Vipul C. Douglas's Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass

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In his autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Frederick Douglass expresses his views of Christianity and the horrors of slavery for both blacks and whites. Vipul A. Rana (August 7, 2010) writes about how slaves believed one version of Christianity, while the White Americans, or masters, believed another version of Christianity. The slaveholders used Christianity as an excuse to the horrible ways they treated slaves. Vipul writes that over the course of Douglass’ narrative, Douglass describes how non-religious slaveholders seem to be less cruel to their slaves than religious slaveholders. According to Douglass’ autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (1845), Thomas Auld was an example of a master that after going to a religious camp he turned, “more cruel and hateful in all his ways, for I believe him to have been a much worse man after his conversion than before (p.32).” Auld started “relying upon his own depravity to shield and sustain him in his savage barbarity; but after his conversion, he found religious sanction and support for his slaveholding cruelty (p.32).” Douglass’ explains his view of religion as “When I think that these precious souls are to-day shut up in the prison-house of slavery, my feelings overcome me, and I am almost ready to ask, “Does a righteous God govern the universe? And for what does he hold the thunders in his right hand, if not to smite the oppressor, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the spoiler? (p.48).” He wonders how a righteous God can rule the universe, and yet still allow cruel things like slavery to exist. One of the ways Douglass shows himself to be a Christian, is by quoting the Bible, “Dark and terrible as is this picture, I hold it to be s... ... middle of paper ... ...alling her at the same time a d—d b—h. After crossing her hands, he tied them with a strong rope, and led her to a stool under a large hook in the joist, put in for the purpose. He made her get upon the stool, and tied her hands to the hook (pg. ).” George Womble, a former slave, expresses how his slaveholder, Mr. Ridley, “Sometimes he whipped us, especially us boys, just to give himself a little fun. He would tie us in such a way as to cause our bodies to form an angle and then he proceeded to use the whip (1936-1938).” According to Womble, “At other times he would throw us in a large tank that held about two-thousand gallons of water. He then stood back and laughed while we struggled to keep from drowning.” The slaveholders would treat their slaves in such a cruel way and they would create many punishments for them, even if they did not do anything to deserve it.

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