Slavery In Toni Morrison's Beloved

The Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass shows the imbalance of power between slaves and their masters. In his book, Douglass proves that slavery is a destructive force not only to the slaves, but also for the slaveholders. “Poison of the irresponsible power” that masters have upon their slaves that are dehumanizing and shameless, have changed the masters themselves and their morality(Douglass 39). This amount of power and control in contact with one man breaks the kindest heart and the purest thoughts turning the person evil and corrupt. Douglass uses flashbacks that illustrate the emotions that declare the negative effects of slavery.

The acts of cruelty break down the slaves bodily and mentally, having no respect for human life. An example of this cruelty was when the slaveholders abandoned Douglass’ grandmother and “made her welcome to the privilege of supporting herself… in perfect loneliness; thus virtually turning her out to die!” (Douglass 48) Douglass uses these experiences as the logical basis for his argument, being that slavery is unjustified acts of hatred and dehumanization.

Comparing and contrasting will show how these two African-Americans spoke their perspective of their struggles for themselves and others as well. Living in slavery

Frederick Douglass Rhetorical Analysis A famous slave and abolitionist in the struggle for liberty on behalf of American slaves, Frederick Douglass, in his autobiography published in 1845, portrayed the horrors of captivity in the South. Douglass’s purpose in the narrative was to show how slaves lived, what they experienced, and how they were unquestionably less comfortable in captivity than they would have been in a liberated world. He implemented a didactic tone to portray the viciousness of slave-owners and the severe living conditions for the slaves. Employing his experience as a slave, Douglass accurately expressed the terrors that he and the other slaves endured. In chapter six, Douglass described his involvement with his mistress,

Mallory Bruns Prof. Wall English 2327-001 31 October 2014 Annotated Bibliography Bales, Kevin, and Becky Cornell. Slavery Today. Canada: Groundwood Brooks, 2008. Print.

It’s the kind of violence you only read or see in fiction, and to here described as truth makes me sick to my stomach. Thompson knew that being this descriptive would help him make his point and provide persuasive evidence that the Southern slave system was morally wrong. Thompson makes it impossible to even begin to defend the slave owners and supporters of this system. My final example is when Thompson’s sister was sold to a new, crueler master, and upon seeing her mother for the first time since she was sold, wept. “As soon as my sister saw our mother, she ran to her and fell upon her neck, but was unable to speak a word.

The autobiography, The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, written in 1845 in Massachusetts, narrates the evils of slavery through the point of view of Frederick Douglass. Frederick Douglass is a slave who focuses his attention into escaping the horrors of slavery. He articulates his mournful story to anyone and everyone, in hopes of disclosing the crimes that come with slavery. In doing so, Douglass uses many rhetorical strategies to make effective arguments against slavery. Frederick Douglass makes a point to demonstrate the deterioration slavery yields from moral, benevolent people into ruthless, cold-hearted people.

The most dehumanizing experience of a slave, as introduced by Douglass, includes: humiliation, emotional trauma, inequality, and physical abuse. Douglass, a man of wisdom, character, and determination; fought liberally and strategically, to surmount the odds of being deprived of his humanity while enslaved. Douglass, along with many other slaves, experienced the most gruesome epidemic that America was granted in history. Slaves were treated badly, and often seen as an epitome to society in the south. In the “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass” he foreshadows his experience as a slave, and explains some of the most dehumanizing experiences, from blood bashed beatings to intense emotional trauma.

Wendell Berry’s poem, "My Great-Grandfather’s Slaves”, details his emotional enslavement to and relentless guilt about his great-grandfather’s slaves. He is extremely remorseful because his own family owned and mistreated other people. Berry feels personally connected to and responsible for the slaves. His shame is evident through his usage of literary devices like metaphors, irony, repetition, and juxtaposition. Berry’s powerful poem captures his true shame and emotional turmoil.

In the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Douglass uses descriptive detail and pathos to delineate the evil and harsh realities of slavery and to illustrate why it should be abolished. In the very beginning of his story, Douglass precedes to give the readers a very harsh image of what he encounters. Douglass wanted people to know that even at a very young age, slaves witnessed and endured horrible actions. Douglass’s overseer was a very cruel man and when Douglass was just a child he witnessed him traumatically beat a relative. Douglass said, “I have often been awakened at the dawn of the day by the most heart-rending shrieks of an own aunt of mine, whom he used to tie up to a joist, and whip upon her naked back till she was literally covered in blood”(15).

This stunning piece of work depicts the utmost level of atrocities that the African-American had to endure before social equality became acceptable. The story absolutely numbs the mind, and it takes a while for the harshness to sink in. One cannot help but imagine what it was like to belong to a part of the slave world. The author, Ralph Ellison, has explicitly described the physical status of the narrator and his other black counterparts as he faces the many humiliating challenges in the ring. This can be felt by the many instances in the story, "A blow landed hard against the nape of my neck", "Blows landed below the belt and in the kidney", and many more.

Through Frederick Douglass’ autobiography you are able to see slavery in the 1800’s through a slave's point of view. When writing out his autobiography Douglass has the intentional goal to open people's eyes to slavery and its effects. Douglass wanted to show what the slave industry consisted of and how he managed to break free from the deadly cycle. I personally believe that through Douglass’ writing he was able to obtain his goal of enlightening his readers on slavery. Through Douglass’ writing we see how he witnessed of the hardening of hearts of his slave owners.