“I did not know I was a slave until I found out I could not do the things I wanted.” - Frederick Douglass. This quote shows how unjust slaves were treated by their masters. The slaves were not given opportunities to experience the world outside of slavery. In Frederick Douglass’s autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, he expresses his feelings while enslaved and on his journey to freedom. Although some people don’t suffer and have such eventful lifestyles, Frederick Douglass did and experienced so much from boy to man, enslaved to free, and illiterate to literate.
Frederick Douglass had barely seen his mother when he was young and he experienced more loss in his life as he got older. “I never saw my
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“We were all ranked together at the valuation. Men and women, old and young, married and single, were ranked with horses, sheep, and swine. There were horses and men, cattle and women, pigs and children, all holding the same rank in the scale of being, and were all subjected to the same narrow examination.” (pg. 37) All the slaves were being subjected to farm animals during the valuation. It was heinous how the masters treated all the slaves. The masters had different reasons for punishing, whipping, and discriminating against the slaves. “The wretchedness of slavery, and the blessedness of freedom were perpetually before me. I have been frequently asked how I felt when I found myself in a free State.” (pg. 82) After Douglass had been through much pain and suffering, he had escaped through the underground railroad up North. He was a free man who didn’t have to refer to anyone and was able to do whatever he wanted to pursue with his life. Frederick Douglass must have felt like a new person after escaping because he could start his life over and forget his past, though it’s hard to let go of something that’s made you who you are. Douglass was punished sometimes more than the other slaves at one plantation since he was mulatto child, but he was able survive
In Frederick Douglass’ novel he talks about the things he went through and the things he had to go through and the things he had to see . He talks about about how he was whipped how he had cuts all over his body from being beat. He talks about the brutal beatings he had to watch other slaves go through. He was beat for not listening and not doing things he
Worst part is that the owners tried convincing the people that slaves weren't as equal as humans. This was their way of justifying their actions, by proving that slaves were lesser than them, they felt as they should be treated as they where not even human. Though it was impossible to move up as a slave, the slave owners didn't make it any easier. “Whilst I was saddened by the thought of losing the aid of my kind mistress, I was gladdened by the invaluable instruction which, by the merest accident, I had gained from my master. ”(p.53 )
In the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Douglass reveals a way to acquire freedom through education. As a child, Frederick Douglass possessed no knowledge of his genuine identity. A desire to obtain such information generated the feelings of sadness, unhappiness, and misery
For years, the institution of slavery existed in the United States and was characterized by the legal, inhumane treatment of those enslaved. One of the most prominent figures during this time was Frederick Douglass, an African-American abolitionist who detailed his own experiences in the practice. Having spent most of his life enslaved and wishing to escape, when he finally did he would find himself in a new and overwhelming situation. In this excerpt of his autobiography, “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass,” he describes his life after escaping slavery and shows how his state of mind goes from being enthusiastic over freedom to suddenly fearful and lonely. To convey his change, Douglass uses deliberate language, such as various
Frederick Douglass was born as a slave on a plantation in Maryland. When he was just Seven his mother died in his arms. Fourteen years later he escaped slavery, with the help of his friends’ free papers. Imagine yourself at just twenty-one on the train when you could get caught at any moment. As he once said that when you are fighting for something, “ Agitate!
He was separated from his mother at an early age. As an adult, he conjectured that this separation was “to hinder the development of the child’s affection toward its mother, and to blunt and destroy the natural affection of the mother for the child” (Douglass 24). Once separated, Douglass saw his mother only four or five times in his life and could not “recollect of ever seeing my mother by the light of day” (Douglass 25). Douglass (28-30) remembered as a young boy hearing the piercing screams of his aunt as she was stripped, tied and then whipped into unconsciousness. The incident struck him “with awful force.
Those who were labeled as slaves were sick of the mistreatment and the absence of their rights in which were diminished. For instance, Frederick Douglass, who was born into slavery lived through harsh, gruesome conditions. When Douglass was nearly whipped to death, he fought back against his owner, Mr. Covey (Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, 568). Defense, Frederick used defense to save himself from the approach of death, he resisted and fought back for a reason, he could not allow his time of death to come without fighting. Further on, once becoming a free man, Douglass proceeded in raising awareness, he used his voice, his knowledge, to awake the people on what was happening, allowing them to understand that slavery must be unlawful.
“My mother and I were separated when I was but an infant- before I knew her as my mother.” In this quotation, Douglass explain how he was separated from his mother as an infant, which resulted in a hindrance of his affection towards her. “For what this separation is done, I do not know, unless it is to be to hinder the development of the child’s affection towards its mother... This is the inevitable result.” As a result of his relationship with his mother, when she died it did not affect him as much because he barely knew her; the only time he saw his mother is when she would walk twelve miles after dark to lie next to him.
Rough Draft of Frederick Douglass paper Ratification of the Thirteen Amendment abolished the slavery throughout the United States. Abolitionist movement played a huge part in abolishing slavery to its core. Abolitionist like Frederick Douglass, WM. Lloyd Garrison and Wendell Phillips were part of the abolitionist movement; among these abolitionist Frederick Douglass stands out the most because he was born as a slave, he had experienced the slavery, and despite being a slave he taught himself how to read and write.
Douglass argues in the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, although one may had escaped slavery, freedom is yet difficult for one to truly achieve. Freedom is a complex process in which it may be perceived as being comforting, immediately after one reaches the state, but this may not always be the case. Douglass clarifies his position regarding his first hand experience in achieving freedom, as he explains, “In writing to a dear friend, immediately after my arrival at New York, I said I felt like one who had escaped a den of hungry lions. This state of mind, however, very soon subsided; and I was again seized with a feeling of great insecurity and loneliness” (Douglass 92). Douglass finally obtained the long desired freedom and through this, he
The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass; an autobiography consisting of Frederick Douglass’ search for freedom from the slaveholders who kept many African Americans captive, allowed many to understand the pain and misery in the midst of slavery. Published in 1845, Douglass conveyed the lives of African Americans and how they have suffered a great deal of pain and discomfort through a provocative tone . Throughout his autobiography, Douglass used countless metaphors to portray his life. From Mr. Plummer to Mrs. Auld, the reader could better perceive the text by visualizing the metaphors that Douglass has used. Using Frederick’s writing, youthful audiences can gain knowledge about slavery and its effects.
Douglass managed to overcome the maltreatment of his wretched slave owners through the eventual attainment of freedom. The injustice imposed upon the African-American slaves by their owners was the crux of Douglass’s motivation to escape this inhumane life. Adolescents in today’s society could use Frederick’s determination as an example of moving forward to better oneself or one’s situation regardless of
In “The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass”, Douglass narrates in detail the oppressions he went through as a slave before winning his freedom. In the narrative, Douglass gives a picture about the humiliation, brutality, and pain that slaves go through. We can evidently see that Douglass does not want to describe only his life, but he uses his personal experiences and life story as a tool to rise against slavery. He uses his personal life story to argue against common myths that were used to justify the act of slavery. Douglass invalidated common justification for slavery like religion, economic argument and color with his life story through his experiences torture, separation, and illiteracy, and he urged for the end of slavery.
His beatings and lack of food were only part of his miserable daily life. Eventually Douglass was able to successfully escape this life and vowed to forever actively support the equality of all
The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is Frederick Douglass’s autobiography in which Douglass goes into detail about growing up as a slave and then escaping for a better life. During the early-to-mid 1800s, the period that this book was written, African-American slaves were no more than workers for their masters. Frederick Douglass recounts not only his personal life experiences but also the experiences of his fellow slaves during the period. This book was aimed at abolitionists, so he makes a point to portray the slaves as actual living people, not the inhuman beings that they are treated as. In Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, slaves are inhumanly represented by their owners and Frederick Douglass shines a positive light