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Frederick Douglass Dehumanize Slaves

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“Slavery proved as injurious to her as it did to me. When I went there, she was pious, warm, and tender-hearted woman. There was no sorrow or suffering for which she had not a tear. She had bread for the hungry, clothes for the naked, and comfort for every mourner that came within reach. Slavery soon proved its ability to divest her of these heavenly qualities” (Douglass, 252).
Slavery affected the lives of many people. Frederick Douglass illustrates how enslaving people not only affects the slaves, but also dehumanizes the slaveholders in his autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. He establishes how a human being who obtains limitless power over another can corrupt that person’s soul and become sadistic. He proves this …show more content…

It turns people inhumane as they perform such absurd acts without feeling remorseful. In his autobiography, Douglass reflects on the extreme torture that slaves suffer on the behalf of their masters. He demonstrates the actions of a slave master named Colonel Lloyd and how he treated the slaves. “They were frequently whipped when least deserving […]” (Douglass, 243). The slave owners abused their slaves only because they knew that they could. This verifies how having too much authority over another human being can turn a person inhumane, to the point where they seem to become sadistic. “Mr. Gore then, without consultation […] [takes a] deadly aim at his standing victim, and in an instant poor Demby was no more.” (Douglass, 246). Since Mr. Gore has control over Demby, he shoots him without thinking twice about his actions. This further elaborates the concept of how “irresistible power” can lead to a poisonous effect on an individual’s soul. Frederick Douglass’ autobiography Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass depicts the idea of unlimited power and how it corrupts the lives of slave owners. It dehumanizes them to a point where they no longer have the ability to feel remorse for their actions. Douglass proves this by demonstrating Mrs. Auld’s transformation as she controls another human being, He portrays it by showing how slavery makes a person

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