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Critiques of frederick douglass narrative
A brief history of racism in America
A brief history of racism in America
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Douglass’s narrative relies on religious allusions of Christ that condemn the foundations of slavery. In Douglass’s narration, slaveholding acts as a distortion of Christianity. Over the course of his narration there is paradox between religion and slavery. Douglass creates a distinction between what is true and what is false in the wake of the beliefs of Christianity and shows that Christianity is not a part of a slaveholder’s integrity but it’s merely a hypocritical stroke to their “righteous” brutality. The corrupt and manipulative power that slave owners take pleasure in over their slaves has a damaging effect on the slave owners own health. To strike this distinction there is textual evidence that Douglass illustrates between the charitable, …show more content…
passive doctrine of Christianity and the devious, inhumane actions of slaveholders. Slaves were deprived of knowledge and education, and in order to pursue freedom they must seek these qualities. As for Douglass, he was taught how to read by Sophia Auld, his master’s wife. He gains conscious of the evils behind slavery and becomes more committed to literacy even after Hugh’s order to Sophia was to stop teaching Douglass how to read. Douglass doesn’t believe that knowledge will render slaves free but rather it’s the knowledge slaves have to express the injustice of slavery and helps them recognize themselves as humans, not animals. The distinction between humans and non humans is the ability to have power. As the Bible was used as oppression, Douglas pours out into context his negativity towards slavery but positively by his literacy he stands for his rights as a Man.
He empathetically shows grace towards whites as he tells their side of the story. The interpretation that Douglass encompasses is solely through the power of his words. “Then they would curse and swear at us, telling us that they could take the devil out of us in a very little while, if we were only in their hands.” (Douglass 54) By the description of their hands, this resembles the hands of a white slave owner having measurable power over their slaves. Slave owners preached that blacks were the original sin; meanwhile there way of acting upon it was the intensified beatings that would clean the sin right out of them. It is not apparent in the bible that Christianity is about brutality acting along with violence but due to racial inequality it was inevitable. Christianity is not about violence of those whom are curious but rather it’s to spread the word of …show more content…
Christ. Each slave assumed that once their master was converted to the beliefs of Christianity they would be more humane.
However a religious master was the worst kind to have. Slave-owners used the misleading biblical passages in order to use the bible as their advantage to justify their power of existence. Douglass states “I went directly home and told the story of my wrongs to master Hugh and I am Happy to say of him, irreligious as he was, his conduct was heavenly, compared with that of his brother Thomas under similar circumstances.” (Douglass 57) This quote pertains to the contradiction to beliefs of Christianity. If this were true Christianity, Douglass should be thankful for a religious master not so much a non
religious. Douglass clarifies his point in the appendix as he states “To remove the liability of such misapprehension, I deem it proper to append the following brief explanation. What I have said respecting and against religion, I mean strictly to apply to the slaveholding religion of this land, and with no possible reference to Christianity proper; for, between the Christianity of this land, and the Christianity of Christ, I recognize the widest possible difference- so wide, that to receive the one as good, pure and holy, is of necessity to reject the other as bad, corrupt and wicked” (Douglass 71). This quotation makes the distinction between the Christianity of land versus the Christianity of Christ. The Christianity of this land references to the brutality of slavery which is implied to as “religion.” Christianity is perceived to be a religion based on exclusion rather than inclusion and developed on ideological discrimination against outsiders; African Americans whom were the slaver were the outsiders. Slave owners misread and misinterpreted biblical passages in order to justify themselves. The lives slave-owners are so separate from the lives of the true believers of Christianity. Slave owners acted as though they were God themselves. True Christians believed in one God, The father the almighty. In the narrative of Frederick Douglass there is no ultimate truth of religion in Douglass’s narrative due to all the hypocrisy. Douglass shapes his narrative through the interpretations amongst slavery and religion. He pulls into the justification of how slave owners are exposed of their hypocrisy. There is collaboration that distinguishes the faults that religion upheld for these people. Not only was religion inconsistent to a slave’s sense of clarity but for the slave-owners as well. In the works of Douglass vaunts power to inspire violence and brutality within slavery is no act of love.
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.
In his narrative, Frederick Douglass shows how Christianity was used as a major justification for slavery and for the actions of slave masters, but he also shows how the religion provided hope for slaves themselves. In an appendix added at the end of the narrative, he draws a distinction between “the Christianity of this land” and “the Christianity of Christ,” saying that there is the “widest possible difference” between them. As he puts it, “I love the pure, peaceable, and impartial Christianity of Christ: I therefore hate the corrupt, slaveholding, women-whipping, cradle-plundering, partial and hypocritical Christianity of this land.” In other words, Douglass thinks that Christianity has been corrupted in America, where people hypocritically use it to justify their injustices.
In, “The Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass”, readers get a first person perspective on slavery in the South before the Civil War. The author, Frederick Douglass, taught himself how to read and write, and was able to share his story to show the evils of slavery, not only in regard to the slaves, but with regard to masters, as well. Throughout Douglass’ autobiography, he shares his disgust with how slavery would corrupt people and change their whole entire persona. He uses ethos, logos, and pathos to help establish his credibility, and enlighten his readers about what changes needed to be made.
In the well-written narrative The Life of Fredrick Douglass, the author, and former slave known as Fredrick Douglass, uses multiple examples of brutal whippings and severe punishments to describe the terrible conditions that African American slaves faced in the south. Douglass’s purpose for writing this narrative was to show the physical and emotional pain that slaves had to endure from their owners. According to Fredrick Douglass, “adopted slaveholders are the worst” and he proves his point with his anecdotes from when he was a slave; moreover, slave owners through marriage weren’t used to the rules of slaveholding so they acted tougher. He also proves that Christian slave owners weren’t always holier, they too showed no mercy towards their slaves and Douglass considered them religious hypocrites.
Douglass is telling us that until we go out and get our own understanding, we will always be blind to what’s right in front of us. He is saying we can do all the praying we want for change, but until you help ourselves God won’t help you. I don’t think he found a new faith, but I do know he did find knowledge. What the slave masters were telling the slaves wasn’t a lie, but it was written for different time, the bible was always meant to be transcribed and interpreted.
His main argument in the speech is that it 's unjust and hypocritical for a country to celebrate its freedom while it still has slaves. Now that in itself is a morally viable argument, and it has never been more relevant than today in our racially hate fueled world where every situation is turned into a hate crime. However, back in those days majority of slaves were sold into slavery by their own people. Most slaves were sold by rival tribes as prisoners of war, or trouble makers of the tribe, thus giving us the “bottom of the barrel” of the groups. Another counter to Douglass was that even though slaves were people, they were still considered property. A hard working farmer could have used his last penny in order to purchase that slave because he was unable to tend his farm and provide for his family. One common misconception was that all slaves were beaten and treated lower than swine, while to the contrary some were treated well being given a bed and meals every day in exchange for their hard work. While Douglass may have had a bad time under the ownership of Auld, most northern states did not treat their slaves in this manner. This is one of the main reasons Douglass learned how to read, yet no credit is given to his former owner. Most slaves developed a relationship with their owners, in which their owners taught them useful skills such as reading, writing, simple math and farming skills. Another argument brought into Douglass’ speech was that most churches were segregated, and in turn perpetuated the racism that helped keep slavery alive in well. He proposed that a God that wouldn’t allow such evil and disservice in this world would contradict everything the bible proposes and teaches. He praises the writers of the constitution, considering them his equal and thanking the signers of the Declaration of Independence, calling
Frederick Douglass's Narrative, first published in 1845, is an enlightening and incendiary text. Born into slavery, Douglass became the preeminent spokesman for his people during his life; his narrative is an unparalleled account of the inhumane effects of slavery and Douglass's own triumph over it. His use of vivid language depicts violence against slaves, his personal insights into the dynamics between slaves and slaveholders, and his naming of specific persons and places made his book an indictment against a society that continued to accept slavery as a social and economic institution. Like Douglass, Harriet Jacobs was born into slavery, and in 1853 she published Letter from a Fugitive Slave, now recognized as one of the most comprehensive antebellum slave narratives written by an African-American woman. Jacobs's account broke the silence on the exploitation of African American female slaves.
In Frederick Douglass’s Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, one of the major themes is how the institution of slavery has an effect on the moral health of the slaveholder. The power slaveholders have over their slaves is great, as well as corrupting. Douglass uses this theme to point out that the institution of slavery is bad for everyone involved, not just the slaves. Throughout the narrative, Douglass uses several of his former slaveholders as examples. Sophia Auld, once such a kind and caring woman, is transformed into a cruel and oppressive slave owner over the course of the narrative. Thomas Auld, also. Douglass ties this theme back to the main concern of authorial control. Although this is a personal account, it is also a tool of propaganda, and is used as such. Douglass’s intent is to convince readers that the system of slavery is horrible and damaging to all included, and thus should be abolished completely. Douglass makes it very clear in his examples how exactly the transformation occurs and how kind and moral people can become those who beat their slaves and pervert Christianity in an attempt to justify it.
In modern society, many of the wrong religious ideas and falsehoods that were around during the time that Douglass wrote his narrative are still thriving today in the religious world. Frederick Douglass witnessed firsthand how people can claim the name of God, and turn around and spit harsh profanity out at one of their slaves in a dehumanizing manner. Many malicious slave owners deceived themselves into believing that they were truly men of God. Some of the slave drivers that Douglass wrote about in his narrative seemed to be angels at their churches and in their religious meetings, but Douglass compared them to having the disposition of a demon. The Narrative of Frederick Douglass portrays many negative aspects about religion, but Frederick
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, brings to light many of the social injustices that colored men, women, and children all were forced to endure throughout the nineteenth century under Southern slavery laws. Douglass's life-story is presented in a way that creates a compelling argument against the justification of slavery. His argument is reinforced though a variety of anecdotes, many of which detailed strikingly bloody, horrific scenes and inhumane cruelty on the part of the slaveholders. Yet, while Douglas’s narrative describes in vivid detail his experiences of life as a slave, what Douglass intends for his readers to grasp after reading his narrative is something much more profound. Aside from all the physical burdens of slavery that he faced on a daily basis, it was the psychological effects that caused him the greatest amount of detriment during his twenty-year enslavement. In the same regard, Douglass is able to profess that it was not only the slaves who incurred the damaging effects of slavery, but also the slaveholders. Slavery, in essence, is a destructive force that collectively corrupts the minds of slaveholders and weakens slaves’ intellects.
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.
... “Prior to [Captain Auld’s] conversion, he relied upon his own depravity to shield and sustain him in his savage barbarity; but after his conversion, he found religious sanction and support for the slaveholding cruelty” (Douglass 883). This means that slaveholders use Christianity as a tool to show that they are good at heart and are doing God’s work, but they use it as a divine right to brutally beat slaves. This is what Frederick wants other abolitionists to recognize, especially the abolitionist women.
As both the narrator and author of “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave, Written by Himself” Frederick Douglass writes about his transition from a slave to a well educated and empowered colored young man. As a skilled and spirited man, he served as both an orator and writer for the abolitionist movement, which was a movement to the abolishment of slavery. At the time of his narrative’s publication, Douglass’s sole goal of his writings was to essentially prove to those in disbelief that an articulate and intelligent man, such as himself, could have,in fact, been enslaved at one point in time. While, Douglass’ narrative was and arguably still is very influential, there are some controversial aspects of of this piece, of which Deborah McDowell mentions in her criticism.
Douglass describes the working conditions chained to slaves as irrational and inhumane. They didn't have sufficient equipment or even proper equipment to work with. Apart from that they had to work from sunrise to sunset, in all weather, and when it came to eating, they had just enough time to gulp down their food. They then had to immediately return to work. anyone in their position could see how they had no blessings at all. Even after Douglass gave us his testimony, Mr. Fitzhugh still had the guts to claim that “...negro slaves of the south are the happiest, and in some cases the freest people in the world…little hard work…on the average in good weather, no more than nine hours a day” without doubt a Frederick’s statement is more reliable because he lived as a slave, experienced the hardships, and not an owner who did little to no work at all. At this moment it is obvious and even acceptable that slaves despise their masters. There is no backbone to support the absurd statement that “Virginian negroes… they love their masters and his family, and the attachment is reciprocated”, it’d be absurd for a slave to love someone who gave such
His intended audience was the country he loved, the people he hoped to help, and I believe that his hope was his story would touch future generations. In his book, Mr. Douglass addresses one of the most difficult topics of slavery and that is how it fit within the Christianity of his day. He pointed out the hypocrisy of the Southern preachers that “Instead of preaching the gospel against this tyranny, rebuke, and wrong, ministers of religion have sought, by all and every means, to throw into the background whatever in the bible could be construed into opposition to slavery, and to bring forward that which they could torture into its support.” (3) He was even chastised by other Christians suggesting that he was “injuring the cause of Christ” or “undermining religion.” (3) As a Christian man himself he was able to see the differences between the God of the bible and the people of the religion and I admire his ability to stand for what he believed and that he was brave enough to defend his God against the people that were twisting the bible for their own gain. “It is because I love this religion that I hate slaveholding… It is because I regard one as good, and