Why Is Slavery Bad

Frederick Douglass’ autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave offers a depiction of slavery like very few before him, from his firsthand accounts. Douglass wanted to show his opposition to slavery and knew he would meet many criticisms. Due to this criticism, he had to mask much of his work with irony. Some of his works are obvious and others are a bit harder to see. The more difficult ones were put in place by Douglass in order to provide a deep and profound statement, without arousing too much opposition. If he had he would have faced much more threats than he did. He not only

Frederick Douglass Analysis Essay The famous abolitionist writer, Frederick Douglass, in his book, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, describes the horrors of slavery with his own personal experiences. Douglass’ purpose was to show outsiders the reality of slavery, as well as, how wrong and unconstitutional it truly is. He conveys a mournful and enraged tone to get the readers to understand how slaves feel. By using ethos, pathos, and logos Frederick Douglass shows the white man that blacks are just as human.

Frederick Douglass, the author of the book “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass”, said “I saw more clearly than ever the brutalizing effects of slavery upon both slave and slaveholder” (Douglass, p.71). Modern people can fairly and easily understand the negative effects of slavery upon slave. People have the idea of slaves that they are not allow to learn which makes them unable to read and write and also they don’t have enough time to take a rest and recover their injuries. However, the negative effects upon slaveholder are less obvious to modern people. People usually think about the positive effects of slavery upon slaveholder, such as getting inexpensive labor. In the book “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass”, Douglass

When describing horrific events he was forced to witness, the tone of Douglass’ voice becomes very detached, as if he is so used to witnessing beatings that it has become a normal event. Douglass also writes, “He was immediately chained and handcuffed; and thus, without a moments warning, he was snatched away, from his friends and family, by a hand more unrelenting than death” (34). This quote is used by Douglass to infuse a feeling of disbelief in the hearts of the audience, for the man in the quote earned this punishment for merely speaking the truth one time. The audience feels sympathy towards this slave for being taken away for something that should not be punished.

Douglass uses vivid imagery to depict the gruesome and ungodly nature of slavery. For example, in chapter six, Douglass describes the death of his grandmother “…She stands-she sits-she staggers-she falls-she groans-she dies-and there are none of her children or grandchildren present, to wipe from her wrinkled brow the cold sweat of death…” (59) This quote helps the reader imagine the grandmothers death and how helpless she felt. The fact that the slaveholders made it impossible for her children to be there when she died, contributes to the inhumane image Douglass has already been painting throughout the

First and foremost, in his book, Douglass explains how the slave system abused slaves and made them less than human. In the text, he describes how unnatural and murderous slavery was, and how it stripped slaves down of their humanity, which made them feel like animals. Since birth, slaves were separated from their families. The might have been “brothers and sister by blood”, but slavery had made them “strangers” (Douglass 39). The treatment of slaves was terrible, they were only fed corn-meal and tainted met; the only

While reflecting his experiences Douglass mentions one of the heinous acts of “justified violence” committed by this particular master. He says, “I have seen him tie up a lame young woman, and whip her with a heavy cowskin upon her naked shoulders, causing warm red blood to drip; and, in justification of the bloody deed, he would quote this passage of Scripture--’He that knoweth his master’s will, and doeth it not, shall be beaten with many stripes’” (Douglass 33). Douglass deliberately uses the word “lame”--a word associated with animals--to yet again make the connection to the dehumanization of the slaves. The visual imagery in this passage is used to invoke pity in the audience, yet this section also would trigger an angry response in many of Douglass’s readers. Douglass’s intended audience was mainly comprised of religiously inclined northern men and women, who would have been outraged to hear a gross perversion of holy words used to justify the practice of slavery. A more encompassing use of imagery is utilized in a passage about Douglass’s grandmother. He states, “She gropes her way, in the darkness of age, for a drink of water. Instead of the voices of her children, she hears by day the moans of the dove and by night the screams of a hideous owl All is gloom. The grave is at the door…. She stands--she

Douglass not only describes slaves as animals, but he describes slave treatment as if they were animals to further describe the horrendous lives of slaves. Slaves were fed food in troughs (36). By choosing the word “trough”, Douglass emphasizes the poor treatment of slaves; slaves were not good enough to be fed from bowls or plates, they were no better than animals. Douglass also compares women on the plantations to breeding animals. Women were expected to reproduce in order to increase their masters’ wealth, not to create a family. Women and children were separated before the child was a year old so they would not form familial bonds with one another. When Douglass’ own mother died, he compared it to a stranger dying because he had no connection with her (18). Slaves were not only thought of animals, but also fostered as animals. Douglass describes Mr. Covey as a “nigger-breaker”, Douglass was broken in “body, soul, and spirit” by

“It was not color, but crime, not God, but man that afforded the true explanation of the existence of slavery; nor was I long in finding out another important truth, what man can make, man can unmake” (Douglass 59). In My Bondage and My Freedom, Fredrick Douglass explains in detail the harsh and cruel realties of slavery and how slavery was an institution that victimized not only slaves, but slave holders, and non-slave holding whites. Fredrick Douglass could not have been more right with his observation of slavery. In my opinion, slavery is not only an institution, but is a prime example of a corrupt business model that thrives on free labor, ultimate control, and wealth.

In the Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass: an American Slave, written by himself, the author argues that slaves are treated no better than, sometimes worse, than livestock. Douglass supports his claim by demonstrating how the slaves were forced to eat out of a trough like pigs and second, shows how hard they were working, like animals. The author’s purpose is to show the lifestyle of an American slave in order to appeal to people’s emotions to show people, from a slave’s perspective, what slavery is really like. Based on the harsh descriptions of his life, Douglass is writing to abolitionist and other people that would sympathize and abolish slavery.

Another example of slave master’s methods to dehumanize slaves were the living conditions provided to slaves. Along with the lashings and severe punishment to which slaves were often subjected, they were also kept half-starved. As Douglass writes, “They [Henrietta and Mary] seldom knew what it was to eat a full meal.” Douglass adds, “I have seen Mary contending with the pigs for the offal thrown into the street.” (pp. 411-412) This reveals how slave masters would not feed slaves adequate portions of food, which led to many slaves being extremely thin and malnourished. Knowledge of such despicable acts happening to one's family can only inspire feelings of despise, disgust and hatred. Douglass, however, used this as fuel to inspire his freedom.

The issue of slavery in antebellum America was not black and white. Generally people in the North opposed slavery, while inhabitants of the South promoted it. However, many people were indifferent. Citizens in the North may have seen slavery as neither good nor bad, but just a fact of Southern life. Frederick Douglass, knowing the North was home to many abolitionists, wrote his narrative in order to persuade these indifferent Northern residents to see slavery as a degrading practice. Douglass focuses on dehumanization and freedom in order to get his point across.

Slavery is terrible and hurts slaves and corrupts slave owners. Slaves are whipped until they do what was told or if they don’t finish. Slave owners were good people, but they were corrupted with too much power. In the “Narrative”, Douglass talks about how slavery is bad for slaves and slave owners.

Douglass’s life as slave was subjected to more cruel punishments than an indentured servant would have recieved.When Douglass described the severe punishment of his aunt Hester given by Colonel Lloyd as

What the average person does not know about slavery is all of the inhumane behavior that was tolerated. To describe these acts as cruel would be an understatement, Douglass does not hold back on the tragedies he witnessed and he does not hold back on sharing them with the world. For so many years slave owners comforted themselves in the thought of the romantic image of slavery, claiming it was God’s will to let these people suffer, claiming that it was not an extreme environment. The only