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The Narrative Of The Life Of Fredrick Douglass

945 Words4 Pages

Aaliyah Bell
Dr. Messick
AML 2600-14752
25 January 2023
Literature of Freedom and Slavery: Christianity
In the Literature of Freedom and Slavery, one the most heavily discussed topics were about the façade of Christianity, and how Christianity was wrongfully portrayed by white slave owners. In The Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass, an American Slave, Written by Himself, southern Christianity is overturned by Douglass. In this text, there are true and false versions of religion, and what the real form of Christianity is. Douglass exemplifies the conflict and false interpretation between wants of man and human morals.
The Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass, an American Slave, Written by Himself, is an autobiography of Douglass’ …show more content…

At just twelve years old, he finds a book called, “The Colombian Orator”. In this, it describes a conversation/debate between a slave and a master. In which the slave debunks every reason as to why slavery is unjustified by the Bible and my human morality. We as the readers can interpret this as Douglass’ continuous understanding of Christianity and the Bible and that he understands the southern white Christianity is wrong and hypocritical from the actual word. Douglass responds to Christianity well, by keeping a strong faith and maintaining his own interpretation of what the Bible really …show more content…

“I find, since reading over the foregoing Narrative, that I have, in several instances, spoken in such a tone and manner, respecting religion, as may possibly lead those unacquainted with my religious views to suppose me an opponent of all religion.” (Narrative in the Life of Fredrick Douglass, 389). The differences between the faith practiced by Douglass, and the faith practiced by his owners, was the interpretation of what the Bible was saying. Based on Fredrick’s narrative, we can interpret that slave owners used the Bible to justify their inhuman, unmoral actions onto other people. While Douglass interprets the Bible as something a Christian will use to maintain moral habits. Slave owners used the Bible to instill guilt and a feeling of inferiority onto the slaves. This helped them gain power as well as superiority above their slaves because they claimed the Bible said that this was right, this was what it was supposed to

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