“As I writhed under it, I would at times feel that learning to read had been a curse rather than a blessing. It had given me a view of my wretched condition, without the remedy. It opened my eyes to the horrible pit, but to no ladder upon which to get out. In moments of agony, I envied my fellow-slaves for their stupidity. I have often wished myself a beast.” (paragraph1pg.3)
This quote demonstrates Douglass uncomfortable realization of his position of what it means to be a slave, and reason desire for his freedom. From him Gaining knowledge only made worst it became even more depressing a frustrating for him not knowing how get out of the pit harder to go what to do, see a way out. Where to go what to do, because of that When look at his fellow-slaves He wanted to be like them again forget all the things he learned in hope to not stress over what he couldn’t have to like wild animal blissful ignorance for no care of the world around them. Him and not the more he could have. This quote doesn’t show in the strongest moment of Douglass, but it is the fall for Douglass pain Resilience means to the capacity to withstand or to recover quickly from difficulties this is his challenge it that he must rise from it the first part of Resilience if nothing is in your way it wouldn’t be hard.
Douglass’s experience is something hard to relate too. I could only scrap the surface of how he could felt but when I saw this quote when he describe that pit with not ladder to climb on. when you are in a hole there little to see but dirt and the sky it feels as if you are hollowing from the inside. Your so close to sky like you can touch it almost, when I first applied to city tech, I was fresh high school student holding myself in high esteem was name most likely to succeed. It was 2020 for spring semester I was new to collage experience didn’t know who ask for help or where I could find it. I had no access citytech building had terrible internet connection while living in a New York apartment in Flatbush area few blocks from prospect park old building squeaky floorboards and with the only control of radiators to the entire building in the basement which the landlord has access too. I couldn’t focus slowly I couldn’t understand the material that my teachers gave me I was failing my class but I thought I could turn it around all I to do was try harder I still had time just need clean up my act , it didn’t work I kept falling but slowly I was still holding on hope but my grip slip when one my professor send me an email informing me that I fail and recommended me to drop out, My chest felt heavy and sank in to the floor there was some time in high school my teacher told me to clean up my act and I did take seriously and fix it but never I had a teacher little to no one for that matter just give up.
The apartment walls were closing in and the floor was distorting downward falling it was hard breathed in and even harder out it felt claustrophobic. I failed all my classes for the semester. I didn’t take the hint went and went for another semester for 2021 spring term maybe it was bad start I can do and I tried harder but it keep falling apart zero after zero and only pass one class it was madding I Kept on think what was the problem , why can’t I do it ,why am losing , I kept trying to justify to myself try find an answer for myself how to improve and half way through the second semester I just give up I got in contact with my guidance counselor ask drop all my classes and said I was take a break and my guidance counselor for how long of a break, honest I wanted to say I wasn’t coming back but I want to keep trying I conflicted so I said to my counselor I don’t know and gave me the go head and told me that can come back but only within year if remember right but I didn’t left not until now I needed time relax and sort myself out and not hit my head against wall repeatedly wasn’t the answer so I stay home for long time.
During the Break the time I had gain some coping strategies the first one is use immediate if I begin to spiral out control I lay my hand on wall ,chair or any inanimate objects and try to focus on it and clear my mind of everything except the object while controlling my breathing. I use it to clear head that that I’m feeling at that moment an adjust my perspective. If that strategy wasn’t enough, then I would repeat a phrase to myself, there is no shame in defeat over an over to instill it helps not to destroy when I’m failing to reverse it an accepted instead of holding on to losing move myself beyond it and let go. Best thing for me not get bent out of shape wasn’t the end of world. I learned form these strategies have a clear mind make more effective to learn to be resilience is not held by past or thing on are mind.
Manual — in Part A I want you to focus on using Douglass’s own words and using your own words to explain each sentence of Douglass. So far example: “It opened my eyes to the horrible pit, but to no ladder upon which to get out.” You would explain it as: This episode made me feel as if I was stuck in a deep hole with no ladder to climb out. You need to do that for each of the sentences in your quote!
Now Part B — that’s some story! WOW. YOU wrote a lot and you have given the seed of what could be developed more fully into an interesting story of your resilience. I can see that you are resilient because you are here in our class and contributing insightful ideas to our inclass discussions. I agree that there is no shame in defeat. Once we are down, we have to learn and we can change.
I am a little confused about the time line here. Did ALL THIS happen in Spring 2020? I see you do say Spring 2020 but then yuou continue to write about a lot of things and sort of in a jumbled way. And what challenge or struggle were you facing? Were you failing Freshman Year at City Tech in the Spring of 2020? What year were you in college? Freshman?
Think about the 5 W’s: WHy What When Where How?
Think about Time Line: You need to have a clear time order of events so the reader can follow your narrative.
Be careful of just writing in a rambling wandering way. Remember this is not a freewrite. You should be writing it first in your MS word doc and then revising a bit before you put it here on the Open Lab.
ALSO — you must work on sentence errors, Run-Ons and Comma Splices. It’s hard to understand your meaning when I can’t tell where one sentence, one idea ends and the next one begins. Pls work on this with the Writing Center tutors. You can take you HW to them and ask them to work on it with you. ALSO start by looking at the Grammar Writing Skills Page where I put videos and help on this topic.
This quote was also a quote I found very interesting and thought about using myself. It further explains what i had put in the end of my own paragraph where I stated that “Ignorance is bliss” and this was Douglass’ own way of saying that for had he not known how read he would have never had the hardships he need to endure to make this passage a thing rather he would have wanted to never deal with such hardships and been like his fellow slaves. Ignorant. I also liked the part of your story where you stated “The apartment walls were closing in and the floor was distorting downward falling it was hard breathed in and even harder out it felt claustrophobic.” I feel that is a good way to personify how you felt. And as someone who kind of had a similar thing happened I think that this is a perfect way to describe it.
I like your coping strategy want would like try that one day.