Literary Devices In The Underground Railroad

One of the ways that they would need education to escape was the passes that they could write to show to the police and other people on the road that they were being sent by their masters. The lack of education was a barrier in the way of slaves’ freedom. In conclusion, slavery was enforced by how slaves were convinces that they wouldn’t want freedom, the constant violence that they were exposed to, and their lack of education. These methods were so effective, the vast majority of slaves remained in servitude for all of their lives. Frederick Douglass helped the slaves when he published his narrative because it brought the life the horrors of slavery to the people that were living in the

Through his story, Douglass proves that slavery has negative effects on slaveholders. He uses imagery, flashbacks, and characterization to persuade the reader of the true nature of slavery. His deep thoughts and insights of slavery and the unbalanced power between a slaveholder and his slave are unprompted for a social establishment. Douglass insists that slaveholding fills the soul with sadness and bitter anguish. In addressing effects of slavery on masters cause one man to rethink his moral character and better understand the laws of humanity.

After the Fugitive Slave act was passed in 1850, it became even more dangerous to help runaway slaves. If a conductor was caught helping a slave they could be, “fined, imprisoned, branded, or even hanged,” (eiu.edu.) The conductors were people of different race, religion, occupation, and status. Some were escaped slaves that returned to slave territory to help free others. Many conductors hid fugitive slaves in their homes and businesses.

Douglass for example emphasized the importance of education for slaves. Douglass is a first had observer of the strategy of slave owners to keep their slaves ignorant. By keeping slave uneducated they are unable to express the horrible things that happen to them to the world. Hugh Auld forces his wife to stop teaching Douglass to read (auld stopping teaching quote) , so Douglass teaches himself. For him learning to read was a major turning point in his quest for freedom and it enabled him to put out his book, which would inspire many to turn against slavery.

With the economy of the United States just starting up many people needed to find a new cheap form of labor. The answer was simple, slavery. The idea of slavery created lots of tension between the Northern and Southern states during the 1800s. Some argued for slavery was beneficial but they were wrong. Once you look at the religion, the declaration of independence and from the way slaves are treated you will see that slavery is the greatest form of injustice placed upon people of another race.

In return, they created laws called the Black Codes to oppress African Americans. These acts made sure the former slaves signed labor contracts, and they would be fined or forced into unpaid labor if they didn’t. This method of making sure blacks are still laborers was horrible and the former slave-owners loved it.

The non-comparable information that these two slave narratives do not have in common is that Harriet Smith was born into slavery while Charlie Smith was more or less sold into it and brought over from Gatlin, Africa. Slavery in America was considered and viewed to be one of the most devastating times in history. For African Americans were forced into slavery faced abuse, neglect, and death it was others like Aunt Harriet Smith and Charlie Smith that were actually treated fairly by the ones had them. Both of these former slaves’ tales were touching and very informative that the information provided had given a more in depth look at what they faced, what they had endured, and how their lives were when slavery

In the 1700-1800’s, the use of African American slaves for backbreaking, unpaid work was at its prime. Despite the terrible conditions that slaves were forced to deal with, slave owners managed to convince themselves and others that it was not the abhorrent work it was thought to be. However, in the mid-1800’s, Northern and southern Americans were becoming more aware of the trauma that slaves were facing in the South. Soon, an abolitionist group began in protest, but still people doubted and questioned it. When Frederick Douglass published his self-written narrative, people finally got a fully comprehensive view of the life of a slave.

PAGE 2 In the Narrative Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass, he uses this text to explain his purpose in “throwing light on the American slave system”, or show it for what it really is, as well as show his position on how he strongly believes slavery is an issue that needs to be addressed and how it differs from those who defended slavery, with experiences from his own life to support his argument. Douglass uses experience from his early days as a young slave to throw light on the aspect of physical abuse. According to his narrative, Douglass states, “Master, however, was not a humane slaveholder. It required extraordinary barbarity on the part of an overseer to affect him. He was a cruel man, hardened by a

Truthfully, it was a complete failure. The nation came to compromises on matters such as education and the economy, but in a bigger picture, racism was still an enormous and unacceptable issue. Since slavery was abolished, African Americans attained a more unfair version of freedom. They needed to make an income, find shelter, and gain experience in the world, so many freed slaves became sharecroppers. Sharecroppers farmed on land they rented from a landlord, in exchange for a share of the crop they produced.

Therefore, they were more than likely on their as prisoners, since Africa was invaded and people were stolen to be slaves. Black people have been fighting since the Native Americans were invaded and taken over by the English settlers. Slavery and freedom, unfortunately, go hand in hand with one another. People cannot expect people to be slaves without trying to escape for their freedom, the reason freedom exists is because slavery was formed. What is worse is that they were stolen from their home to become a servant, then they were whipped if they tried to escape or tried to stand their ground.

The South was a slave society, with nearly every aspect of life touched by the presence of a brutal institution rooted in the dehumanization of black people and the supremacy of white males. At the time of Celia’s trial, Southerners felt that this way of life was being threatened by heated politics playing out both in Kansas and at home. Her fate was guided by the decisions and reactions of Southerners living in this uncertain atmosphere. These decisions, though they are what logically led to Celia’s death, were inevitably and inseparably connected to the institution of slavery. In a sense, the individual decisions were merely a means to an end, an end decided by the fact that Celia lived in a slave society that couldn’t afford the cost of her justice.

Hidden. Human life. Powerful as they are, these words describe slavery in the past, as well as slavery in our modern world. Learning from our past history, how can slavery still go on today? Today, slavery takes many forms, but the slaves are treated poorly, yearn for awareness, and seek help.

In Source C it states, “But we were unjustly dragged by the cruel hand of power from our dearest friends.” The slaves are saying that slavery separates them from their friends and more importantly, their families. This petition is trying to persuade others to put an end to slavery. The slaves are saying that slavery is unnecessary and needs to be stopped. Slavery also displays that the slave did not have the same amount of equality as others. Another quote that additionally proves the point of slaves not being equal is, “Our children are also taken from us by force and sent many miles from us…” This quote furthermore displays how slave’s children are taken away and sent far away.

Not to mention, people were still extremely prejudice. The south was especially upset considering they didn’t want to pay for labor that was once free to them. There continued to be a major separation in American society and by law. Slave codes quickly became black codes. These were a similar set of laws to slave codes, with the same overall goal.