Frederick Douglass

Douglass struggles against his literal slavery and turns himself into an educated and independent human being. Kingston is enslaved by the sexist system of America (and China, insofar as that system is transplanted to Chinese child-rearing and female self-identity in the United States) and the racist society of America. Both Kingston and Douglass are able to overcome their shackles through self-knowledge, education and determined hard work.

Douglass uses education and religion to sustain his spirit and eventually win his liberty. There is no sign of freedom in the early sections of Douglass' autobiography, but only slaves who have their freedom taken from them in the horror of slavery, and slaveowners who commit those horrors. Douglass learns that to be a free human being he

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t what they say is an inferior being is capable of seeing their lies as well as honoring what they say is their religion, a religion they in fact betray with every slaveholding breath they breathe. His faith in a loving God is as much a part of his growth toward freedom as is his education. Because of his ongoing education, Douglass was able to see the bigger social, economic, and political factors behind slavery, and he was able to share his knowledge and its liberating power with others because of his education. His education allowed him not only to be free but to discover and express his talents to the fullest, for his own advancement as well as others of his race. Kingston suffers from and grows because of the impact of the history and culture of China on Chinese-Americans, and especially on Chinese-American women. Specifically, she examines the personal impact of the cultural clash she experiences as she tries to fashion a hybrid reality out of contrasting American and Chinese cultures and perceptions of life. Just as Douglass used what he could of both cultures in fashioning his own free identity, so does Kingston have to find what works for her from both cultures. She discovers not only that she has been the victim o
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Approximate Word count = 1622
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)

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