Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass Essay

First, one of Frederick’s masters was delusional, because he whipped his woman slave while quoting a bible verse. As he whipped another human being, he would quote, “He that knoweth his master’s will, and doeth it not, shall be beaten with many stripes (Douglass 68).” The reason this master would say this quote is because he

The life of Frederick Douglass was as horrible and miserable as any other slave. However, since bravery was his most dominant trait Frederick’s life became the life of a hero. Born into slavery on the year of 1818, Frederick never really got to know his family and was separated at birth. Growing up, he knew that blacks like him were not supposed to be educated, or treated as well as the whites. This compelled Frederick even

Throughout our lives, we undergo many changes and we also see many changes in other people. Our world today has been influenced immensely by the world of the past. In the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Frederick undergoes many changes in his life and the lives of the people around him especially the slaveholders that he served. Throughout the narrative, we as the reader see that slavery was a terrible thing and that it affected the slaves in horrific ways but not just the slaves were affected, the slaveholders were also affected in horrible ways.

As a child, Frederick douglass was unable to form an emotional bond with his mother due to the limitations set by slavery, and was both mentally and physically tortured. By the time he had turned into a teenager he had managed to learn how to read and write, and had been under the service of multiple masters & overseers, most of which had been cruel and unforgiving. Yet, there was an urge in Frederick Douglass’s life that had caused him to fight back, and so he did, and not

and write in the hope that the boy could get to know the Bible. When

Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey (later known as Frederick Douglass) was born a slave in Talbot County, Maryland around the year 1818. He was an African American reformer, writer, and orator. Douglass was one of the few noteworthy heroes who arose from the evils of slavery and impacted the United States and the world in significant ways. After escaping from slavery, he became known for his astounding oratory skills and remarkable antislavery writing. He became an important leader of the abolitionist movement. Northerners found it hard to believe that such an incredible orator had once been a slave. To verify this, Douglass described the events of his life as a slave and his ambition to be a free man in Narrative of the Life of

Covey for a year. Mr. Covey had a reputation for setting slaves straight. The agreement was that Covey could use the slave in the fields. One day, Douglass collapsed in the barn because he was so tired. Covey happened to come by and kicked Fredrick and started beating him. This shows how cruel Covey was. A couple days after the beating, Covey jumped on Fredrick and he decided to fight back. After a long fight, Covey gives up and does no harm to Fredrick for the rest of his time there. This gives Fredrick the courage that is very important when he

Frederick was a fearless individual that through many hardships was able to become a free and extremely successful man. An instance where he was fearless was when he decided he wanted to learn how to read. When he was younger, Frederick would finish his deliveries early so he could be taught by the poor boys of Baltimore (Douglass 37). Later on in his life, he held classes for his fellow slaves and the black people of the town (Douglass 59). Douglass taught them how to read and write. He was fearless because if he was caught by his master it would mean certain death. This trait was important, because without it he wouldn’t have been brave enough to teach others. Frederick probably got the fearless trait from when he beat up Mr. Covey. It was a brave act and it boosted Frederick’s morale.

Slavery was perhaps one of the most appalling tragedies in the history of The United States of America. To tell the people of the terrible facts, runaway slaves wrote their accounts of slavery down on paper and published it for the nation to read. Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs were just two of the many slaves who did this. Each of the slaves had different experiences with slavery, but they all had one thing in common: they tell of the abominable institution of slavery and how greatly it affected their lives. When Douglass was seven years old, he was sent to a new master and mistress, Hugh and Sophia Auld. Sophia was a very kind and affectionate woman, probably one of the nicest people Douglass

“That which to him was a great evil, to be carefully shunned, was to me a great good, to be diligently sought; and the argument which he so warmly urged, against my learning to read, only served to inspire me with a desire and determination to learn.” This passage was an aww moment for me when reading the novel. It shows me that Frederick was a rebel and was proud about it. Everything they told him not to do or was forbidden to do as a slave he did it and did not care about the cost, he reveled in defying the limitations put on a slave. Even though he had his moments when he would doubt if it was worth it all if he was to be caught, he presumed with bravery. “It was considered as being bad enough to be a slave; but to be a poor man's slave was deemed a disgrace indeed!” This particular quote was

Throughout centuries of slavery, there has always been types of abuse towards slaves. They have gone through different kinds of abuse from whippings to being considered property their whole lives. In the Narrative of Frederick Douglass, he writes about the manipulation and suffering his owners have brought upon him and other slaves. Not only did this mentally affected him, but most of it might have made him stronger.

Because Frederick Douglass took the courageous steps to learn how to read, he eventually became free. Another example of Frederick’s courageous acts were described, by him, in chapter X. Frederick Douglass’ former slave-owner, Mr. Covey, was abusing him. Frederick Douglass tried all of the possible ways to get Mr. Covey to stop, but he would not. After trying everything, Frederick Douglass decided to handle the situation himself.

The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave is an account of Frederick Douglass’ life written in a very detached and objective tone. You might find this tone normal for a historical account of the events of someone’s life if not for the fact that the narrative was written by Frederick Douglass himself. In light of the fact that Douglass wrote his autobiography as a treatise in support of the abolishment of slavery, the removed tone was an effective tone. It gave force to his argument that slavery should be done away with.

In the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Frederick Douglass depicts his life as a plantation slave, offering misinformed northern Christians and reformers in-depth accounts of the physical and emotional cruelties of slavery. As Douglass recounts his relationship and interactions with the harsh Mr. Covey, he disputes the basis on which southern slaveowners defended slavery. Douglass dispels their claims of encompassing a Christian duty to civilize blacks who they deemed naturally inferior by proving how they actively worked to keep slaves from assimilating and contributing to society.

In this book, Douglass narrated the life of a slave in the United States into finer details. This paper will give a description of life a slave in the United States was living, as narrated