Frederick Douglass Inequalities Essay

Hardships and Inequalities: The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave
He was the son of a black slave and an unidentified white man born into slavery and escaped in 1838. Born in Tuckahoe, this slave went through trial and tribulations and is one of the most distinguished black writers in nineteenth-century American literature. His name is Frederick Douglass. In The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass an American Slave, Frederick Douglass uses his mental strength to overcome his struggles against slavery, to prove that slaves were not inferior, and to gain his freedom. Douglass wrote this narrative to show the truths of slavery through his eyes. His current reputation of being a powerful and effective writer

is based on this autobiography.
Douglass states, “The white children could tell their ages.

I could not tell why I ought to be deprived of the same privilege. I was not allowed to make such inquires of my master concerning it” (2171). In the beginning Douglass makes it clear that the slaves were not to be considered on the same level as whites. When he discusses his childhood, he emphasizes how little he understands it. Douglass had not obtained enough knowledge in order to understand the use of power that the whites enforced over them. When slaves were born they were already at a disadvantage because they were separated from their mother in order to prevent attachment. So before slaves were old enough to even start retaining knowlegde they were split up to prevent and not cause problematic situations in the future. In Heather Williams introduction to Frederick Douglass's narrative in the essay How Slavery Affected African American Families, she explains that slavery not only inhibited family formation but made stable, secure family life difficult if not impossible. Belonging to another human being brought unique constrictions, disruptions, fustrations and pains. Frederick believed that this was done by stating, “For what the separation is done I do not know, unless it be to hinder the development of the child’s affection toward its mother, and to blunt and destroy the natural affection of the mother for the child”

(2172).
Frederick did not really endure the harsh work of a slave or the pains at first but described how he watched others suffer due to the different incidents that occurred. He goes on to speak upon how slaves were treated, the things they obtained and their work conditions. The Great House Farm was associated with some of the slaves to be minds with greatness. Douglass expresses what life was like on the Great House Farm, and how it changed over the course of his time there. Frederick said that the slaves would sing the following words, “I am going away to the Great House Farm! O, yea! O, yea! O!” (2177). He remembers the songs, understands their meaning, and ties those songs to the reality of a slave's life. He describes how the actual slave and his master might never meet, that the expanse of the farm was so great slaves might go their entire lives without even knowing what the master looked like. Unconcerned? Possibly, but more likely that they simply had overseers to tend to their slaves and when a chance happening might occur the slave might very well get himself into trouble.
Frederick and the slaves encountered their first steps within gaining mental strength when Colonel Lloyd reported speaking to a slave. He did not agree with the slaves answers about how he treated them. The slave’s answers were truthful, seeing that he did not know with whom he was speaking with, and the slave was sold. This allowed slaves and Frederick who had also been addressed several times about the treatment from their master, to withhold the truth to avoid the consequences.
When Mr. Gore became the overseer Frederick began to understand the placement of a slave in order to reassure they would never overpower whites. Mr. Gore had a system to convict slaves of any misdemeanor even if they were innocent. One day an incident occurred that allowed Douglass to understand the meaning of a slave. He shot a slave named Demby because he disobeyed his orders. He was asked by Lloyd why was the slave executed and Demby’s reply was, “that Demby had become unmanageable. He was setting a dangerous example to the other slaves, - one which, if suffered to pass without some such demonstration on his part, would finally lead to the total subversion of all rule and order upon the plantation” (2182). Several incidents occured to prevent or allow slaves to think that they could disobey without any consequences. After Douglass xdiscovered why masters did such antics he began to prove that slaves were not inferior.
Douglass did not know how to read or write but that soon changed when his mistress Mrs.

Auld began to teach him the alphabet. After that he said she began to teach him how to spell words. Mr. Auld found out and insisted that she forbid teaching him. He believed that a nigger should only know how to do one thing, to obey his master, which Douglass already had learned previously. He could now see how the whites kept slaves because if they were taught how to read there would be no keeping them. Douglass was enlighten by the thought of being able to read and triggered a new train of thought. He was no longer conformed as accepting himself as a slave. He stated, “I now understood what had been to me a most perplexing difficulty – to wit, the white man’s power to enslave the black man” (2187). From that moment he had an idea the steps that it would take in order to escape from slavery to freedom. He then had formed a desire to want too learn in order to continue to strengthen his knowledge to overcome his struggles against slavery. What he meant was that if people are educated they will start to question why they are enslaved instead of just accepting

it.
Over time Douglass had learned to read while living with Master Hugh’s family. The mistress’s husband once stated, “If you give a nigger an inch, he will take an ell” (2187). Douglass was already determined and soon his mistress began to resort to her husband’s doings and realizing that education and slavery were not compatible. He admits that’s the first step had already been taken and reassures this by saying, “Mistress, in teaching me the alphabet, had given me the inch, and no precaution could prevent me from taking the ell” (2189). In Alison Goehring's, Class Blog of The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, she emphazies, white slave owners believed that if slaves were given no personal information, they would view themselves as nothing and no one, which would make them easier to control and treat as personal property instead of a human being. Denying slaves an education denied them of the opportunity to find and or create their own self-identification within society. He had become smarter because he had started to make friends with the white boys. This was one of his strategies used to succeed in learning to read. When he would run errands he carried bread and to obtain a lesson before his return he would use food to his advantage amongst the poor white children in a trade for knowledge. He says, “This bread I used to bestow upon the hungry little urchins, who, in return, would give me that more valuable bread of knowledge” (2190). At this point in the narrative it showed how Douglass started to think for himself. Since he could no longer get his teachings from his Mistress he resorted to finding other ways to fulfill his desire for wanting to be educated. Although he was learning he still seemed deeply saddened at times because the white boys took for granted what they knew nothing of. Douglass is saying that although education seems like a wonderful thing and can get you places in life, it can sometimes be considered a curse because of all of the things that you must do in order to obtain an education. He realized that being aware, or educated, becomes a burden and felt something had to be done. Education made him fully aware that he was no less than the whites and therefore his enslavement was even more unfair and untenable.
The idea came to Douglass of learning how to write. He started by writing on timber and advanced to copying Master Thomas’s copy book and finally succeeded. Afterwards he exceeded and reached a point in his life where he was able to give dates. Although his next execution would be his first attempt to escape he faced different obstacles while attempting to gain his freedom . Before his attempt to escape he faced Edward Covey who was also known as the “nigger breaker”. At first Covey had succeeded on breaking Douglass. Douglass expressed by saying, “Mr. Covey succeeded in breaking me. I was broken in body, soul, and spirit" (2202). Douglass was so broken down that he ended up running to Master Thomas expressing that Mr. Covey would kill him. After being sent back he stumbled across a slave named Sandy Jenkins that gave him a certain root to wear on his right side. This root would not allow Douglass to get whipped by any master.