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  • Essay / The Means to an End: David Walker - 702

    David Walker, I would consider a very intelligent man who had a very strong dislike for those who considered him an inferior person. Throughout the book he refers to the difference between the Christian religion and the religion of slavery. Walker also references Israelite, Greek, Egyptian and Roman culture in the book. It is evident that Walker himself was a well-educated young man. Walker also references and criticizes the statements of Thomas Jefferson that Walker understood the vocabulary of American icons who were part of the so-called master race. This challenged the idea that black people were second rate to the white race. Walker was passionate about his views on slavery and unfortunate living conditions, using capital letters and exclamations again and again in his writing. As shown in Article 4, Walker states that he used "language so simple that the most ignorant, Anyone who can read can easily understand" (74). Because of this, Walker's projected audience consisted of black citizens who suffered from slavery. I firmly believe that Walker intended that this document would be read by white people so that they might perhaps regret and change their ways. Walker also declared regarding whites that "my objective is to see justice done at home, before I go and convert the heathen" (20). As a result, Walker's Appeal was both an inspiring and frightening document in that it challenged white ideas that black people were lazy and unintelligent. This document was also intended to inspire black African Americans to discover their self-esteem and pride in their heritage. This led Walker to declare that black people should be like Moses, stating that Moses "would rather suffer shame, ...... middle of paper ...I thought of this strong statement from Walker's Call." Overall, I have found Walker's Appeal to be an inspiring document that could inspire anyone to fight for human rights and freedom. I found it interesting how Walker had such a vast knowledge of Roman, Greek and Egyptian cultures to support his view that "the colored people of these United States constitute the most degraded set of beings, the most wretched and abject person who has ever lived since the creation of the world.” (3). I also recognized that Walker had certain themes in the text that were also repetitive in the story of Frederick Douglass himself. In Douglass's text, I also discovered the idea that there is a difference between slave Christianity and pure Christianity, that blacks affect their own situation by being subservient, and that blacks should fight like Walker did it even though it's destined for death..