Up From Slavery/ Page 665

Up From Slavery

Up from slavery is a great story that tells the reader how the life of an African American was like during enslavement. Booker T Washington was a man that did so much for his people in order for them to live a comfortable life. I noticed that throughout his story, Washington uses a lot of imagery describing where he grew up and how his mother would constantly pray for freedom during the nights. Another place in the story where I feel that Washington uses imagery is when he tells the reader that the slaves would watch every victory of the Federal armies and every defeat of the Confederate forces. This serves as great imagery since it allows the reader to put himself in their place and see what was going on during those times. Washington also uses imagery when he is describing what he ate. He states that he would eat once in a while and in small portions. One of the passages that got to me the most, is located in the final sentence of page 668. He states that he saw two young mistresses eating ginger cakes. Those cakes seemed so desirable to him that if he ever reached freedom, his ambition would be to acquire those cakes. This passage made me think of how we sometimes take things for granted. It seems obvious that the mistresses didn't even think about how they were privileged to delight themselves with ginger cakes, and here Washington’s ambition was to eat these cakes as soon as he got out.

During the whole story, Washington's tone appears to be a passive tone. He doesn't appear to be angered, but rather he seem happy. For example, he states that there was a close bondage between a slave and his master. In fact, some slaves would beg for the privilege to sit up at night at nurse their wounded masters. This is a great act of kindness because as slaves, many could have displayed bitterness for not being free, but they didn't. In fact, I found it surprising when Washington in a way thanked the White men because they were taught so much. They were taught to sew, cook, take care of the house. This proved to be valuable when the slaves were set free because they were well prepared to face the difficulties in life.

Booker T Washington’s story makes me think about how great of a man he and his fellow black slaves were. His story makes it clear that slaves cared for their masters, were hard workers, and many were not in the least bitter. Washington shows us that he was a humble man and that he loved his people. At the same time, we learn that Washington was ambitious and this was the reason for him going to school. This is a great example for us because sometimes we face difficulties in our lives, but from his example, we learn that if we have the right determination and display hard work, anything in life is possible.