Frederick Douglass and Harriet Wilson's Anger toward Northerners

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Although many white Northerners proclaimed to support the Abolition of Slavery, all of them did not have a genuine concern for the Blacks. During the Age of Abolitionism, many white Northerners were known for opposing the slavery that still existed in the Southern States of the United States of America, but writers such as Harriet Wilson and Frederick Douglass wrote literary works that exposed the white Christians and abolitionists from the North, who did not treat Blacks as their equals. In Douglass' narrative, The Narrative and life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, his autobiography, Douglass revisits his escape from slavery and his first encounter with the white abolitionists. The tone that he uses is similar to the one that Wilson uses in Our Nig; or, sketches from the life of a Free Black. In this novel, the life of Wilson is mirrored by the protagonist, Frado, who endures the harsh treatment of the Bellmonts, a white family with which she lives. Like Douglass, Wilson exhibits anger towards the white Northerners who, like their fellow white Southerners, were guilty of offending and mistreating Blacks. Wilson exhibits fury towards white Northerners who exploit Blacks by forcing them into indentured servitude.

In her novel, Wilson particularly shows anger towards Christians, who are generally expected to be respectful and just. The Bellmonts follow Christianity, yet they make Frado their "round the clock" maid, offering her no type of reward for the work that she completes for them. Although some of the members of the Bellmont family show a concern for Frado, there isn't an individual who stops the exploitation of this young, Black girl. No one in the family objects to Frado's liberties bei...

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...lacks, themselves.

Even though white Christians and abolitionists living in the North were generally known for advocating for the rights of Blacks during the Age of Abolitionism, Douglass and Wilson show that some white Northerners were just as guilty in mistreating Blacks as their Southerners counterparts. In their writings, Douglass and Wilson express anger towards the white Northerners who were at fault for abusing the Blacks in some manner. In Douglass' autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Douglass directs his anger towards white abolitionists in the North, while in Our Nig; or, sketches from the life of a Free Black, Wilson channels her anger towards white Christians living in the North. In both literary pieces, the writers expose the hypocritical practices followed by a sector of white Northerners.

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