Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass After reading this short passage about Frederick Douglass, I know that he was very against slavery. He saw enslavers as criminals and tormentors. He wishes to be an animal so he wouldn't have to go through the agony of slavery. He also recalls having to move in with a relative of his slave master, Auld Hugh. Auld Hugh’s wife tried to teach Douglass to read and write, but Auld wouldn't let her. Auld felt that it would make him unfit for slavery. At the beginning of the passage, he recalls being sent to live with one of his slave master’s relatives, Hugh Auld. Hugh’s wife begins to teach Douglass to read and write, but he forbade her saying that “it will make Douglass unfit for slavery.” Despite
Mrs. Auld was a mother figure to Douglass who helped him gain a passion for education. Unfortunately, Once Sophia’s husband discovered that she was giving Douglass private lessons, he ordered her to stop. He believed that teaching a slave how to read and write was wrong. Because Douglass knew that Mr. Auld was trying to mentally chain him, he began to value education more. Learning about the world outside of slavery was essential in gaining freedom, which is why Douglass never stopped reading.
Hugh Auld thought that if a slave learned to read, he would learn enough to want to be free. Even though Sophia couldn’t teach him anymore, Douglass continued to learn.
During the period in which there was the terrible fight against slavery, Frederick Douglass considered himself as a delegate for political cause. The African American author tried to refute every single argument employed against slaves and it was clearly seen throught several scenes of his narrative especially in the scene with the wife of Master Hugh, Sofia Auld who taught him the art of reading. She had never owned a slave before. Thus, she was very sympathetic with him. Using this statement, Hugh Auld detailed some joint ideas concerning slaves and the widespread slave holding in the South over the 19th century.
After reading the excerpt from Frederick Douglass, I learned the unethical, criminal nature of slavery and enslavers. I now understand the reason why Douglass wished to be an animal. In the narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass…, he recalled one of Sheridan’s speeches. He remembered reading text about immorality of slavery.
“I wished I could be as free as they would be when they got to be men.” Frederick Douglass said this because he is a slave for life and wants to be free. Abraham Lincoln has similar problems with slavery, the only difference is that Lincoln isn’t a slave. Narrative Life of Frederick Douglass and House Divided are two similar texts. Frederick Douglass has problems with being a slave and Lincoln has problems with slavery.
Auld’s wife began to teach Douglass to read. Auld forbade her claiming
Analysing Frederick Douglass’s Narrative Frederick Douglass’s narrative of his slavery experience, “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave,” was published in 1845. It discussed the truly horrific accounts of what legalized slavery looked like for him. Frederick Douglass uses diction in the form of explicit negative connotation in his narrative to reveal the horrible legacy of slavery. Douglass uses connotation in his narrative to help the reader understand the drastic realities of being a slave, especially a runaway slave, during the time of legalized slavery. He describes his experience of being in a free state as, “the unarmed mariner to feel when he is rescued by a friendly man-of-war from the pursuit of a pirate.”
Auld’s misinterpretation of the passage emphasizes slave owners use of religion to reinforce their power over their slaves. Christianity rationalized the concept of buying and selling human beings, and that God approved this too. In addition, Douglass used religion as a way to fuel his abolition movement. Under Master Hugh’s, Douglass began to learn how to read and write. Once
However, when Auld found out, he forbid his wife from continuing to teach Douglass how to read. Even though he was no longer receiving the help from Auld’s wife he stayed persistent and continues on with his reading. The fact that Douglass continued to learn how to read on his own is so incredible
Frederick Douglass is making many different arguments in his autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave. One that sticks out in the novel is that some slave owners would suffer just as much as a slave would. When we are first introduced to Douglass’s new owners, Mr. and Mrs. Auld, he describes Mrs. Auld as, “ […] A woman of the kindest heart and finest feelings” (Douglass, 19). When Mrs. Auld was “caught” teaching Douglas how to read and write she was then forbidden to teach him anything.
The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is an autobiography told through the eyes of Frederick Douglass himself. Douglass was born as a slave; he was an African-American abolitionist and orator. In the book, Douglass highlights numerous cases of irony associated with slaveholding. Throughout his narrative, Douglass examines the irony of religious slaveholders and one of his non-religious slaveholder. He also speaks of the irony in which slaves are treated below animals.
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.
He does not agree with Mrs. Auld teaching Douglass these new things, because he felt the education ruined slaves and ultimately would make them unhappy and unruly. Although Mr. Auld’s word were quite harsh, Douglass took it as words of enlightenment and vowed to win his freedom
Fredrick Douglass meets Hugh Auld’s wife Sophia and he is surprised about how nice she is. She does not really know how to treat slaves because she has never had them. A slave with education is said to be a dangerous slave so they are not supposed to be taught. However it seems like Mrs. Auld did not know that, and she began to teach Douglass the Alphabet which is a big turning point in Douglass’s life as a slave. Mr. Auld figures out that his wife has been teaching Douglass, and he puts an end to it, and he tells her how dangerous it is to teach a slave.
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