The book My Servitude and My Freedom focuses on the early life of Frederick Douglass. Douglass tells the story of how he, a former slave, finally walks the path to freedom after enduring many trials. The moment he regains freedom marks a turning point in his life, and he hopes that through this autobiography, people can truly embrace quality and diversity. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Throughout his autobiography, he wants to demonstrate many profound concepts, but there are two theories that apply the most, which are Dubois' theory of double consciousness and Omi and Winant's theory of hegemony. Dubois defines double consciousness as “an American, a Black; two souls, two thoughts, two irreconcilable efforts; two identities at war” (Dubois 7). Dubois argued that there are two competing identities as a black American: considering oneself an American and considering oneself a black person while living in a white-dominated America. Living under the category of a non-dominant race “creates a divide in your sense of identity within that society” (Dubois 5). When Douglass used his intelligence and ability to argue with white boys, he challenged the idea of ​​inequality, saying, "Have I not as much right to liberty as you?" (Douglas 332). This shows that he considers himself equal to any other man. He defended himself as a black man but also as an American. The feeling of double consciousness is present throughout his novel and influenced Douglass growing up. Additionally, Omi and Winant's theory of cultural hegemony is an important concept in many ways, as it forms the backbone of much contemporary cultural theory and behavioral science that is generally associated. with ideas that one group dominates and controls another. Omi and Winant define hegemony as “the necessary conditions, in a given society, for the achievement and consolidation of domination” (Omi and Winant 67). It can be defined as an agreement in which the person does not necessarily understand what they are agreeing to. For the pursuit of hegemony, Omi and Winant note that “ruling groups must develop and maintain a popular system of beliefs and practices” (Omi and Winant 67). The best way to put it is that it's not people who control ideas, but rather ideas that control people. If the controlled group accepts the rules established by the dominant group, an agreement exists, preserving the hegemony of the dominant group. In My Servitude and My Freedom, Douglass said, “I saw no end to my servitude. It was a terrible reality…the thought irritated my young mind” (Douglass chapter 11). Douglass knew that the reason hegemony existed was because slaves were comfortable with their position in life. According to the book, it was “worth half a cent to kill a negro and half a cent to bury one” (Chapter 4). In Douglass's autobiography, as a slave, from birth to death, is worth only a penny in total, representing cultural hegemony, with the white group dominating the black group. As slaves, they can be sold or transferred to anyone at any time after their master's agreement. Under the same sky, there are great differences between human lives, the only cause being the color of the skin. Just like the horse and the sheep, slaves were only considered free labor or working machinesallowing profit in the eyes of the owner, they were not even considered alive. As slaves, they were not treated like humans and had absolutely no freedom. When Douglass met Hugh Auld, who was the brother of Thomas Auld, he met the person Sophia who changed Douglass' way of thinking immensely. According to Douglass, “she is the kindest and most tender woman… (Douglass chapter 10). Life in Baltimore was much better than when Douglass worked on the plantation. He noted: “I had been treated like a pig on the plantation; I was treated like a child now” (Douglass chapter 10). Sophia had never had a slave and she gave Douglass respect and dignity, which shows that hegemony does not occur naturally, it is something that is created by society. Since Sophia has never had a slave before, she never had the idea or learned from others how to treat a slave. In her conscience, she considered slaves like other human beings. Douglass was fortunate that Sophia agreed to teach Douglass with easy words, and he felt comfortable and safe when he was with Miss Sophia. However, when Mr. Auld discovered that his wife was teaching a slave to read and write, he became angry and declared that "learning would spoil the best negro in the world" (Douglass chapter 11). He fears that when slaves have acquired enough knowledge, they will no longer be satisfied with the whites' rules and will escape slave status. In Mr. Auld's consciousness, Douglass was only a slave: within the same society, there existed two consciousnesses. However, this incident alerted Douglass to the fact that becoming educated was the only way to break hegemony and escape slavery. Double consciousness had also taught Douglass to see the world from multiple perspectives. People can be friends as Americans, but slavery makes enemies of different colors. Douglass notes "we were both victims of the same crushing evil: she, as mistress, I, as slave" (Douglass chapter 11), and Douglass is also a Christian who deeply believes in God, there was times when he prayed “God, save me!” God, let me be free! Why was I born a slave? (Douglass chapter 15). He used his voice to show his feeling of outrage after being treated unfairly, and he asked God, if humans were to be created equal and if there was only one God, then why did we- We were treated differently due to differences in skin color, when Douglass considered himself an American or a Christian. Everyone around him was the same type as American or Christian, but when he thought of himself as black, he saw this insurmountable gap between black people and white-dominated society. Another example shows how the dominant group controls due to the ignorance of the subordinate group. Slaves were incapable of reading and writing, but “set with determination to learn to read…to accomplish the desired end” (Douglass chapter 11). Slaves also did not know their birth date or who their mother was, even when parental care is such an important part of mental health, this fractured their family values. According to Douglass, “most slaves know as little of their age as horses know theirs, and it is the wish of most masters that I know of to keep their slaves in this ignorance” (Douglass chapter 15). From this we know that slaves were treated or considered like animals, and that slave masters tried to keep their slaves as ignorant as possible so that they could remain in the ".