Douglass and Resilience – Saif

Saif Alhammami                                   

Part A: – ā€œIā€©usedā€©toā€©talkā€©thisā€©matterā€©ofā€©slaveryā€©overā€©withā€©them.ā€©Iā€©wouldā€©sometimesā€©say to them,ā€©Iā€©wishedā€©Iā€©couldā€©beā€©asā€©freeā€©asā€©theyā€©wouldā€©beā€©whenā€©theyā€©gotā€©toā€©beā€©men “Youā€©willā€©beā€©freeā€©asā€©soonā€©asā€©youā€©areā€©twentyā€one,ā€©butā€©Iā€©amā€©aā€©slaveā€©forā€©life!ā€©Haveā€©notā€©Iā€©asā€©goodā€©aā€©rightā€©to beā€©freeā€©asā€©youā€©have?”ā€©Theseā€©wordsā€©usedā€©toā€©troubleā€©them.ā€©theyā€©would expressā€©for meā€©the liveliestā€©sympathy,ā€©andā€©consoleā€©meā€©withā€©theā€©hopeā€©thatā€©somethingā€©wouldā€©occurā€©byā€©whichā€©I mightā€©beā€©free.ā€ (pg.2) I chose this passage because it shows how Fredrick Douglass feels hopeless. He is talking to poor white boys who trades bread for books. Douglas says how he is more fortunate than these boys when it comes food because he is a salve under a wealthy man while they are poor but, since he is a slave, he doesnā€™t have access to ā€œmore valuable bread of knowledgeā€ (books). He tells the boys how they will be free when they get older but not Fredrick because he is a slave. He says to them does he not deserve the right to be free as them? Then which the poor boys feel sorry for him and hope that in the future something must happen for him to be a free man.

Part B: –

Douglass showed resilience by learning to read even though he was a slave and not allowed too. He found ways to get his hands on books and learn to write when it was not allowed for him to do so. He would do things like trade bread with poor white boys for books and trick people into spelling contests so he can learn more about writing. ā€œIā€©immediatelyā€©commencedā€©copyingā€©them,ā€©andā€©inā€©aā€©shortā€©timeā€©wasā€©ableā€©toā€©makeā€©theā€©fourā€©lettersā€©named.ā€©Afterā€©that,ā€©whenā€©Iā€©metā€©withā€©anyā€©boyā€©whoā€©Iā€©knewā€©couldā€©write,ā€©Iā€©wouldā€©tellā€©himā€©Iā€©couldā€©writeā€©asā€©wellā€©asā€©he.ā€©Theā€©nextā€©wordā€©wouldā€©be,”1 don’tā€©believeā€©you.ā€©Letā€©meā€©seeā€©youā€©tryā€©it.”ā€©Iā€©wouldā€©thenā€©makeā€©theā€©lettersā€©whichā€©Iā€©hadā€©beenā€©soā€©fortunateā€©asā€©toā€©learn,ā€©andā€©askā€©himā€©toā€©beatā€©that.ā€©Inā€©thisā€©wayā€©Iā€©gotā€©aā€©goodā€©manyā€©lessonsā€©inā€©writing,ā€©whichā€©itā€©isā€©quiteā€©possibleā€©Iā€©shouldā€©neverā€©haveā€©gottenā€©inā€©anyā€©otherā€©way.ā€(pg.4) This shows resilience by he would go up to anyone who was able to write and say he knew more than them. As a slave people didnā€™t believe him so they would try and challenge him and in doing so Douglass learned more words which he says he wouldnā€™t have gotten in any other way.

            Something hard for me was trying to focus on my work and studying. I went through all middle school without studying and it was a new concept for me in high school. I wouldnā€™t focus in class and would go home clueless. I would be lost and clueless having no idea what to do. I would get distracted easily either from my phone or just putting the work aside telling myself I would do it later and never do it. My grades fell and I had no idea how I would be ready for regents at the end of the year. So, I developed habits to help me now focus on my work at home even though I still have a little trouble to this day.

Some things I have taught myself over the years to focus on my work is to wait till nighttime when the house is quiet and start there. I like to turn off the lights and play a video in the background that isnā€™t too distracting. I found it much better for me to work when I donā€™t have anyone distracting me like my four-year-old sister. Sometimes I would pause my work to pay attention to the video and sometimes I pause the video to focus on my work. This has helped my resilience because I can now stay more focused for longer periods of time.

3 thoughts on “Douglass and Resilience – Saif”

  1. Staying focused can be hard but those things you mentioned do help. Being in a place with no distractions is the best place to work because 100 percent of your focus is on the task at hand and nothing else. Also, if you cannot remove distractions from yourself, move away from the distractions. Go somewhere where you can really focus and complete your work there.

  2. Maintaining discipline within ourselves can be overwhelming to handle but I can relate and say that when working in a quiet environment from distractions helps a-lot especially at night for some reason. In my personal experience I assume sometimes waiting till nighttime to do work can be tiring so what I like to do is listen to “studying” music, it’s basically like quiet/calm sounds. It helps me stay focus and think my thoughts through, so it might work for you.

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