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Narrative of frederick douglass analysis
Biography about frederick douglass essay
Narrative of frederick douglass analysis
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Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is an autobiography written by Frederick Douglass and published in 1845. Frederick Douglass, a former slave and passionate abolitionist, provides descriptive stories of his life as a slave, all the way from his childhood to his escape. Chapter four specifically focuses on the unjustness of slavery, and Douglass’ central claim that there is no justice system in the slave world. In chapter four, Douglass describes the brutal murder of Demby and recounts multiple killings of slaves by overseers to support his central claim that slaves receive no justice, safety or security. In chapter four, a new character, Mr. Gore, is introduced. Mr. Gore is a cunning, and cruel overseer that has complete dominance over the slaves. Douglass uses alliteration in the sentence, “He alone seemed cool and collected,” to illustrate Mr. Gore’s cold persona (Ch 4; 14). In one instance, a slave by the name of Demby, while being whipped by Mr. Gore, plunges himself into a creek, refusing to come out. Mr. Gore threatens that he will shoot him if he does not come out on the count of three. After counting to three with no success, Mr. Gore cold-bloodedly shoots and kills the slave. Mr. Gore is never investigated for this murder and still lives free. Slave owners and their …show more content…
overseers are the law. Douglass conveys that slave owners rule by example; the horrid punishment enacted on Demby was meant to be an example to others. Pathos is utilized in, “A thrill of horror flashed through every soul upon the plantation, excepting Mr. Gore,” (Ch 4; 14). Douglass utilizes pathos to draw emotion from the reader. The audience begins to feel horrified and appalled at the brutal act of Mr. Gore. Using emotion helps Douglass gains support from the audience for his argument. Illustrating the cold-blooded murder of Demby helps readers understand the injustice and corruption of slavery. Douglass offers several examples similar to Mr. Gore’s killing of Demby. Mr. Thomas Lanman has gloated of violently killing two slaves, but has never been scrutinized for the crimes. In Maryland, the wife of another slave owner beat Douglass’s wife’s cousin to death with a stick. The community issued a warrant for the arrest of the woman, but the warrant was never carried out. Colonel Lloyd’s neighbor, Mr. Beal Bondly, brutally shot an elderly slave of Colonel Lloyd’s who was fishing on Bondly’s property. Colonel Lloyd did not protest against the murder, and “There was very little said about it at all, and nothing was done,” (Ch 4; 15). Although this is a simple quote, it conveys the wickedness of slavery. The irony in the quote is that the reader expects that the murderer would be interrogated. When it is revealed there were no charges filed, it causes shock to the audience. The quote, “I speak advisedly when I say this,—that killing a slave, or any colored person, in Talbot county, Maryland, is not treated as a crime, either by the courts or the community,” displays that slaves are not considered human beings. Murdering a slave is just part of the job for slave owners. These examples show the difference between the murder of a white man and the murder of a black man. The multiple killings of slaves further supports Douglass’ central claim that the justice system is corrupt and must be altered. In chapter four, Douglass narrates the slaughter of a slave, Demby, and gives an outline of several killings of slaves gone unjustified.
Narrating these stories informs readers not familiar with slavery a clear idea on how slaves lived and were treated. The novel brings a strong political message to our society. If Douglass explains to people what slavery was about, they would be influenced to make a change. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is the story of Frederick Douglass from the time he was born a slave to the time of his escape to freedom. Through years of physical abuse and assault, Douglass overcame these obstacles to become an advocate against
slavery.
Douglass, Frederick. “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave: Written by Himself (ed. John Blassingame) Yale University Press, 2001.
The Narrative of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass is written to have people place their feet in the shoes of Frederick Douglass and try to understand the experience he went through as a slave. Douglass writes this piece of literature with strong wording to get his point across. He is not trying to point out the unpleasant parts of history, but to make people face the truth. He wants readers to realize that slavery is brutalizing and dehumanizing, that a slave is able to become a man, and that some slaves, like himself, have intellectual ability. These points are commonly presented through the words of Douglass because of his diction.
Many of his vivid descriptions of how the slaves were treated and talked are clearly aimed to hit a soft spot. Mr. Alud called Douglass awful names and spoke of him like he was property. “Now,” said he, “if you teach that nigger (speaking of myself) how to read, there would be no keeping him” (Douglass page 30). If a slave got lucky there new mistress would be nice but more times than not she was mean. Another story about Douglass’ life that he put in the book to make the reader’s sympathies, was the cruel mistress Mrs. Hamilton. “The girls seldom passed her without her saying, “Move faster, you black gip!” at the same time giving them a blow with the cowskin over the head or shoulders, often drawing the blood”(Douglass 31). Many things in Douglass’ narrative supported pathos and how it appealed to the
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. Prestwick House, Inc., 1845. Copyright 2004 by Prestwick House. All rights reserved.
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.
Frederick Douglass is perhaps the most well-known abolitionist from American history. He is responsible for creating a lot of support for the abolitionist movement in the years before the Civil War. He, along with many others, was able to gain support for and attention to the abolitionist movement. People like him are the reason that slavery ended in the United States.
Douglass, Frederick. “The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass.” The Classic Slave Narratives. Ed. Henry Louis Gates Jr. New York: Penguin Group, 1987.
In this final research analysis, I will be doing a comparison between the “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass” and the “Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson” to show how both Douglass and Rowlandson use a great deal of person strength and faith in God to endure their life and ultimately gain their freedom.
1.Do you think it is possible to be a benevolent slaveholder? Why or why not?
Frederick Douglass was a slave in the eighteenth century to Hugh and Sophia Auld. Douglass always had a dream to learn to read and write. However accomplishing his dream wasn’t easy. In paragraph one Douglass gives the reader background information on what the main idea of this passage is. He also describes how tender hearted his mistress Sophia Auld was on teaching him how to learn to read, until her husband, Hugh Auld talks her out of it. Douglass uses a bold line by saying “She at first lacked the depravity indispensable to shutting me up in mental darkness.” Douglass follows up paragraph one by giving details to describe how everything that was discussed in the previous paragraph happened, and he elaborates upon what the process was. Although
In the Narrative of the life Frederick Douglass the reader learns that the ins and outs of slavery in the south from the first person perspective of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. Frederick is born into slavery and works throughout his adolescent years. In this time Douglass retains the thought of freedom although he does not act upon it until later in his young adult life. This narrative reveals the truth about slavery in the form a recollection from his time as a slave all the while commenting on racial stereotypes and religion.
Also, Douglass describes after each description of savagery that the overseer or master suffered no repercussions for their actions in order to exaggerate the fact that they are getting away with murder, assault, battery, and rape. Douglass effectively has debunked the romantic aspect of the mythology of slavery by forcing Americans to peek behind the curtain hiding one of America’s greatest
his autobiography Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Douglass’s desire to attain freedom was chained by the brutal hands of slavery. He proclaimed
He liked to hide in the grass to catch the slave taking breaks when they are supposed to be working. Covey also forces the slave women he owns to have children with men who aren't their husbands. Since Covey is a poor man, he's trying to build up a stock of slaves by “breeding” them. On Sundays, Douglass sits under a tree instead of going to church. This is an example of the beast like attitude Covey wants him to have. By treating him like an animal, Covey is turning him into one. One Sunday, he looks out at the sails on the Chesapeake Bay and suddenly bursts out with a big speech. It's a strong passage because we suddenly hear Douglass's voice. One day, Douglass faints from working too hard in the heat. Covey tells him to get up, and after refusing, Covey pounds on him and then leaves him there. Douglass plans to go back to his old master and beg for his help. Douglass’s plan doesn’t turn out to work and he’s sent to walk the 7 miles back to Covey. Douglass knows he's going to be beaten when he gets back, so he hides in the woods until he meets another slave named Sandy who gives him a special root that will help protect Douglass when he
In the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave Written by Himself, Douglass writes about his life in slavery. Douglass portrays how he overcame being separated from his mother, of witnessing a slave being whipped for the first time and enduring his servitude for multiple masters. However, his major triumphs in life were moving to Baltimore, overcoming illiteracy and gaining his freedom.