needed to overcome fear.

From the Paper:

"Frederick Douglass is an excellent example of an individual who stood up to his fear. In his novel, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Douglass explains the fear he encountered as a slave with high ambitions. We realize his desire when Mrs. Auld's attempts to teach Douglass to read. Mr. Auld forbade the lessons, telling his wife, it was "unlawful, as well as unsafe to teach a slave to read . . . if you give a nigger an inch, he will take an ell" (78). Additionally, he said that teaching Douglass to read "would forever unfit him to be a slave. He would at once become unmanageable, and of no value to his master. As to himself, it could do him no good, but a great deal of harm. It would make him disoriented and unhappy" (78). This scene is significant because it illustrates Douglass' strength to follow his own desire despite his circumstances. Douglass demonstrates how the slaves were placed in a position of fearing even learning to read because they might be punished. "

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