1 The general sentiment of mankind is, that a man who will not fight for himself, when he has the means of doing so, is not worth being fought for by others, and this sentiment is just. For a man who does not value freedom for himself will never value it for others, nor put himself to any inconvenience to gain it for others....
2 A man of that type will never lay the world under any obligation to him, but will be a moral pauper, a drag on the wheels of society, and if he, too, be identified with a peculiar variety of the race he will entail disgrace upon his race as well as upon himself. The world in which we live is very accommodating to all sorts of people. It will co-operate with them in any measure which they propose; it will help those who earnestly help themselves, and will hinder those who hinder themselves. It is very polite, and never offers its services unasked.-Its favors to individuals are measured by an unerring principle in this: viz-respect those who respect themselves, and despise those who despise themselves. It is not within the power of unaided human nature to persevere in pitying a people who are insensible to their own wrongs, and indifferent to the attainment of their own rights.
Which two claims is Frederick Douglass making in the passage?
1. People will rarely inconvenience themselves in order to help others if it does not gain them anything.
2. Oppressed people must stand up for their rights if they want other people to help them obtain those rights.
3. It is human nature to prefer helping those who seem to want help and a way out of negative circumstances.
4. Those who lack resources should seek the pity of those in power in order to advance their cause and win equal rights.
5. People in power gladly help those without power achieve whatever goals they have set for themselves and their families.
1 answer
Frederick Douglass is making the following two claims in the passage:
Oppressed people must stand up for their rights if they want other people to help them obtain those rights.
It is human nature to prefer helping those who seem to want help and a way out of negative circumstances.
These claims reflect Douglass's emphasis on self-agency and the idea that individuals must demonstrate their own desire for freedom and rights in order to gain support from others.
