Discrimination In Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass

The work Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave by Frederick Douglass is one of the most premium, well known slave narratives of that time period, as well as of all time. The autobiography includes his early life to his time during his successful escape from slavery when he was around the age of twenty. The narrative places emphases on influential experiences that stick out in his life for the sole purpose of making the reader understand of the brutality that slavery was, and to show his capability to tolerate and surpass such circumstances with his mortality still intact. It shows how, at times it takes the notice of a kid who witnesses something so evident that is wrong to finally open their eyes. When Frederick is

He thinks of all the minor details that separate both children and ponders about many questions on why it is this way instead of merely accepting it. At an early age he is profoundly aware of even the slightest details of what goes on around him. He uses these descriptions of discrimination to portray examples in first half of his narrative. It goes to illustrate the value that slave owners felt the slaves were worth when Frederick mentions in his autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: an American Slave, “We were all ranked together at the valuation. Men and women, old and young, married and single, were ranked with horses, sheep and swine. There were horses and men, cattle and women, pigs and children, all holding the same rank in the scale of being, and were all subjected to the same narrow examination” (1202). This goes to show what slavery was during that time period. For Douglass, one of his favorite words to describe slavery was “brutalize” because to him it had somewhat two different meanings. The meaning for the word is to convert someone into a beast or instinctive, as to take away their mortality but the most common meaning is to act poorly towards someone. With

To begin with, he accepts as true that it is crucial to simply move to an urban region to gain the key to freedom. As Douglass explains, “A city slave is almost a freeman, compared with a slave on the plantation. He is much better fed and clothed, and enjoys privileges altogether unknown to the slave on the plantation. There is a vestige of decency, a sense of shame, that does much to curb and check those outbreaks of atrocious cruelty so commonly enacted upon the plantation” (1197). Then far along he comes to discover that even though the circumstances in urban areas may be somewhat improved, there is still countless deal of prejudice. He then comes to the conclusion that his education will be the key to liberty and freedom and even though he accomplishes to acquire knowledge as much as possible, he yet has the uncertainty whether he was correct or not. Ultimately there is a time in the narrative he mentions, “As I writhed under it, I would at times feel that learning to read had been a curse rather than a blessing. It had given me a view of my wretched condition, without the remedy. It opened my eyes to the horrible pit, but to no ladder upon which to get out” (Douglass 1200). At last, the reason of his final action of revolt was caused