The Conflict

I began reading First They Killed My Father by Loung Ung this weekend. So far I've liked this book, yet I feel like it will get better. When you read about things like what Loung is living through on text books you get facts and statistics. I feel like when it's just that, you can't really feel much for the people who went through the terrors that took place. I am not able to connect, or feel empathy for the people who were there. I feel distant because I don't know what happened to any of the people that lived through those things. I don't know what they felt or how they got through them.

Reading about the conflict in Cambodia and Loung Ung's perspective makes it really interesting. It allows us to see what a child's perspective was, we can see the confusion, the struggle, the suffering and the fear. It also gives us an insight to what it was like for many people to live in Cambodia at the time. What they felt and what they lived. I am able to connect with them and understand what happened much better than I would if I were reading a textbook. I also thin that it allows us to know the truth about many things that other books might leave out. I think that I will really enjoy the rest of this book and I know that I will learn a lot.

Smitten: be strongly attracted to something or someone.

Putrid: Dacaying or rotting, emitting a fetid smell.

Wedged: fixed in position or forced into a narrow space.

Enslaved

In my opinion Douglass ended the memoir where he did because what he wanted to do was show what slavery was really about. He wanted to reveal the horrors that he suffered so the world could see, and understand. He wanted others to read about what was going on and help stop it. His intention was not to tell the whole story of his life, he didn't want others to know how he got past everything. He didn't want others to be informed of what his life was like after the events. He wanted others to see the events. He wanted them to understand what was going on, and how horrible it was, despite the fact that he was able to get past it, and succeed. That was not important to him. What was really crucial, was for others to see the terrors that they were put through everyday, the terrors that some people still had to suffer. He wanted the public to feel their pain, and be motivated to help end it.

I believe that Douglass also ended his memoir the way he did to show that there are also other types of slavery and other things that enslave us. He mentions that, "The truth was, [he] felt [himself] a slave, and the idea of speaking to white people weighed [him] down. [He] spoke but a few moments, when [he] felt a degree of freedom, and said what [he] desired with a considerable ease," (112). 

Yes slavery is technically being the property of another and having to obey them, however taken out of its literal definition it can represent a lack of freedom in other ways. If we are not free to speak our thoughts, and express what we feel, we are enslaved. We are robbed of our right to hear what others think and to express what we think. Fear enslaves us, because it does not allow us to do things that could make us better. It takes away our freedom to do certain things because we are controlled by our fright. We can also be our own enslavers. Our personalities, thoughts and beliefs may stand in our way when doing many things. They will not allow us to do them freely and will restrain us from doing them in certain ways that could be better. For example when we are told to analyze something our beliefs and experiences will influence how we analyze it. If we were not restrained by these we could see things in many different perspectives. Another thing that can enslave us is a lie. A lie will rob us from the truth, and enslave us by taking away our freedom and right to know what's real.

Pulpit: a religious teaching, or a raid platform on a church or chapel.

Heathen: a person who does not belong to a widely held religion.

People

Hinder: create difficulties for someone resulting in a delay or  obstruction.

Something that I have never liked about some people is their tendency to 'step all over others' in order to get what they want, or where they want to go. Some people tend to do anything in order to get what they want. They don't care who gets hurt or who has to pay for their actions as long as they achieve their goal. In his novel, Douglass says, "We owe something to the slaves south of the line as well as to those north of it, and in aiding the latter on their way to freedom, we should be careful to do nothing which would be likely to hinder the former from escaping from slavery," (100). I believe that if something that we do for our own personal gain affects others negatively, then we should not feel proud about it. There is always a different way to do things, there is always another option and I think it is important that we do things in a way in which others will not have to suffer. Tomas Eddison once said, "There is always a way to do it better, find it."

Myriad: countless or extremely high in numbers.

While reading a certain section of Douglass' book I thought about something that many say about being a teenager. They all say that being a teenager means being too young for half the things you want to do and too old for the rest. People say that being a teenager means having many new responsibilities but not enough freedom. Douglass mentions that at one point, "[He] endured all the evils of a slave and suffered all the care and anxiety of a free man," (102). He experienced a certain 'limbo' where he was able to experience some of the things that being free includes, however he was not able to experience everything. He had to live through the evils of slavery and some of the negatives of freedom, including anxiety. People often say that it is the same when you are a teenager. You have a lot of responsibilities and not all of the freedom that many would hope for. You are too old to do many things and too young to do many others. However I don't completely agree with that. I believe that even though you have many responsibilities they are not as big as the ones adults have. Other people do not depend on you, and you start to become more independent (i.e. you learn how to drive), and the big things like having a house and paying the bills, still don't fall on you. So you gain freedom, and even though you gain responsibilities as well, they are not that big. As for the 'being too old for some things and too young for the others' I agree to a certain extent. Because even though technically that is true, it won't stop people from doing most things.

Exculpate: to show or declare that someone is not guilty.

Words...

Blighting: a thing that spoils or damages something.

Abhor: regard with disgust or hatred.

Fiendish: extremely cruel or unpleasant.

Betwixt: between.

Desirous: having or characterized by desire.