The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass follows the format of a traditional slave narrative, characterizing the plight faced by a slave and by his search for freedom. Ishmael Reed's Flight to Canada, on the other hand, parodies traditional slave stories and offers a more modernized view of slavery. Douglass's tale describes the development of a slave's journey to education and how it aids him in his acquisition of freedom. In Escape to Canada, writing and knowledge are shown as both catalysts of freedom and the cause of many other problems for the escapees. Although the texts are different, both offer the idea that intellectual freedom is not the same as physical freedom, nor does one facilitate the acquisition of the other. By comparing the acquisition of knowledge, the ability to write, and the later life of slaves using these skills in both texts, one can understand this point. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayAt the age of just seven or eight, Douglass recounts being taken from the plantation to the city of Baltimore. His new slave owner, Sophia Auld, was very kind to him at first, being described as “a woman of the kindest heart and finest feelings” (Douglass 77). He soon began teaching Douglass his alphabet and how to write small words. But this progress was soon interrupted. Hugh Auld, Sophia's husband, forbade her from teaching Douglass saying that "A negro should know nothing but to obey his master, do what he is told to do. To learn would ruin the best negro in the world" (78). This tactic served to keep the slaves in the dark about how menial their situation really was. If a slave had received an education, he would have been able to spot the flaws in the institution of slavery and go mad at his plight. Mr. Auld continues to say "...[becoming educated] would make him discontented and unhappy" (78). Being aware of his situation would only serve to torture an educated slave. Prompting him to desire freedom and escape from his current situation, “if you give a nigga an inch, he'll take an ell” (78). Douglas responds by saying that: “The first step has been taken. [SM. Auld], teaching me the alphabet, had given me the thumb, and no precaution could prevent me from taking the ell” (82). Douglass's desire to study had already been triggered. His exposure to the material had inspired him to become educated. Mr. Auld's warnings also helped increase Douglass's desire to be educated. Douglass explains: I now understand what to me had been the most perplexing difficulty, namely, the power of the white man to enslave the black man... From that moment, I understood the path from slavery to freedom. It was exactly what I wanted and I got it when I least expected it. (78)Douglass connects the idea of ​​having no value to his master with being free. He sees this as an opportunity to get out of his current condition. The fact that Mr. Auld protested Douglass's education was also interesting. Douglass wanted to know more even in spite of Mr. Auld. He says, “…the argument he so heartily made, against my learning to read, served only to inspire me with the desire and determination to learn” (78). This desire is evident in the later chapters of his story. Hoping to free himself from slavery, Douglass's attempt to study becomes an integral part of thehis life. Although he was in an environment that discouraged a slave's education, Douglass becomes self-taught. Despite the "...difficulty of learning without a teacher, [he] set out with great hope and with a fixed purpose, no matter what the cost of effort, to learn to read" (78). His passion for learning is evident as he thinks outside the box to find and utilize his resources to continue to educate himself. The kids in his neighborhood become a main resource for his education. Douglass realized that if he could "befriend all the little white boys [he] met on the streets," he could "convert them into teachers" (82). He establishes friendships with the boys by giving them bread and talking to them. He says that he, "[gave] this bread... [to] the hungry little urchins, who, in return, would give [him] that bread more precious than knowledge" (83). Douglas also describes how he learns to write. Together with the help of the kids in his neighborhood, he also learned to write by watching the boats go by. Note that they would be lettered. He says: “I soon learned the names of these letters and their intended meaning when they were placed on a piece of wood in the shipyard. I immediately began to copy them, and in a short time I managed to create the four letters mentioned" (86). He puts his knowledge of these letters to good use by using them to challenge the kids in his neighborhood to writing competitions. As he faces these challenges, he also learns new information. Douglass's resourcefulness is exemplary of his desire to learn. When he has no way to be educated by anyone else, he looks for a solution. Although he finds a way to study, Douglass is not yet free. After teaching himself to read and write, Douglass came across the book The Columbian Orator, which outlined the arguments for and against slavery. It helped him gain the ability to justify a "bold denunciation of slavery and a powerful claim of human rights. Reading these documents allowed him to express [his] thoughts and address the arguments advanced in support of slavery." (84). Reading this book increases Douglass' awareness of his situation and allows him to create concrete reasons why slavery should have been abolished. By reading this book and becoming aware of these issues, Douglass begins to desire an increasing amount of information about slavery and abolition. He says: The more I read, the more I was led to abhor and detest my slaveholders... As I read and contemplated the subject, behold! that same dissatisfaction that Master Hugh had predicted would follow my learning to read had already arrived, to torment and sting my soul to the point of unspeakable anguish... Sometimes I had the feeling that learning to read had been quite a curse. What a blessing. It had given me insight into my miserable surroundings. (84) Understanding his situation is a mixed blessing for Douglass. As Mr. Auld had already warned, Douglass is tortured by the knowledge of the institution of slavery. Although he can read, Douglass is still bound to slavery, both mentally and physically. Still yearning for freedom, Douglass is taken back to a plantation. Here he starts a Sabbath school, where he teaches his fellow slaves to read and write. He is able to share his knowledge in hopes of "improving the condition of [his] race" (121). Although he was free to learn and, in one way or another, free to teach, Douglass desired to live on “free ground.” He says that he "began to want to live on free land...[he] was no longer content, therefore, to live with any other slaveholder" (123). His desire to bephysically free he was so strong that he would "prefer[ed] death to hopeless slavery" (124). Douglass wanted to be free so badly that he was willing to risk his life for it. This section of the narrative highlights the contradiction of knowledge leading to freedom. In the final pages of the narrative, Douglass talks about his final escape to freedom. He chooses to hide information regarding his escape for two main reasons. Reflecting on his escape, Douglass says:...if I were to give a minute account of all the facts it is not only possible, but quite probable, that others would thus be involved in the most embarrassing difficulties...[and] such a situation This declaration would undoubtedly induce greater vigilance on the part of slaveholders than has heretofore existed. (137) Douglas did not want to prevent other slaves from escaping the same way he had, and he also did not want to embarrass the Southern whites who aided him in his endeavor. Although he did not tell what happened, the story can be reconstructed using knowledge of Douglass' escape attempt. It is likely that he used his ability to write to create a "protection" for his safe escape and that, with the help of people from the South, he was able to escape. Ultimately, his wits and knowledge helped him on his journey to freedom, but he wasn't truly free. Being able to learn and teach did not satisfy Douglass until he was physically free. Although he did not release information about his escape to readers, Douglass's Narrative, upon its publication, served to raise a cry for abolitionism and sympathy for slaves. It is now read as a reflection of what people have had to deal with in the past. Autobiography gives students the opportunity to reflect on how society has progressed. Unlike Douglass's decision to keep information regarding his escape unrevealed, Quickskill, a character in Ishmael Reed's Flight to Canada, writes a poem that does the opposite. In the poem, Quickskill talks about escaping from a plantation and the things he did despite his master. His escape is presented as a prank on his master. The poem is directed at his slave owner, Arthur Swille, and serves as a metaphorical slap in the face. The tone of Quickskill's poem has an air of sarcasm. Detailing how he outsmarts Swille, Quickskill says, “The Mistress Ms. Lady gave me the combination/ For your safe, don't blame/ The old weak soul, Captain/ I told her you needed some '/ More money to shop with &/ You sent me from Charleston/ To get it' (5). By making comments like "Don't blame/ The old feeble soul, Captain" and then saying that he "accepts [the money he took] as/ Down payment on [his] back/ Salary," it's clear how he incorporates sarcasm into the telling of what he did. Writing this poem disproves the imposed idea that slaves were too dumb to escape and be informed about their surroundings. Quickkill not only highlights Swille's lack of awareness and inability to realize what was happening right under his nose, but also portrays him as a fool with the revelation of his disdain for Swille's personal space during the his various trips back to the plantation. In the text Quickskill says that he, "snuck back to the plantation 3 maybe 4 times...slept in [Swille's] bed...tried [Swille's] cellar...[and] had the [ his] Prime/ Quadroon given [ him]/The Bear" (4). Quickskill even goes so far as to say that he poisoned Swille's "Old Crow". The fact that a slave, who should be morelow, both in status and intellectual capacity, that Swille is capable of such deceptions serves to be the most humiliating aspect of the poem. Further information that Quickskill has intruded into Swille's personal space only adds to the humiliation. The poem allows for a kind of success for Quickskill. Having intellectual freedom and escape from a place of oppression, one might think that Quickskill is free, but that is not the case. In his poem, Quickskill posts information identifying his location, the steps to get there, as well as his multiple trips back to the plantation from which he escapes. Quickskill writes that he has "made [his] Liza Leap / and [is] safe in the arms / of Canada" (Reed 3). Despite the dangers of releasing such information, Quickskill identifies where it went. Quickskill's escape to Canada has notable significance in history. He sees it as “…heaven on earth. There seemed to be people of every race, class, and description” (156). Canada embodies acceptance of all races, a characteristic goal of all escapees from slavery. At the end of the book, the character Uncle Robin reflects on what Canada really means in the story. He says it could really just be a “state of mind” (178).Interestingly, Robin says that freedom is also a state of mind. This poses the idea that freedom can be created despite adversity. Quickskill is able to write about his attempt to be free and have his own taste for Canada. The flight to Canada contributes a small amount of success for Quickskill throughout the story, but it later catches up with him. He becomes a star thanks to the poem, and publishing it allows him to live the life of a celebrity: drinking "champagne/ kudos to the Captain/ who announced that a/ Runaway Negro was on the/ plane," (3) becoming an idol to many slaves who they wish to escape and are later welcomed to the White House by Lincoln. While poetry allows for these luxuries, it soon commands attention and allows Swille to find his footing. The book says, "[Flight to Canada] had pointed out where [Quickskill]...[was hiding]. It was [his] hound, this poem 'Flight to Canada'" (13). Two slave collectors sent by Swille find Quickskill because of the poem. Although Quickskill is smart enough to come up with a plan to get away from the slave collectors, he still does not have freedom. Quickskill is forced to continue running after this. Escaping Canada becomes more of a burden than a gift, as the escapees from Swille's plantation must live their lives in fear of being recaptured while Swille is alive. Quickskill reflects on his status after the poem received such high publicity. He realizes that although he has been treated like a celebrity, he is still considered property. He discusses this with slave collectors, saying, “I am property. I am a thing” (64). Even though he published his poetry and fled to Canada, he is still considered real. While sick in Lincoln's bed, Reed writes of Quickskill as an object adding to the argument that Quickskill is just a property: He was sipping a glass of wine... He is lying on the bed that corresponds to the table. He is lying in the president's bed, just as in "Escape to Canada" he bragged about lying in Swille's bed. (85) He is still considered property and less human despite receiving so much attention. Quickskill offers a tone of restlessness and remorse for having written Flight to Canada more than once in the book, saying that "the writing always catches up with him." ” and that “[Flight to Canada] was more reading than writing. Everything he said seems to have reached him" (7). This reflection offers a more in-depth look at the..