Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
After escaping from slavery, Frederick Bailey changed his name to
Frederick Douglass and became a prominent speaker in the abolitionist
movement. He was so eloquent that proslavery opponents charged him
with being a fraud who had never been a slave and challenged him to
reveal the true facts of his life. Such an account was dangerous for
Douglass, who could have been captured and returned to slavery for
life, but he proceeded to write in specific detail the account of his
experience as a slave, in order to reveal the inhumanity of that
“peculiar institution” and help bring about its overthrow. Prefaced
with an essay by William Lloyd Garrison and with a letter by Wendell
Phillips, both leading abolitionists, Narrative of the Life of
Frederick Douglass, an American Slave: Written by Himself is told in
straightforward chronology and a clear style, with a wealth of
realistic detail.
Douglass’ father was a white man, rumored to be his master, and one of
the abominations of slavery that Douglass denounced was the common
practice of white men forcing slave women to be their mistresses and
begetting children whom they never acknowledged, whom they owned and
could flog or sell at whim. As an infant, Douglass was separated from
his mother, whom he saw only a few times before she died. He had to
endure the horror of seeing his aunt repeatedly flogged and to know
that such a fate was in store for him. On a plantation on Maryland’s
Eastern Shore, Douglass never had enough food, clothing, or shelter,
and he had to sleep on the ground in an unheated shack. He saw fellow
slaves killed with impunity, a...
... middle of paper ...
...f an antislavery weekly
newspaper. In addition, he became an early advocate of women’s rights,
including the right to vote. During the Civil War, Douglass recruited
troops and after the war became marshal of the District of Columbia,
minister resident and consul general to Haiti, and chargé d’affaires
for Santo Domingo. The most distinguished nineteenth century African
American, Douglass has been called the father of the Civil Rights
movement. Along with Richard Wright’s Black Boy: A Record of Childhood
and Youth (1945), his autobiography is one of the most moving in
American literature.
Works Cited
David W. Blight, Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of
Frederick Douglass : An American Slave, Written by Himself (The
Bedford Series in History and Culture) Bedford/St. Martin's; 2nd
edition 2002
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.
“The law on the side of freedom is of great advantage only when there is power to make that law respected”. This quote comes from Fredrick Douglas’ book, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, written in 1845. Fredrick Douglas who was born into slavery in 1818 had no understanding of freedom. However, his words shed light on the state of our country from the time he made this statement, but can be traced back fifty-eight years earlier to when the Constitution was drafted and debated over by fifty-five delegates in an attempt to create a document to found the laws of a new country upon. However, to eradicate the antiquated and barbaric system of slaver would be a bold step to set the nation apart, but it would take a strong argument and a courageous move by someone or a group to abolish what had enslaved thousands of innocent people within the borders of America for centuries. There was an opportunity for the law to be written within the Constitution, which would support this freedom Fredrick Douglas alluded to. However, the power, which controlled this law, would as Douglas stated, “make that law respected”.
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave: A Perspective on the Evils of Slavery
late father. He was also not ready to face the fact that his Uncle marries his mother
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.
Frederick Douglass was an orator and writer for the abolition movement. He was born into slavery and knows from personal experience how the institution dehumanizes everyone involved. His masters’ wife taught him the alphabet which was the start of Douglass learning how to write and speak out against slavery. His Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass was an attempt to describe the peculiar institution of slavery with out disrupting the sensibilities of his readers. In order to accomplish this Douglass must get his audience to relate to and identify with his life as a slave. He incorporated the same exploitive techniques used in the sentimental novel. This was an 18th century European novel style that engaged readers’ emotions to gain supporters for a particular cause. Frederick Douglass' Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass appealed to the sensibilities of his readers by evoking emotions of sympathy and compassion causing his readers to identify with slavery and label it unnatural.
In the passage of the Narrative of Fredrick Douglass, the author masterfully conveys two complimentary tones of liberation and fear. The tones transition by the use of diction and detail. The passage is written entirely in first person, since we are witnessing the struggles of Fredrick Douglass through his eyes. Through his diction, we are able to feel the triumph that comes with freedom along with the hardships. Similarly, detail brings a picturesque view of his adversities. Since the point of view is first person, the reader is able to be a part of the Douglass’ struggles with his new freedom. With diction, detail, and point of view, the reader is able to get a rare glimpse into the past of Fredrick Douglass.Fredrick Douglass’ diction is powerful as he describes his life as a slave and with his new freedom. Fredrick Douglass calls being enslaved an act of “wretchedness,” yet he was able to remain “firm” and eventually left the “chains” of slavery. Fredrick Douglass expresses that being enslaved is a wretched act and that no man should ever deserve such treatment. 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 for he was in a new danger zone where at any time his freedom could be rejected. With new freedom come new obstacles, which are described in the diction of Fredrick Douglass.
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. Complete Title: An Exploration of the Relationship between Southern Christianity and Slaveholding as seen in the “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave Written by Himself”. Dr. Pautreaux’s comments: What makes this paper memorable is the fact that this student is also a minister. Both his command of the language and his insight as a minister gave this paper a unique view of the narrative.
Not many are aware of the horror that slavery in the United States was. Many only have knowledge of it from analyses or textbook readings, rarely ever having read firsthand accounts. These sources also generally only focus on the atrocities of slavery, then quickly shift to its abolishment, hardy ever elaborating on the change that came about to end the institution. Frederick Douglass’ autobiography Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas, allows the reader to experience slave life through the eyes of Douglass. It also allows the person reading to understand the transformation of the American attitude towards slavery that ultimately led to its abolition. The autobiography fully encompasses the tenacity that Douglass possessed, with a never dying strive for freedom.
In Frederick Douglass’s Narrative, Douglas himself narrates the novel using story telling to bring both the reader into the story, and the theme into focus. Through his narration, Douglass also uses narrative strategies like anecdotes, and plot twists. Even with it being a true story, Douglass brings the readers’ attention to a peak with these techniques making the story interesting and appealing.
The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave details the progression of a slave to a man, and thus, the formation of his identity. The narrative functions as a persuasive essay, written in the hopes that it would successfully lead to “hastening the glad day of deliverance to the millions of [his] brethren in bonds” (Douglass 331). As an institution, slavery endeavored to reduce the men, women, and children “in bonds” to a state less than human. The slave identity, according to the institution of slavery, was not to be that of a rational, self forming, equal human being, but rather, a human animal whose purpose is to work and obey the whims of their “master.” For these reasons, Douglass articulates a distinction between the terms ‘man’ and ‘slaves’ under the institution of slavery. In his narrative, Douglass describes the situations and conditions that portray the differences between the two terms. Douglass also depicts the progression he makes from internalizing the slaveholder viewpoints about what his identity should be to creating an identity of his own making. Thus, Douglass’ narrative depicts not simply a search for freedom, but also a search for himself through the abandonment of the slave/animal identity forced upon him by the institution of slavery.
Slave narratives were one of the first forms of African- American literature. The narratives were written with the intent to inform those who weren’t aware of the hardships of slavery about how badly slaves were being treated. The people who wrote these narratives experienced slavery first hand, and wanted to elicit the help of abolitionists to bring an end to it. Most slave narratives were not widely publicized and often got overlooked as the years went by; however, some were highly regarded and paved the way for many writers of African descent today.
The Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass can be referred to as a memoir and writing about the abolitionist movement of the life of a former slave, Fredrick Douglass. It is a highly regarded as the most famous piece of writing done by a former slave. Fredrick Douglass (1818-1895) was a social reformer, statesman, orator and writer in the United States. Douglass believed in the equality of every individual of different races, gender or immigrants.
In The Narrative of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass, an African American male describes his day as a slave and what he has become from the experience. Douglass writes this story to make readers understand that slavery is brutalizing and dehumanizing, that a slave is able to become a man, and that he still has intellectual ability even though he is a slave. In the story, these messages are shown frequently through the diction of Frederick Douglass.
The tone established in the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is unusual in that from the beginning to the end the focus has been shifted. In the beginning of the narrative Douglass seems to fulfill every stereotypical slavery theme. He is a young black slave who at first cannot read and is very naïve in understanding his situation. As a child put into slavery Douglass does not have the knowledge to know about his surroundings and the world outside of slavery. In Douglass’ narrative the tone is first set as that of an observer, however finishing with his own personal accounts.