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Effects of narrative of the life of frederick douglass
Frederick Douglass narrative of the life
What is the narrative of frederick douglass significant
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In his “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass” Douglass recounts the struggles he personally experienced as a black male born into slavery. While the narrative clearly critiques the American institution of race-based slavery, it at moments goes even further to critique other American institutions that ‘enslave’ its participants. In one specific moment of his narrative, during the second chapter, Douglass engages in a particularly fascinating rhetorical move which simultaneously denies that race is the only basis for slavery, and implicates white society as slaves themselves merely operating under a different institutional ideology. Douglass acutely observes how the oppression of slaves within the institution of American slavery mirrors the oppression of free thought within the institution of American politics. In this moment, instead of permitting slavery to be understood as a ‘black’ problem that white culture is not negatively impacted by, Douglass points out how ideological oppression is a problem in society at large, in a variety of institutions, and thus everyone is negatively impacted so long as these institutions are sustained. The institution of slavery is linked to the institution of politics, and both are acknowledged as social constructs that are in need of revision. Douglass begins his social critique by discussing “the Great House Farm,” a plantation known for its “business-like aspect very unlike the neighboring farms” and its “number of houses,” all of which give it prestige that slaves recognize as being synonymous with privilege (1187). Douglass notes that the Great Farm House is, for slaves, “associated in their minds with greatness,” and that “[f]ew privileges were esteemed higher, by the slaves of the o... ... middle of paper ... ...sal experience that people must begin to view as connected. This statement is particularly poignant when viewed in the context of the time it was written: even if his readership was not black or part of the abolitionist movement, Douglass showed that they were still implicated in the institution of slavery, both literally and metaphorically. The abolitionist movement, then, is not a ‘black’ movement, but one which every human is necessarily implicated in. Until social normativity is able to distance itself from the ideological control of institutions, everyone is a slave, and the abolitionist movement is one that all humans are in together. Works Cited Douglass, Frederick. “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Written by Himself.” The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Nina Baym. New York: W W Norton & Co., 2012. 1187. Print.
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
Douglass, Frederick. “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave: Written by Himself (ed. John Blassingame) Yale University Press, 2001.
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.
Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Written by Himself (New York, N.Y.: W.W. Norton and Company, 1997).
Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. The Classic Slave Narratives. Ed. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. New York: New American Library, 1987. 243-331.
After reading Frederick Douglass’s narrative of slavery, I couldn’t help but stop and try to gather my thoughts in any way possible. It was not the first time I had read the narrative, but this time around Douglass’s words hit me much harder. Perhaps, it was that I read the narrative in a more critical lens, or possibly it was just that I am older and more mature now from the last time I read it, but whatever the reason, I can confidently say reading the narrative has changed my heart and opened my eyes in many ways. I have always been aware of the injustices that slavery encompassed and of course like many other people, I have been taught about slavery in a historical narrative my entire life. But, Frederick Douglass’s narrative does more than just provide a historical perspective in seeing the injustices in slavery. His narrative asks the reader to look directly into the eyes of actual slaves and realize their very heart beat and existence as humans. Douglass humanizes the people of whom the terrible acts we acted upon that we learn about as early as elementary school. It is because of this that I decided to write this poem. Reading the narrative made me really think about Douglass’s journey and the story he tells on his road to freedom. I felt as if he was really speaking to me and, and in turn I wanted to give Douglass a voice in my own writing.
Despite being a slave, he kept strong and eventually broke the chain of society. However, Fredrick Douglass experienced great “insecurity” and “loneliness” with his new freedom, and was upon a new “hunting-ground.” His new freedom brought other devastating factors, being a new state without any friends, which caused his loneliness. In this new state, he grew insecure because he was in a new danger zone where at any time his freedom could be rejected. With new freedom comes new obstacles, which are described in the diction of Fredrick Douglass.
In Douglass’s Narrative, Douglass uses his eloquent storytelling skills and provocative rhetoric to both display the horrors of slavery for Whites and Blacks as well as convince the public that slavery undermines the values of the nation and Christianity. He uses his former mistress, Mrs. Auld, as an example of how slavery corrupts White women, who embody Christian values and nurturance in the home. She transforms from a kind, idealistic exemplar of a proper woman to a complete monster. Furthermore, Douglass appeals to his White audience by distinguishing true Christianity by the one practiced by slave owners. Slavery turns White owners into violent, greedy, and blind hypocrites to the message of God. Finally, he also compares the perils slave escapes are similar to the those of the forefathers who fought for this nation by referencing Patrick Henry. His own bravery for choosing between slavery and potentially fatal consequences for escaping reflects how the American people were willing to die for their their liberty, and this analogy make abolitions a more recognizable and patriotic crusade for American rights. His entire narrative is the epitome of a Transcendentalist, American success story of self-reliance and organized principles to success -with the additional white stamp of
Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written By Himself. Boston, 1845.
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.
Frederick Douglass’ landmark narrative describes the dehumanization of African-American slaves, while simultaneously humanizing them through his moving prose. Douglass shows the dehumanization of slaves through depictions of violence, deindividuation, and the broken justice system. However, Douglass’ pursuit of an education, moving rhetoric, and critique of his own masters demonstrates to the reader that African-Americans are just as intelligent as white people, thus proving their humanity.
The author gives well-founded conclusions as they are based on a thorough analysis of the work of the writer. These findings have given me a chance to see the dynamics of Douglass’s identity under the influence of various factors, including the opposition between the two types of identity - the identity of a slave and the identity of a free man.
In his autobiography “Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass”, Frederick Douglass shares his transformation from slave to freedman. The purpose of the work, as with many slave narratives, was “to enlighten white readers about both the realities of slavery as an institution” (Andrews). Throughout his journey, Douglass attempts to accomplish this through the description of daily conditions and horrifying experiences he faced while enslaved. He proves that through the institution of slavery, African-Americans were kept ignorant and forced into a subhuman existence while still longing to be treated fairly. White slave owners, as a result of slavery’s authoritarian manner, became animalistic tyrants.
At first glance, the book “my bondage and my freedom by Frederick Douglass appeared to be extremely dull and frustrating to read. After rereading the book for a second time and paying closer attention to the little details I have realized this is one of the most impressive autobiographies I have read recently. This book possesses one of the most touching stories that I have ever read, and what astonishes me the most about the whole subject is that it's a true story of Douglass' life. “ Douglass does a masterful job of using his own experience to expose the injustice of slavery to the world. As the protagonist he is able to keep the reader interested in himself, and tell the true story of his life. As a narrator he is able to link those experiences to the wider experiences of the nation and all society, exposing the corrupting nature of slavery to the entire nation.”[1] Although this book contributes a great amount of information on the subject of slavery and it is an extremely valuable book, its strengths are overpowered by its flaws. The book is loaded with unnecessary details, flowery metaphors and intense introductory information but this is what makes “My Bondage and My Freedom” unique.
Imagine being ripped apart from your mother as a child. Imagine watching family and friends receiving the stinging blow of a whip. Imagine religious men telling you that this is the will of god as they work you as close to death as they can. While difficult to imagine, this occurred to some of those who were enslaved in the early United States of America. One of the most heart wrenching of these accounts comes from a man born as a slave, Frederick Douglass. The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is an example of how some early Americans dehumanized slaves and how Fredrick Douglass’ viewed this atrocity. Despite this, Douglass found mental and physical means to fight this treatment.