Frederick Douglass Strengths And Weaknesses

Slaves suffered but weren’t the victims of slave holders. They suffered from slavery. Frederick Douglass wrote a narrative of his position in slavery and as clearly as the sun in the sky, is against it, bringing together those who were too scared to voice their opinion and those who were willing to change. In his narrative he wanted to spread awareness about the American slave system and that it corrupts slave holders as well as harming slaves with his personal experience.

In the narrative, the slaves are said to be on their way to the Great House Farm for their monthly allowance while singing. This suggests that the slaves are walking on some pathway, in a group, and probably carrying sacks of some sort in order to carry the allowance back. Douglass also specifies that, “They would sometimes sing the most pathetic sentiment in the most rapturous tone, and the most rapturous sentiment in the most pathetic tone” (Douglass). With this line, Douglass in trying to paint a picture of the way slaves looked while singing. They sang sad songs in a happy way, which suggest there was laughter, cheering, and maybe dancing involved. They also sang happy songs in a sad way. This expresses that the slaves were probably walking more slowly during these songs and perhaps they were slouching. Douglass is emphasizing the importance of how slaves looked while singing their

By telling us this it shows us that the slaves were taught to not feel, and that there was no other way for them to live life. Everyone can relate to the fact that in the moment of a certain situation it might not seem too bad, but when you look back on it you really see how bad it really was, this is what Frederick Douglass was experiencing. By explaining how he felt while hearing the songs, it makes the reader feel the unknowing nature that all of the slaves had and it makes us see the injustice in the situation.

     It is at this time that Frederick Douglass learns one of the greatest freedoms of all. He is set free, in an educational sense. Douglass has been taught a few reading lessons form his mistress. Soon after his master discovers this, and commences the teaching at once. Soon thereafter, Frederick Douglass uses some smart tactics to resume his learning. He in a sense manipulates the children around him into teaching him how to read and write. This grand achievement taught Douglass something, as he says, “From that moment, I understood the pathway from slavery to freedom. It was just what I wanted, and

Douglass corrects white reader’s misconceptions about the slave’s assumed happiness by illustrating the song’s true meaning through his personal experience “within the circle.” Douglass is astounded that northerners believed they were singing songs out of happiness; he says, “I have often been astonished, since I came to the north, to find persons who could speak of the singing, among slaves, as evidence of their contentment and happiness. It is impossible to conceive of a greater mistake” (26). Douglass explains that the songs create a common experience among all slaves. Therefore, those outside the circle are ignorant to believe that their songs are out of happiness or contempt. In actuality, “slaves sing most when they are the most unhappy. The songs of the slave represent the sorrows of his heart; and he is relieved by them, only as an aching heart is relieved by its tears” (26). Douglass makes it clear that slaves are actually evident on a sub-conscious level of deep unhappiness. The singing is a coping mechanism, per say, to the aching hearts. The songs are not a pastime

As a result of slavery in a whole a distinct slave culture emerges. In this culture privileges are few, but the few privileges are greatly valued. For example, in the slave culture singing was a very popular and important part of their lives, it was one of the few ways they were allowed express themselves. They would sing of their sorrows and of their joys. In the words of Frederick,

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, brings to light many of the social injustices that colored men, women, and children all were forced to endure throughout the nineteenth century under Southern slavery laws. Douglass's life-story is presented in a way that creates a compelling argument against the justification of slavery. His argument is reinforced though a variety of anecdotes, many of which detailed strikingly bloody, horrific scenes and inhumane cruelty on the part of the slaveholders. Yet, while Douglas’s narrative describes in vivid detail his experiences of life as a slave, what Douglass intends for his readers to grasp after reading his narrative is something much more profound. Aside from all the

Fredrick Douglass’s “Learning to Read and Write”, gives readers insight into the struggles of being a slave with intelligence, but more importantly into his experience. In his essay, Douglass shows how he fought to obtain knowledge; however, a reading of his story will reveal that what he learned changed him for the better. Michael Scott, a former EOF student read the story and believed that Douglass’s intelligence was a destructive and to a certain degree pointless. Contrary to Scott’s statement, Douglass’s knowledge wasn’t more of a curse than a blessing. Being a slave was everyone’s curse. Douglass went into depression because he hadn’t had the same experience as other slaves and finally felt what it was really like to be a slave when he was punished for his knowledge. However just because his knowledge is what got him into trouble doesn’t necessarily make him, being an intelligent slave; a curse nor does it mean that he had absolutely no alternatives to his condition. In fact, he above most other slaves had the upper hand when it came to creating his own alternative. Douglass’s intelligence helped him become autodidactic, manipulate situations to benefit him, and develop an ambition to become free.

Many Southerners believed that slavery is a part of their “standard of living.” In reality, many Southerners living a “grand and gracious life” is a myth; a myth having to do with the romantic image of slavery. Slaves make the appearance of what they want their owners to believe and an example is that “this romantic image myth about the South, includes a belief that the slaves were happy being slaves,” which is untrue to Douglass. He rebukes this and state that slaves only appear to be happy, so that their masters don’t fall under suspicion. They don’t want to be punished for feeling sadness in front of their masters. Ever so often, Douglass witnessed slaves singing while

Frederick Douglass’ biography revolves around the idea of freedom. After seeing a traumatizing incident as a child, Douglass slowly begins to realize that he is not a free human being, but is a slave owned by other people. He is surrounded by a society that devalues him and people like him, and systematically worked to keep them ignorant and submissive. In this society, it is made clear that no slave is special, and everyone is replaceable. Rather than accept this, Douglass struggles to maintain what little autonomy he was allowed to have. When his one of his masters, Thomas Auld, bans his mistress, Sophia, from teaching Douglass how to read, Douglass learned from the young boys on the street. His biography shows him transforming from an ignorant child into his older, more learned self.

Fredrick Douglass’s life as a slave was hard any slave’s life would be. He was born into slavery in Tuckahoe, Maryland where he lived as a slave while being raised by his grandparents. He was treated horribly by his masters growing up. Around when Fredrick was eight years old he got transported to Baltimore, Maryland where he worked for Hugh Auld who was strict as could be. On the contrary his wife was kind and actually got to teach Fredrick Douglass some reading and writing skills. Hugh Auld did not let it last so he made his wife stop teaching him. This was not the end of Douglass’s education because he pretty much taught himself how to read and write by looking at other people’s handwriting and also by using newspapers. Soon he was actually able to make out what the newspapers were saying so he could now know what was going on around the

in the “Redemption Song” I feel a sense of trying for freedom in my mind because all they did was sing, even though the slaves were not free.

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.

Many masters believed in the stereotype of slaves being these “...cheerful and ignorantly content...” (Davidson and Lytle 176) creatures who would accept anything their masters tell them. When masters saw their slaves dancing in joy at the sound of Union gunshots, they felt inspired because they believed the slaves were just happy and ignorant of the gunshots. This ties into the theme of deception and the masters’ inability to see through the guise of their slaves. Because most slaves refused to open up to their masters, they were often quite hard to read and left their masters with a false sense of superiority.

When Africans were taken from their motherland they lost their families, their sense of connection to traditions, their freedom, stability and their human rights. Through the Middle Passage they learned to rely on the others around them. Through this common bond they grew close and put aside differences their tribes may once have had. Due to the fact the captured people were young in age, healthy, vibrant and able to procreate; their future owners would use all of these features against them. Moreover, they made the enslaved peoples have relations, they would put them together strictly to procreate. If they could not or chose not to help the owners by giving birth to future slaves they were punished by extreme means. The enslaved used this as a form of resistance. They could control procreation to a certain extent. As they travelled across the ocean relationships were developed, they learned to communicate and sing songs as ways to encourage each other and remain hopeful even when things seemed dim. Little did the captured peoples realize those songs would help future generations of slaves by giving them the same hope that the current peoples were experiencing. It was through the songs that the African American slaves changed the lyrics to reflect how they felt about their owners and striving for freedom which they so desperately wanted. They used singing as means to spread messages, encourage one another and develop enough courage to revolt or runaway. As time went on, the