Douglass Paradox

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The bird that was once free with the freedom of the sky to enjoy, is now caged inside a birdcage with no relief and loss of freedom. No opportunity for the bird, only to be trapped in its own delusion to only hear rumors of the northern lands. The bird is a representation of the slaves in the southern states, with the sky representing America at the time being once a land of the free, opportunity and free religion. Slavery is represented as the bird cage, caging the freedom for the slaves. During this time slavery was popular in the Southern states in the 19th century. Frederick Douglass a slave in the 19th century, who published a book of Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass in 1845. He showed his experience as a slave and his moral …show more content…

“He would whip her to make her scream, and whip her to make her hush.” (5) From the following quote, we can see how Douglass made use of a paradox to show how the slave owners used more brutal force to subjugate and hush the slave. It shows an irony as well to the fact that the slave owners used a more brutal force to silence the slave from further moanings or complaints. Douglass uses this to show how the slave owners had a sense of pleasurement from the punishment they gave to the slaves, as the slave owners viewed the slaves as tools, not even considered to be a human being. Colonel Llyod Douglass’s slave owner is shown in this example for the punishments the conditions he treated his slaves with. Colonel Llyod is shown to have no sympathy in which shows how the minds corrupted by slavery could influence the human mind to believe the slaves as nothing more than just dispensable tools to only work for the benefits. Douglass then uses his past experience to depict the harshness of slavery “Their songs revealing the highest joy and the deepest sadness.” (13) Douglass uses a sadistic diction, to further persuade the reader to show how the slaves were trapped in their illusion without education. During this time, slaves only knew a common language to use singing as a form of entertainment. Without education, it prevented several great people and thinkers to develop and arise, but Frederick Douglass being the special case has given the reader a first-hand viewpoint on his experience and opinion on

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