The Narrative
Slavery can be viewed as one of the greatest examples of immoral treatment towards African Americans in the United States alone. Most Africans that were either captured, born, or sold in America, lived the life of a typical slave, however Frederick Douglass was the exception. Douglass, was an African American writer, abolitionist, and so much more, but before any of this, he was a slave. Fortunately, his master never treated him unkindly, until he was sent to be with a master that was the extreme opposite. By learning to read and write, Douglass eventually came to the conclusion that he was not living the life he wanted and longed to get away. In the Narrative of the Life Of Frederick Douglass, we are exposed to the iniquity of slavery and the dehumanization of the black race, which then led Frederick Douglass to recognize that literacy and education would aid him in his flight to freedom.
Frederick Douglass aspired to obtain freedom from the harsh world of slavery in every which way possible. After being treated so poorly for a great deal of years, he realized that he needed a life outside of the one he lived (Aben, Matt). He was so different from the typical slave and for most, was viewed as the complete opposite of the stereotypes that came with this slavery title. His masters’ wife assisted him in learning to read by first teaching him the alphabet, but by orders from her husband, she would then turn on him, because as Thomas Jefferson would say,
Picture this going through life without the ability to read or write. Without these abilities, it is impossible for a person to be a functioning member of society. In addition, imagine that someone is purposely limiting your knowledge to keep a leash on your independence. Not only is an American slave raised without skills in literacy, he cannot be taught to read unless someone breaks the law. In Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, the reader is given a detailed explanation of why slave masters keep their slaves ignorant and the effects such a strategy has on the slaves’ lives. In his autobiography, Douglass describes how the knowledge he obtains has substantial positive and negative effects on his psyche. He is given renewed passion and hope for freedom while struggling with the burden of enlightenment of his situation. Ultimately, however, education shapes his fate, and he achieves freedom and prominence as an advocate for abolition.
Fredrick Douglass lived a hazardous and adventures life, yet he accomplished a great reputation and was famous for his persuasive and an inspiring work. Living most of his life as a slave; Douglass eventually wrote Learning to Read and Write as well as many other literary works, and autobiographies like My Bondage and my Freedom and Life and Times of Frederick Douglass. As a matter of fact, Scott’s reaction to Fredrick Douglass’s essay Learning to Read and Write about slavery is correct. Gaining knowledge was more of a curse than a blessing, leaving him with absolutely no cure. In addition to that, Douglass developed hatred toward his enslavers; likewise he developed suicidal thoughts, and became envious for his fellow slaves.
Fredrick Douglass: An Inspiring Life Slavery is a part of American history. It is important that we as the human race and society learn from the mistakes of the past, to do this we must relfect, read and educate ourselfes about it. A former slave by the name of Fredrick Douglass wrote Narrative of the life of Fredrick Douglass to enlighten people of the horrors and inhuman treatment he and other slaves expienced, but in doing so he teaches us about the reslience of the human spirit. Douglass taught himself to read and write in a time when it was illegal for a slave to be educated. Why would a slave want to be educated if it were so dangerous?
Frederick Douglass believed that all people were born equal, but he also believed that humans were not just automatically born free. He deduced that man has the innate instinctive ability to mold themselves into whoever they wanted to become. So, naturally self-improvement and education were two crucial aspects of Frederick’s life. To Douglass the most horrific thing about slavery was the fact that slaves were totally and completely precluded from and form of education, which prevented them from improving themselves. Douglass worked exceedingly hard to obtain an education in order to ultimately become a free man. Although he still had to physically escape slavery his education played a vital role in his journey to freedom.
Frederick Douglass, an abolitionist who altered America's views of slavery through his writings and actions. Frederick's life as a slave had the greatest impact on his writings. Through his experience as a slave, he developed emotion and experience for him to become a successful abolitionist writer. He experienced harsh treatment and his hate for slavery and desire to be free caused him to write Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. In his Narrative, he wrote the story of his miserable life as a slave and his fight to be free. His motivation behind the character (himself) was to make it through another day so that maybe one day he might be free. By speaking out, fighting as an abolitionist and finally becoming an author,
In The Life of Frederick Douglass An American Slave, written by himself the author asserts that the way to enslave someone is to keep them from learning at all. Douglass supports his claim by, first, when Frederick was small he was never able to tell his age or the date, and secondly, they were never allowed to be taught how to read that was something always hidden from him as a young child. The author’s purpose is to inform the reader that as a slave there were so many things they were not allowed to have that we may take for granted, in order to make it very clear that we should not take our education and opportunities for granted. Based on The Life Of Frederick Douglass An American Slave, Douglass is writing for the white people who believed that slavery was right, he wanted to make it very clear that the slaves and Douglass had nothing handed to them.
The “Narratives of the Life of Frederick Douglass” is the story of Frederick Douglass’ life from the time he was born into slavery, to the time he escaped to freedom in the north. When Douglass wrote this book, slavery was still legal in a large portion of the United States. After Douglass’ escape to freedom and his continuation of his education, he became an abolitionist through his works of literature and speeches. In “The Blessings of Slavery”, by George Fitzhugh he states that southern slaves for the most part are the freest and happiest people in the world. He also goes on to say a number of other things that basically establish that slaves live an easy and good life compared to others. Frederick Douglass’ pure story telling in the “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass” directly goes against any argument for slavery from Fitzhugh, by revealing the harshness of the institution of slavery and the individuals behind it. In each piece of literature both authors also unknowingly touch on topics of early American history such as free labor ideology and paternalism therefore deepening our knowledge of popular understandings during this time period. Douglass refutes Fitzhugh’s pro-slavery argument of the average slave living an ideal life, by disproving early ideas of the free labor system and paternalism through real life encounters of the physical oppression slaves faced on the day to day basis in the forms of inhumane treatment and violence, as well as the true harsh
The theme of individual versus society has been featured in many pieces of literature over time. This conflict can be described as an individual’s struggle against the confines of their culture or society. The individual wrestles with either upholding society’s rules or breaking them. The conflict of the individual versus society is included in Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass. In his memoir, Douglass, who was a slave at the time, learned how to read and write. This was deviant from society in that period because slaves were not allowed to read and write. This conflict also appears in real life situations, such as the women’s suffrage movement or the Civil Rights Movement. Members of these movements did things that deviated from societal norms at the time. The theme of the individual versus society is presented as an individual deviating from society’s ideals.
Being a slave in the United States was not uncommon in the 19th century. There were many brutalities of being a slave including physical and spiritual abuse. Slaves were considered property and not as human beings. They were mistreated and kept illiterate. The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave is a autobiography written by Frederick Douglass himself that told of his experiences of being a slave in the United States. He expresses the brutality the slave owners and how he struggled with running away to become a free human being. The themes of his story include: the ignorance of slaves, the treatment of slaves as property, religion used as justification, and the victimization of female slaves.
Frederick Douglass' intent in writing is to share his story of life as a slave and expose the reality of slavery. He wishes to inform the reader of what he experienced as an average slave. He also wishes to persuade the reader to advocate for abolition and freedom. Douglass is very effective in accomplishing this. His stories about the brutality he experienced combined with the nonchalant tone in which
The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave is an autobiography written in the first person. The book was published by the American Anti-Slavery Society in 1845. Douglass was born in Tuckahoe Maryland sometime around 1818 and was named Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey. He was born enslaved, his mother a slave and his father a white man and possibly his master. Frederick lived his life as a slave before escaping to New York in 1838. Changing his name to Douglass, he would become one of the most important figures in the abolitionist movement. Douglass’s memoir revolves around themes of slavery and education.
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.
Frederick Douglass, the author of the memoir “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass,” is a famous ex-African American slave who advocated for the equality of all peoples throughout his free life. He was determined to better himself at an early age and yearned to learn all that he could. Douglass was a brilliant intellectual who shattered the stereotypes for black slaves during this time, which was of course seen as a threat to the way of life of his owners and thus he was often punished for showing any signs of resistance. After attempting to escape his enslavement on two separate occasions and both attempts ending in failure, Douglass was crestfallen and his will was to carry on was shattered. However, after the fateful meeting of
Slavery has been a heavily encourages and practiced in the American society. From poor white farmers to supporter of abolishing slavery has seen it with their eyes. They all know that what they were doing to the African American slave was wrong. Slavery transformed the way society sees their life and liberty. In order to truly understand the impacts that slavery had on American society was to be a slave yourself. Frederick Douglass, an escaped slave and fighter for freedom wrote his book based on his experience of being a slave. He was an African American who taught himself how to read write and gain more knowledge to learn that he was a worthy living human. With his autobiography, Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass: An American slave written by himself, Douglass protected his experience by using different tones and styles to capture the reader's mind and show an example of what a slave had to face.
“I did not know I was a slave until I found out I could not do the things I wanted.” Frederick Douglass one said. In the narrative of Frederick Douglass, Frederick Douglass was a black slave during the 1800’s. He got transferred from plantation to plantation, never getting to see his family, have a relationship with god, and different people. He faces many hardships during his life. Being a slave, he faced many problems with having relationships with his family, religion and different races. In the Narrative Of Frederick Douglass, he displays how the slave owners disrupt their relations with family, religion, and races.