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The many terrible cruelties and treacheries that compose the institution of slavery are exposed through Frederick Douglass’ self narrated story of his life. In his book he provides the unique perspective of one who is actually enclosed in bondage. He writes an unbiased and factual tale, recording his most memorable experiences as a slave. More importantly though, Douglass provides insight into the feelings and thoughts of a slave as he lives his life. This perspective is very valuable in projecting exactly how slavery affected everyone who took part in it.
Douglass was born into slavery, although he was only half black. His mother was a slave as well, but his father was most likely the owner of the plantation on which he was born. He is constantly moved to many different plantations, and lives under many different masters. When Douglass is sent to live in the city, the mistress of his master begins to teach him to read. After his master finds out about his education, Douglass can no longer be taught to read. However, with the help of neighborhood children, he taught himself to read and write. Afterwards, he begins to read books, especially those about slavery and abolitionism. It is because of his education that he realizes how degrading his situation really is, and that there is a great difference between slavery and freedom. Douglass’ education is what brings him escape, which he finally accomplishes after years of suffering.
Through his writing, Douglass does something more than simply tell a story. His writings analyze and reveal many things that composed the institution of slavery. One of the first things he analyzes in his writings is the affect it has on the people who own slaves. The story of Mrs. Auld, the wife of one of his masters, fully illustrates his point. In the beginning, Mrs. Auld treated him very kindly, and even began to teach Douglass to read. However, after Mr. Auld became aware of this, she was ordered to stop immediately. As time went on, and Mr. Auld made himself more present, Mrs. Auld became mean and harsh. Douglass wrote, “Under it’s influence, the tender heart became stone, and the lamb-like disposition gave way to one of tiger-like fierceness”.
Another point Douglass makes is the fact that most slaves were ignorant and oblivious to a life outside of slavery. At one point Douglass said that he “envied the other slaves for their ignorance”. Douglass says this because he knows what it is like to experience something of a good treatment, and he is educated enough to realize that it is something entirely different to be free. He speaks of this because the knowledge of freedom makes it more difficult to endure the suffering. Douglass believes that the only thing that had kept slaves working under such conditions is their ignorance to any other type of life.
One final point that Douglass makes about the institution of slavery is that many whites that were involved in it or supported it were afraid of losing control of the slaves. Many whites feared that blacks had the power to seize jobs, money, and power. This is well illustrated in the case of Mr. Covey. Mr. Covey makes himself famous by being a so-called “breaker” of slaves. When Douglass stands up to him at one point, Mr. Covey never abuses him again. Another example is in the case of Mr. Auld and the conflict over Douglass’ education. Mr. Auld said, “give a slave an inch and he’ll take an ell”. It was obvious that the general belief among whites was that if slaves were educated, it would be hard to keep them from rising up because of their treatment.
In summation, Frederick Douglass’ narrative is a highly expository book concerning the subject of slavery. The book is very political, in that it is written to advocate the cruelties of the institution of slavery, and gain support for its abolition. Douglass analyzes the many different elements that allowed whites to keep control of their institution. Most importantly, he gives the reader a first hand experience as to what the oppression did to him and his people. This story is very valuable in that sense, because very few others had the ability to do so. Frederick Douglass’ narrative is a powerful story that provides criticism and exposition of a corrupt institution.
The many terrible cruelties and treacheries that compose the institution of slavery are exposed through Frederick Douglass’ self narrated story of his life. In his book he provides the unique perspective of one who is actually enclosed in bondage. He writes an unbiased and factual tale, recording his most memorable experiences as a slave. More importantly though, Douglass provides insight into the feelings and thoughts of a slave as he lives his life. This perspective is very valuable in projecting exactly how slavery affected everyone who took part in it.
Douglass was born into slavery, although he was only half black. His mother was a slave as well, but his father was most likely the owner of the plantation on which he was born. He is constantly moved to many different plantations, and lives under many different masters. When Douglass is sent to live in the city, the mistress of his master begins to teach him to read. After his master finds out about his education, Douglass can no longer be taught to read. However, with the help of neighborhood children, he taught himself to read and write. Afterwards, he begins to read books, especially those about slavery and abolitionism. It is because of his education that he realizes how degrading his situation really is, and that there is a great difference between slavery and freedom. Douglass’ education is what brings him escape, which he finally accomplishes after years of suffering.
Through his writing, Douglass does something more than simply tell a story. His writings analyze and reveal many things that composed the institution of slavery. One of the first things he analyzes in his writings is the affect it has on the people who own slaves. The story of Mrs. Auld, the wife of one of his masters, fully illustrates his point. In the beginning, Mrs. Auld treated him very kindly, and even began to teach Douglass to read. However, after Mr. Auld became aware of this, she was ordered to stop immediately. As time went on, and Mr. Auld made himself more present, Mrs. Auld became mean and harsh. Douglass wrote, “Under it’s influence, the tender heart became stone, and the lamb-like disposition gave way to one of tiger-like fierceness”.
Another point Douglass makes is the fact that most slaves were ignorant and oblivious to a life outside of slavery. At one point Douglass said that he “envied the other slaves for their ignorance”. Douglass says this because he knows what it is like to experience something of a good treatment, and he is educated enough to realize that it is something entirely different to be free. He speaks of this because the knowledge of freedom makes it more difficult to endure the suffering. Douglass believes that the only thing that had kept slaves working under such conditions is their ignorance to any other type of life.
One final point that Douglass makes about the institution of slavery is that many whites that were involved in it or supported it were afraid of losing control of the slaves. Many whites feared that blacks had the power to seize jobs, money, and power. This is well illustrated in the case of Mr. Covey. Mr. Covey makes himself famous by being a so-called “breaker” of slaves. When Douglass stands up to him at one point, Mr. Covey never abuses him again. Another example is in the case of Mr. Auld and the conflict over Douglass’ education. Mr. Auld said, “give a slave an inch and he’ll take an ell”. It was obvious that the general belief among whites was that if slaves were educated, it would be hard to keep them from rising up because of their treatment.
In summation, Frederick Douglass’ narrative is a highly expository book concerning the subject of slavery. The book is very political, in that it is written to advocate the cruelties of the institution of slavery, and gain support for its abolition. Douglass analyzes the many different elements that allowed whites to keep control of their institution. Most importantly, he gives the reader a first hand experience as to what the oppression did to him and his people. This story is very valuable in that sense, because very few others had the ability to do so. Frederick Douglass’ narrative is a powerful story that provides criticism and exposition of a corrupt institution.
Word Count: 1457
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