Fredrick Douglas Argumentative Essay

2246 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essay on frederick douglass life

Frederick Douglas was an African American slave that was born in Tuckahoe, near Hillsborough, in Maryland. Douglass’s narrative is an autobiography that exploits his life from the time he was born till the time he escaped slavery and into freedom in the north. During that time, Douglass deviates from a benighted prey of slavery to an educated and endowed man. The life of Frederick Douglass consisted of numerous categories that impacted slavery. However, specifically education, violence towards women, religion, and his masculinity shows his perseverance in becoming a true component in overcoming the hardship of slavery. Douglass believed that the justification for slave owners was to beat, murder, spill blood and force intransigent labor on their slaves, was because of religion. The religion that was expressed in this book was Christianity, but portrayed two different versions, one for the African American …show more content…

First, it was a very big step for Douglass to get chosen from among several slave children to move to Baltimore (Douglass, p.30). If he wasn’t chosen, he wouldn’t have been able to adhere to the vast amount of opportunities for greater freedom that would make him into a famed raconteur and activist. Secondly, he realized that being literate would keep him out of the dark on how the system works and what the slave owners are doing based off of the slave stature of being “ignorant”. By becoming educationally literate, he attained the realization that he is capable of becoming and doing more, which enables him to free himself. Thirdly, when he acted out against Mr. Covey and stood up for himself and resisted the beatings, he grasped the idea that he just went from a slave to man (Douglass, p.71). Finally, Douglass escaping the system of slavery, leaving the south and heading towards the north, was the high point where he became a free

Show More
Related

  • Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass Syntax Analysis

    310 Words  | 1 Pages

    Frederick Douglass, an African American social reformer who escaped from slavery, in his autobiography “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written by Himself,” denotes the perilous life of a slave in the South. Through syntax, Douglass is able to persuade his readers to support the abolitionist movement as his writing transitions from shifting sentence lengths to parallel structure and finally to varying uses of punctuation. Douglass begins his memoir with a combination of long and short sentences that serve to effectively depict life his life as a slave. This depiction is significant because it illustrates the treatment of slaves in the south allows his audience to despise the horrors of slavery. In addition, this

    Read More

  • Education is Key in the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

    537 Words  | 2 Pages

    The significant of education in “Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass” is the most important theme in the entire passage. Frederick Douglass understands that the only way to freedom, for him and also other slaves, is through learning to read, write, and also have an education. Education helps Frederick to understand things that slowly will destroy his mind, and heart at the same time. Understanding the full extent of the horrors of slavery can be devastating to a person who has just set mind on morals, and values. In the passage Frederick says, “It opened my eyes to the horrible pit, but offered no ladder upon which to get out” (Douglass 61). Using this quote as your guide, the reader can examine the meaning and importance of education with slavery time, and modern day.

    Read More

  • Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave

    1297 Words  | 3 Pages

    From before the country’s conception to the war that divided it and the fallout that abolished it, slavery has been heavily engrained in the American society. From poor white yeoman farmers, to Northern abolitionist, to Southern gentry, and apathetic northerners slavery transformed the way people viewed both their life and liberty. To truly understand the impact that slavery has had on American society one has to look no further than those who have experienced them firsthand. Frederick Douglass, an escaped slave and advocate for the abolitionist, is on such person. Douglass was a living contradiction to American society during his time. He was an African-American man, self-taught, knowledgeable, well-spoken, and a robust writer. Douglass displayed a level of skill that few of his people at the time could acquire. With his autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave Written by Himself, Douglass captivated the people of his time with his firsthand accounts into the horror and brutality that is the institution of slavery.

    Read More

  • Key Arguments in "The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass"

    1143 Words  | 3 Pages

    There are a number of key arguments in “The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass”. A few of which include inequality, education, and Christianity as the keys to freedom in terms of its true values within the institution of slavery. While Frederick Douglass made some key arguments, he also made common ground to make his appeal for the abolition of slavery.

    Read More

  • Frederick Douglass’s Life in the City and Country

    776 Words  | 2 Pages

    Douglass’s life in the city was very different from his life in the country, and living in the city changed his life. In the city, he worked as a ship caulker which he excelled at, compared to a a field hand in the country which he was not skilled at. In the city he was treated better and always fed, but in the country he was experienced lack of food most of the time. The city opened his mind to escaping, and with the help of abolitionists he was able to successfully escape. In the country he did not knowledgable people to help him and was turned in by an ignorant, loyal slave. The city’s better opportunities and atmosphere led Frederick Douglass to escape freedom and dedicate the rest of his life fighting to end slavery

    Read More

  • Frederick Douglass Heroism Essay

    1021 Words  | 3 Pages

    In order for Douglass to reach his goal of becoming a free man he thought the only way out was education. He needed to learn how to read, write, and think for himself about what slavery was. Since literacy and education were so powerful to Frederick he persevered to get himself the education he wanted. …. Douglass knew it wouldn’t be easy, but that didn’t stop him. Douglass realized the “ conscious of the difficulty of learning without a teacher, I set out with a high hope, and

    Read More

  • Frederick Douglass: Escaping Slavery through Literacy

    711 Words  | 2 Pages

    He believed that the ability to read makes a slave “unmanageable” and “discontented” (2054). Douglass discovered that the “white man’s power to enslave the black man” (2054) was in his literacy and education. As long as the slaves are ignorant, they will be resigned to their fate. However, if the slaves are educated, they would understand that they are as fully human as the white men and realize the unfairness of their treatment. Education is like a forbidden fruit to the slave; therefore, the slave owners guard against this knowledge of good and evil.

    Read More

  • Frederick Douglas

    5504 Words  | 12 Pages

    Douglass wrote three biographies about his life as a politician, slave, and abolitionist. However, the historical value of these works does not remain as important as the quality of the works themselves. Frederick Douglass’ writing deserves recognition in the canon of great American authors, because his work meets the chosen criteria for inclusion in a collection of important literature. Douglass influenced many famous abolitionists with his literary works, and this impact, coupled with his desire to write an expose about oppression in America, makes him a winning candidate. Although his published works, mostly autobiographies, received much acclaim from abolitionists, this paper explores the quality of Douglass’s work from a literary standpoint. This paper also details the events shaping Douglass’s impressive life and writing career. By examining the prestigious “life and times” of this black author, the reader will recognize the widespread influence of Douglass’s writing on other antislavery writers, politics, and hence, the public. In a look at his first and greatest work, Narrative of the Life, the following paper will demonstrate why Frederick Douglass deserves a place in the hall of great American writers. To fully appreciate the impact of Douglass’s autobiographies, we must examine violent period in which he lived. Douglass, born in 1818, grew up as a slave on Colonel Lloyd’s plantation in eastern Maryland. At the time, abolitionist movements started gaining speed as popular parties in the North. In the North, pro-slavery white mobs attacked black communities in retaliation for their efforts. By the time Douglass escaped from slavery, in 1838, tensions ran high among abolitionists and slaveowners. Slaves published accounts of their harrowing escapes, and their lives in slavery, mainly with the help of ghostwriters. Although abolitionists called for the total elimination of slavery in the South, racial segregation still occurred all over the United States. Blacks, freemen especially, found the task of finding a decent job overwhelming.

    Read More

  • Frederick Douglass

    992 Words  | 2 Pages

    Gaining mental emancipation also made him a man. He had the power of knowledge and yet he didn't know the impact of being literate. He wasn't ready to have his world open right in front of him. Being able to read opened Douglass' eyes to what slavery really was. "He got the bold denunciation of slavery, and a powerful vindication of human rights."*(278) He saw things that he would have never seen if he had remained ignorant. He saw all the horrors and sadness of his life as a slave. He wasn't quite ready for the harsh realities that he was then exposed to. He felt that his master, Master Hugh, was right. Douglass learning to read brought him the discontentment, torment and anguish that Master Hugh said would follow if a slave learned how to read.* (279) The visions that Douglass saw was really affecting him. He saw things he never saw before. Dou...

    Read More

  • Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

    915 Words  | 2 Pages

    When first introduced to Douglass and his story, we find him to be a young slave boy filled with information about those around him. Not only does he speak from the view point of an observer, but he speaks of many typical stereotypes in the slave life. At this point in his life, Frederick is inexperienced and knows nothing of the pleasures of things such as reading, writing, or even the rights everyone should be entitled to. Douglass knowing hardly anything of his family, their whereabouts, or his background, seems to be equivalent to the many other slaves at the time. As a child Frederick Douglass sees the injustices around him and observes them, yet as the story continues we begin to see a change.

    Read More

  • Slavery’s Dehumanizing Effects on American Slaves and Slaveholders

    1652 Words  | 4 Pages

    Douglass's narrative is, on one surface, intended to show the barbarity and injustice of slavery. However, the underlying argument is that freedom is not simply attained through a physical escape from forced labor, but through a mental liberation from the attitude created by Southern slavery. The slaves of the South were psychologically oppressed by the slaveholders' disrespect for a slave’s family and for their education, as well as by the slaves' acceptance of their own subordination. Additionally, the slaveholders were trapped by a mentality that allowed them to justify behavior towards human beings that would normally not be acceptable. In this manner, both slaveholder and slave are corrupted by slavery.

    Read More

  • The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: The Formation of Identity

    2136 Words  | 5 Pages

    Douglass, Frederick. “The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass.” The Classic Slave Narratives. Ed. Henry Louis Gates Jr. New York: Penguin Group, 1987.

    Read More

  • Fredrick Douglass Argumentative Analysis

    856 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe”( Douglass). This famous quote epitomizes the philosophies of Frederick Douglass, in which he wanted everyone to be treated with dignity; if everyone was not treated with equality, no one person or property would be safe harm. His experience as a house slave, field slave and ship builder gave him the knowledge to develop into a persuasive speaker and abolitionist. In his narrative, he makes key arguments to white abolitionist and Christians on why slavery should be abolished. The key arguments that Frederick Douglass tries to vindicate are that slavery denies slaves of their identity, slavery is also detrimental for the slave owner, and slavery is ungodly.

    Read More

  • Frederick Douglass Theory On Slavery

    1010 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...eir actions. Either this was the incorrect way Christianity was practiced or humanity was presented in an ambiguous way. The presence of religion goes on further when Douglass introduces Mr. Covey, another master he was assign too. Mr. Covey was a professor of religion and a religious class-leader at the local Methodist church. He also had a reputation of breaking apart young slaves in which Douglass refers to him as a “nigger-breaker.” As young as Douglass was when he moved in with Mr. Covey, he remembers when Mr. Covey gave him “a sever whipping, cutting my back, causing the blood to run, and raising ridges on my flesh as large as my little fingers.” This is puzzling to hear of a man who is committed to faith but his actions seemed to be contradicting.

    Read More

  • Deborah E. McDowell “In the First Place: Making Frederick Douglass and the Afro-American Narrative Tradition”

    556 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

More about Fredrick Douglas Argumentative Essay

Open Document