Frederick Douglass Life Changes Essay

In the book Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Douglass begins by telling the reader that he was born a slave. He explains

Douglass describes the move to Baltimore, as one of great luck and destiny. When greeted by Mrs. Sophia Auld, he had never seen a more pleasant looking face with “the most kindly emotions” (35). He was tasked with taking care of their son; Thomas. Douglass describes his relationship with Mrs. Auld contrasting his relationship with any other white woman he had encountered thus far. Since Douglass was the first slave she had ever owned, she treated him like she would any other human being. She was disgusted by how he kneeled at her feet, she didn't seem bothered when he looked her in the face, and she even taught him to read. Once her husband explained that teaching him to read was making him worthless and that she would be losing Douglass and all the things he does for her, she changed her mind.

Continuing with the theme of family values, Douglass shifts to the basic family unit. Their master separated Douglass and his mother when he was an infant, for what reason he “does not know” (Douglass 2). No one gave Douglass an explanation because this situation was customary on plantations. Douglass wanted to horrify his Northern white readers by informing them that slaveholders regularly split slave families for no apparent reason. This obviously would upset Northerners because the family unit was the foundation for their close-knit communities. Multiple generations and extended families lived together or near each other. It was unimaginable to the readers that a society existed that took children away from their mothers without reason. Northerners would think of anyone who was part of such a society as a heartless monster (Quarles ix).

The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, is going to be one of my all-time favorite literatures to read. It show us the horror of slavery and most importantly it shows the people of his time, a vivid and very moving account of the gruesome nature of antebellum slavery while highlighting the courage of one man struggle affect it had and the weight of injustice carries. I knew who Mr. Douglass was, and I had a very limited view of his life. But his narrative speaks so much volume. You can see from the very start of his narrative, Mr. Douglass uses an authoritative tone of voice while also giving us a logical analysis of every account of slavery he had from his earliest memories from childhood until the time he finally escape from slavery, or that of the one of others slaves he choose to tell. It is literately impossible for anyone of any race to read and fully comprehend Mr. Douglass interpretation of slavery without having an emotional out pull because of the sickening horror of slavery he brilliantly

Douglass uses family relationships, starting with his own birth, to gain the compassion of his target audience. He never knew the identity of his father, but it was "whispered" (Douglass, Narrative, 43) that it was his master. Douglass shocked his Northern white readers when he informed them that slaveholders regularly split slave families for no reason. This upset Northerners because their family units were the foundation of their communities. People couldn't believe that slave children were taken

The life of Frederick Douglass was similar in many ways to that of a typical slave during the 1800’s. The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass shows both highlights and lowlights from Douglass’ time as a slave. While there were many similarities between he and the common slave, there are certain aspects of his life that make him uncommon, such as his ability to read. When comparing pieces of literature from former slaves to that of Frederick Douglass, the reader may assume that Douglass’ life of slavery was unique compared to the others.

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, depicts a vivid reality of the hardships endured by the African American culture in the period of slavery. One of the many things shown in Frederick's narrative is how slaves, in their own personal way, resisted their masters authority. Another is how slaves were able to create their own autonomous culture within the brutal system in which they were bound. There are many examples in the narrative where Frederick tries to show the resistance of the slaves. The resistors did not go unpunished though, they were punished to the severity of death. Fredrick tells of these instances with a startling sense of casualness, which seems rather

Since ancient times historians always examined artifacts and sources of different writings. The purpose of examining artifacts and writings were to find the time period, the place of its origin and whether they are primary or secondary sources. Primary sources are materials produced by people or groups directly involved in the event/ topic under consideration either as participants or as witness. Some examples of primary sources are decrees, letters, newspapers, journals, birth and death registries etc. Secondary sources are those when a person was not present at the time of the event. Examples of secondary sources may include books, articles etc. Now, this brings to our discussion - is Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass a primary source? Even though people may different opinions about the autobiography of Frederick Douglass being a primary source, Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass is a primary source because it mentions his purpose for writing, it clarifies the arguments made by Frederick Douglass, and finally, it illustrates the credibility of the author.

Frederick Douglass undertook abhorrent treatment from his slave masters, both Christian and non-Christian. Being religious did not matter; both kinds of owners were cruel and treated their slaves worse than they treated their animals. Douglass describes that having an owner that labeled himself a Christian, was worse than a non-Christianowner. He describes the horrors of captivity as he puts on display the monstrosity of slavery, including the way non-Christian slave owners and Christian slave owners not only mistreated slaves, but also used the Bible to justify their wrong doing.

The Narrative of Fredrick Douglass displays the hardships of many blacks experienced first-hand, and also his journey toward freedom and enlightenment. This narrative starts at his birth place on a planation near the Eastern Shore, in Maryland called “Lloyd's plantation.” This is where he experiences egregious situations where his loved ones are being beaten to a pulp. He is too young to get beaten but nevertheless at that instance in the book, Douglass knows the truth in society. He is a slave and a slave with no promising future.

Define who Frederick Douglass was and provide a summary of his book, narrative of the life of Fredrick Douglass: an American slave 1845.

In the autobiography “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave,” Douglass discussed the effects of slavery not only on slaves themselves but also the effects slavery has on the slave owners. He shows that slavery dehumanizes those it touches, however, his writing humanizes himself and those else he depicts. His writing revealed the cruelty and brutality he faced during his time as a slave.

Douglass had a way with words. He would capture my mind when I was reading the book. His narrative was very unique especially because he was a former slave and slaves were not supposed to know anything. When reading the book, I started to understand what the slaves were going through. Douglass talks about one of his slave owner Anthony he "was generally called Captain Anthony... he was not considered a rich

Frederick Douglass, the author of the Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass was a self-taught slave that was able to escape the brutality of slavery in the year of 1838. Frederick Douglass’s book is separated into 3 main sections, including, a beginning, middle, and end. The purpose of the narrative is to improve the audience's understanding of Douglass’s experience of being a slave, the horrible treatment slaves received, and how Douglass was able to overcome and escape slavery. All throughout the narrative, Douglass uses many rhetorical devices, including, diction, imagery, and syntax, which helps the audience understand, one of his main chapters, chapter 5. In this chapter Douglass implies that the overall purpose is to emphasize the animalistic, inhuman treatment slaves received, how Douglass felt about leaving Colonel Lloyd’s plantation, and his luck of being able to move to Mr. and Mrs. Auld's.

The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass details the oppression Fredrick Douglass went through before his escape to freedom. In his narratives, Douglass offers the readers with fast hand information of the pain, brutality, and humiliation of the slaves. He points out the cruelty of this institution on both the perpetrator, and the victims. As a slave, Fredrick Douglass witnessed the brutalization of the blacks whose only crime was to be born of the wrong color. He narrates of the pain, suffering the slaves went through, and how he fought for his freedom through attaining education.