Larsen1
Hannah Larsen
Ms. Aguirre
2nd period
Due: Monday September 4, 2017
The Narrative Life of Frederick Douglas
Theme: Fear can’t control a person forever.
During the time of slavery, African Americans were afraid to go against their masters’ commands because they would be beat, whipped, or killed. Frederick started the Sabbath school to help slaves learn, because their masters have deprived them of knowledge. Even though, “Every moment [the slaves] spent in that school, they were liable to be taken up, and given thirty-nine lashes”, they still went to gain intellegence. Another example is, if slaves ever got caught trying to run away, they would be “returned to slavery—with the certainty of being treated tenfold worse than before”. However,
Within the “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave” Douglass discusses the deplorable conditions in which he and his fellow slaves suffered from. While on Colonel Lloyd’s plantation, slaves were given a “monthly allowance of eight pounds of pork and one bushel of corn” (Douglass 224). Their annual clothing rations weren’t any better; considering the type of field work they did, what little clothing they were given quickly deteriorated. The lack of food and clothing matched the terrible living conditions. After working on the field all day, with very little rest the night before, they must sleep on the hard uncomfortably cramped floor with only a single blanket as protection from the cold. Coupled with the overseer’s irresponsible and abusive use of power, it is astonishing how three to four hundred slaves did not rebel. Slave-owners recognized that in able to restrict and control slaves more than physical violence was needed. Therefore in able to mold slaves into the submissive and subservient property they desired, slave-owners manipulated them by twisting religion, instilling fear, breaking familial ties, making them dependent, providing them with an incorrect view of freedom, as well as refusing them education.
Living as a slave is an awful way to live your life, but unfortunately, Frederick Douglass along with many other slaves back then didn’t have a choice. Douglass’ first master, Captain Anthony, was a very cruel man, as were many slave owners. He once witnessed Captain Anthony whipping his Aunt Hester. Douglass felt helpless because there was nothing he could do to help her. Douglass stated, “I remember the first time I ever witnessed this horrible exhibition. I was quite a child, but I well remember it. I never sha...
Which of the following backgrounds would you expect a world influence to come from? 1. A white man coming from a wealthy family of businessmen, 2. A woman of Spanish decent coming from a family of inventors, or 3. A African-American slave who was separated from his family at an early age. Of course, you would expect the businessman or inventor, but what about the slave? Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey was born in 1818, on Holme Hill Farm in Talbot County, Maryland. Although he experienced intolerance while living a slave life, he was a kind-hearted man whose actions changed the world’s view on civil rights.
The tone established in the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is unusual in that from the beginning to the end the focus has been shifted. In the beginning of the narrative Douglass seems to fulfill every stereotypical slavery theme. He is a young black slave who at first cannot read and is very naïve in understanding his situation. As a child put into slavery Douglass does not have the knowledge to know about his surroundings and the world outside of slavery. In Douglass’ narrative the tone is first set as that of an observer, however finishing with his own personal accounts.
The narrative essay of the “Life of Frederick Douglas, an American Slave” describes personal accounts Paul experienced as a slave. Cruel and unjust treatment done to him by his masters gave him to a strong desire to learn how to read and write in any possible way by being resourceful and be determined to learn. However, Douglas expressed “I would at times feel that learning to read had been a curse rather a blessing” and “I envied my fellow slaves for their stupidity” (4); wherein he regrets learning and he also illustrated why he considered knowledge as a curse because he learned about freedom did not benefit him at all. In my case, I can also say I regret some things I learned in the past that I know would made me happier if I did not learned them at all.
During the time of slavery, slaves were put to work on plantation, fields, and farms. They were considered property to their slave-owners and put under unfair living conditions. Growing up in this era, we can see the injustice between white and colored people. And one slave by the name of Fredrick Douglass witnessed this unjust tension. And because of this tension, dehumanizing practices became prominent among the slaves and in slave society. The most prominent of these injustices is the desire of slave owners to keep their slaves ignorant. This practice sought to deprive the slaves of their human characteristics and made them less valued. Fredrick Douglass was able to endure and confront this issue by asserting his own humanity. He achieved
Slavery had been established in American history from the time of European settlement in the colonies (1619) until the Thirteenth Amendment officially ended the practice. During that time, a slave was bound to endure hard labor and often led a life in constant fear of his master. Frederick Douglass, in his autobiography, The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave, rises against the injustices done to his people by presenting insight into the power imbalance between slaves and their holders. Douglass asserts throughout his account that the “poison of irresponsible power” the masters maintain has a detrimental and dehumanizing effect on their moral behavior (39). Douglass addresses the barbarity that overcomes the slaveholder in a testimony against slavery and discusses the negative results through deep characterization, emotional scenes, and plausible evidence.
The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave details the progression of a slave to a man, and thus, the formation of his identity. The narrative functions as a persuasive essay, written in the hopes that it would successfully lead to “hastening the glad day of deliverance to the millions of [his] brethren in bonds” (Douglass 331). As an institution, slavery endeavored to reduce the men, women, and children “in bonds” to a state less than human. The slave identity, according to the institution of slavery, was not to be that of a rational, self forming, equal human being, but rather, a human animal whose purpose is to work and obey the whims of their “master.” For these reasons, Douglass articulates a distinction between the terms ‘man’ and ‘slaves’ under the institution of slavery. In his narrative, Douglass describes the situations and conditions that portray the differences between the two terms. Douglass also depicts the progression he makes from internalizing the slaveholder viewpoints about what his identity should be to creating an identity of his own making. Thus, Douglass’ narrative depicts not simply a search for freedom, but also a search for himself through the abandonment of the slave/animal identity forced upon him by the institution of slavery.
In his narrative, he states that slaves were compared to animals by the way the slave owner treated them because slaves were considered as property and not as human beings. When slaves came into the new world, they were sold and given new names and over time were supposed to assimilate to the American culture. Since slave masters did not think slaves could assimilate to the American culture, slave masters kept them as workers; therefore, slaves were not given an education, leaving them illiterate, and thereby leaving them without any knowledge on how the American political system works. Slave owners thought that if slaves would become literate, that slaves would start to question the rights they have. Frederick argues that slaves lose their identity by accepting the fact that being a slave is the way life is and that there is nothing else to look forward to in life. “
Frederick Douglass wasn’t born the prolific abolitionist that he is known as today. Douglass observed and faced experiences that helped shape and form the resolve he had to escape and try to end slavery. Frightening and sadistic scenes such as the whipping of Aunt Hester was what opened Douglass’s young eyes to slavery, eyes that where then innocent to the atrocities of slavery. Since realizing the actuality of his predicament Douglass achieved the mental and physical liberty that would help transform the slave Frederick Bailey into the Frederick Douglass the man. As shown in Douglass autobiography Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass, Douglass gained first his mental freedom through education, a door opened to him by his learning to read. His physical freedom would not be as easy to reclaim, as seen in his rebellious fight against Covey. Instances like these are what empowered Douglass to gain his freedom and fight to end slavery.
Throughout the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, written by Frederick Douglass himself, the reader is given thoughtful insight into the slave condition and the institution of slavery as a whole. One learns very soon of the authoritative and controlling nature of the slave master, who, using the overseer as his pawn, is able to maintain control over his slaves and his planation through an amalgamation of both physical and mental abuse. Slaves are lead to believe that they are innately inferior to whites and are kept ignorant, unable to read or write, and unaware of the world outside their plantation. They are indoctrinated from birth through fear, for if any slave deviates from this merciless power structure, they face brutal punishment and even the possibility of death. Despite this seemingly insurmountable reality, Frederick Douglass, a slave for over twenty years, was able to resist. He gradually became aware of the psychology of the slave owners, and the immense power that they wielded. Douglass was able to escape the oppressive, exploitative, and controlling power structure of slavery by resolving to overcome his forced ignorance, and to unite his fellow slaves, realizing, along the way, his sense of self and innate integrity.
For example, African Americans were not allowed to own firearms or signaling devices, to meet in groups larger than three unsupervised, to receive military training, vote, inherit land, break curfew, marry someone who was white, testify against someone who was white, etc. (“The Black Past,” 2016). Many slave owners also worried that reading and writing would aid slaves in escaping, and this fear was merited because slaves who could read or write were held in high esteem in the African American community, for they could use literacy as a tool to escape or help others
Truth is when somebody has a different vision of the world. Frederick Douglass wrote a book about himself on how being a slave impacted on his life. He was one of a few slaves who could read and write. He would do anything to defend himself and his fellow pears. In this essay I will be arguing that every person has a different perspective of the world and I believe that this truth is not the same for everyone. I will continuing then to argue that truth, or how Frederick Douglass had showed bravery is the key to conquer your fear. Due to the information Douglass had about the world in the areas of abuse, unfairness, and courage.
The Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass can be referred to as a memoir and writing about the abolitionist movement of the life of a former slave, Fredrick Douglass. It is a highly regarded as the most famous piece of writing done by a former slave. Fredrick Douglass (1818-1895) was a social reformer, statesman, orator and writer in the United States. Douglass believed in the equality of every individual of different races, gender or immigrants.
Slaves were subject to harsh working conditions, malicious owners, and illegal matters including rape and murder. In many instances, slaves were born into slavery, raised their families in slavery, and died within the captivity of that same slavery. These individuals were not allowed to learn how to read, write, and therefore think for themselves. This is where the true irony begins to come into light. While we have been told our entire lives that education and knowledge is the greatest power available to everyone under the sun, there was a point in time where this concept was used to keep certain people under others. By not allowing the slaves to learn how to read, then they were inevitably not allowing the slaves to form free thoughts. One of my favorite quotes is that of Haruki Murakami, “If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, then you can only think what everyone else is thing.” This applied in magnitudes to those who didn’t get to read at all. Not only were these individuals subject to the inability to think outside the box, but for most of these their boxes were based upon the information the slaves owners allowed them to