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Narrative life of frederick douglass important role in reading
Analysis of the Frederick Douglass American slaves
Relationships between masters and slaves
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The Emancipation Proclamation ended the enslavement of African-Americans in 1863. While slaves were now free of the hardships concerning forced labor and total domination, some believed that slavery was a better life style compared to freedom. The Great Depression introduced new, and what seemed like more difficult, adversities former slaves were left to tackle without any assistance. Frederick Douglass’ 1845 Narrative exemplifies some of the true “pros” and cons of slavery. The convenient accommodations of slavery supported the wrongful, ethical view that African – Americans were better off enslaved. The Great Depression brought a whole new wave of poverty in the 1930’s for the average African – American. The white population was subjected …show more content…
Depending on whether a slave lived in the city or on a plantation, granted many more privileges. “A city slave is almost a freeman, compared with a slave on a plantation.” (Douglass 331) Douglass describes his tenure as a city slaves and what he was able to observe through his daily routine. Slaves resided on a plantation or their master’s home, if they lived in the city, therefore finding ways to fund housing was not an issue. Food was also provided by the master. “Every city slaveholder is anxious to have it known of him, that he feeds his slaves well, and it is die to them to say, that most of them do give their slaves enough to eat.” (Douglass 331) Most plantation slaves were unable to receive the surplus of food like city slaves, but they were fed enough to survive with no need of financial contribution. Slaves were not also hassled with the task of finding an occupation. Again, this was an important problem for everyone during the Great Depression. Slave duties and obeying the master were all the African – American slaves were obligated to do, and this was thought of as a huge “pro” when the argument of servitude being a better life was …show more content…
It played a negative role not only on the slave, but also the slave owner. Some of the everyday expenses eliminated through slavery could never compare to the maltreatment and sense of being owned that slaves suffered with every day. Slaves were treated solely as property and nothing more. “I was immediately sent for, to be valued with the other property.” (Douglass 337) After the death of his old master, Douglass was sent back to the plantation along with other slaves to be claimed as an asset. “There were horses and men, cattle and women, pigs and children, all holding the same rank in the scale of being…” (Douglass 337) Slaves were merely only thought of on the ranks as animals, not human beings. No accommodation could ever replace being treated as animal or some sort of
My conclusion I think Frederick Douglass was living a hard life for so many years and in another article he moved to new york I think so he could start a new life so he was not afraid to tell people his story about when he was a slave and some people still didn't believe him. Also in the article the slave owner wanted him back but the people paid like 700 dollars I think and that's when Frederick douglass started to write newspapers and
While the formal abolition of slavery, on the 6th of December 1865 freed black Americans from their slave labour, they were still unequal to and discriminated by white Americans for the next century. This ‘freedom’, meant that black Americans ‘felt like a bird out of a cage’ , but this freedom from slavery did not equate to their complete liberty, rather they were kept in destitute through their economic, social, and political state.
Frederick Douglass emphasizes the dehumanization aspect of slavery throughout his narrative. As is the general custom in slavery, Douglass is separated from his mother early in infancy and put under the care of his grandmother. He recalls having met his mother several times, but only during the night. She would make the trip from her farm twelve miles away just to spend a little time with her child. She dies when Douglass is about seven years old. He is withheld from seeing her in her illness, death, and burial. Having limited contact with her, the news of her death, at the time, is like a death of a stranger. Douglass also never really knew the identity of his father and conveys a feeling of emptiness and disgust when he writes, "the whisper that my master was my father, may or may not be true; and, true or false, it is of but little consequence to my purpose" (Douglass, 40). Douglass points out that many slave children have their masters as their father. In these times, frequently the master would take advantage of female slaves and the children born to the slave w...
According to Douglass, the treatment of a slave was worse than that of an animal. Not only were they valued as an animal, fed like an animal, and beaten like an animal, but also a slave was reduced to an animal when he was just as much of a man as his master. The open mentality a slave had was ...
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.
"The Depression, The New Deal, and World War II." African American Odyssey: (Part 1). N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Mar. 2014.
In the eighteenth century slavery was all around. However, the mends were in store to make up for the unfounded actions of the past. By doing so, it punishes the people of today to make up for the wrongful doings of the people in the past. African Americans did suffer in the past from the injustice of slavery. Take in mind that it was the past, and the injustice of slavery does not affect African Americans in today’s day and time. White Americans in today’s day and time did not own or have anything to do with slavery. With this being said, I am presenting the pro-slavery side of slavery: the positive aspects of slavery and the justification of slavery, the stereotypes that promote the enslaved Africans/black Americans, proslavery socially and historically, how they describe the lives of men and women under slavery and how these men envision civilized society, attitudes these men had about slavery, and the reflective of racial prejudice.
Johnson, Michael, and Allen C. Guelzo. “Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation: The End of Slavery in America.” Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association. Michigan Publishing, n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2014.
In his narrative, he states that slaves were compared to animals by the way the slave owner treated them because slaves were considered as property and not as human beings. When slaves came into the new world, they were sold and given new names and over time were supposed to assimilate to the American culture. Since slave masters did not think slaves could assimilate to the American culture, slave masters kept them as workers; therefore, slaves were not given an education, leaving them illiterate, and thereby leaving them without any knowledge on how the American political system works. Slave owners thought that if slaves would become literate, that slaves would start to question the rights they have. Frederick argues that slaves lose their identity by accepting the fact that being a slave is the way life is and that there is nothing else to look forward to in life. “
Freedom is something many slaves never had the opportunity to witness. They were simply uneducated, illiterate machines who did whatever they were told. But few fortunate slaves were given the gift to be educated by someone. One of these fortunate persons was named Frederick Douglass. Douglass was born a slave. He never had the chance of knowing his mother. As mentioned before, slaves were stripped from their families, leaving them no sense of compassion. In the book, The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Douglass says, "Never having enjoyed, to any considerable extent, her soothing presence, her tender and watchful care, I received the tidings of her death with much of the same emotions I should have probably felt at the death of a stranger."(2) Douglass secretly met with his mother about 4 times during his whole life. He said he never really got to know her being he was only a child and the never had much of a conversation. These sorts of incidents happened to slaves throughout America and permanently scarred most slaves and their families.
Douglass’ different portrayals of his masters provide the most significant theme of his Narrative. Douglass believed his first master Captain Aaron Anthony fathered him. He depicts Captain Anthony as a cruel man who took pleasure beating and whipping his slaves, especially his Aunt Hester. On a particular occasion, Douglass witnessed his master force his Aunt into the kitchen, strip her naked, and whip her till her blood ran thick. This marked Douglass’ introduction to slavery as a young boy and forever impacted his view towards slavery. At the age of seven, Captain Anthony sent Douglass to work for his second master, Hugh Auld, Captain Anthony’s son-in-l...
The American Revolution was a “light at the end of the tunnel” for slaves, or at least some. African Americans played a huge part in the war for both sides. Lord Dunmore, a governor of Virginia, promised freedom to any slave that enlisted into the British army. Colonists’ previously denied enlistment to African American’s because of the response of the South, but hesitantly changed their minds in fear of slaves rebelling against them. The north had become to despise slavery and wanted it gone. On the contrary, the booming cash crops of the south were making huge profits for landowners, making slavery widely popular. After the war, slaves began to petition the government for their freedom using the ideas of the Declaration of Independence,” including the idea of natural rights and the notion that government rested on the consent of the governed.” (Keene 122). The north began to fr...
Frederick Douglass, the author of the book “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass”, said “I saw more clearly than ever the brutalizing effects of slavery upon both slave and slaveholder” (Douglass, p.71). Modern people can fairly and easily understand the negative effects of slavery upon slave. People have the idea of slaves that they are not allow to learn which makes them unable to read and write and also they don’t have enough time to take a rest and recover their injuries. However, the negative effects upon slaveholder are less obvious to modern people. People usually think about the positive effects of slavery upon slaveholder, such as getting inexpensive labor. In the book “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass”, Douglass also shows modern readers some brutalizing impact upon the owner of the slaves. He talks about Thomas Auld and Edward Covey who are his masters and also talks about Sophia Auld who is his mistress. We will talk about those three characters in the book which will help us to find out if there were the negative influences upon the owner of the slaves or not. Also, we will talk about the power that the slaveholders got from controlling their slaves and the fear that the slaveholders maybe had to understand how they were changed.
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.
Slaves are stripped of information about themselves, as depicted in Douglass’ unknowing of his own birthday. This alone is significant in removing one’s self-identity, for slaves have no knowledge of their own age. Furthermore, slaves were separated from their families, taking away one of the only senses of comfort and belonging in the harsh plantation. Douglass also references a moment where Colonel Lloyd does not even recognize his own slave, because he has so many of them. This is also supported by Douglass describing how quickly slaves were replaced if they committed a misdemeanor. This suggests that Colonel Lloyd sees his slaves as replaceable objects/tools, rather than actual human beings. Perhaps an even more moving moment was when Douglass was sent to be “valued” with other slaves and ranked with “horses, sheep, and swine,” following the death of his former Master. Douglass cleverly uses parallelism by pairing each animal with man, woman, and child, respectively. This shows the slave holder’s thought process when valuing each human/animal: they are equal. In this situation, Douglass describes his indignation by commenting on the brutalizing effects of slavery on the slave and the slave holder alike. So, by equating humans to animals, they are not only stripped of their self-identity as individuals, but also their self-identity as