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Frederick Douglass Chapter 1 Quotes

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Recommended: Significance of education in Frederick Douglass

Kathryn Lind
Mr. Spears
English 10
29 March 2023
Chapter 1 Family history shapes a person’s identity because in historical situations such as slavery, producing offspring is crucial to the environment and leaves individuals in a ruthless cycle. Douglass’ mother “was taken from [him]”, before he was even a year old (Douglass 2). Mothers were often taken from their children to break family bonds and create new ones on different plantations. The likelihood of a slave having multiple children increased with the number of owners because it increased the chance of sexual abuse. This cycle of being sold, abused, and resold leaves a loss in familial knowledge and weakens bonds between biological family members.
Chapter 2 Humans use the excitement of unordinary tasks to rise above hardship and difficulty. Slaves on Colonel Lloyd’s farm that were picked to go to the main farm were “associated… with greatness” (Douglass 7). Since being selected for this task was not a daily occurrence, it was exciting for slaves because they got to go somewhere new and on an adventure, …show more content…

Once Mr. Auld finds that Mrs. Auld is teaching Douglass to read, Mrs. Auld is told that it is “unsafe” when a “slave [learns] to read” (Douglass 20). This experience shows Douglass that if he continues to become more educated, he will be treated more and more inhumanely because owners will think he is a “threat” to them. Even though being a “threat” merely means losing money at most, it is enough for slave owners to choose not to educate their slaves. While Douglass felt evocative of this experience, he realized that the experience showed him “the pathway from slavery” (Douglass 20). From that moment on, Douglass knew that at some point in his life, he would be a free man, no matter what it took. His education brought him enlightenment as to how he was actually equal to the people who told him he was less than

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This excerpt from “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave"—Frederick Douglass’s autobiography published on May 1st, 1845—tells the story of Douglass’s life shortly before and following his escape from slavery and explains Douglass’s belief that slavery has detrimental effects on all parties involved. He utilizes a variety of rhetorical devices, including repetition, imagery, and analogy, to depict the powerful emotions and hardships he encountered on his path to emancipation. Frederick Douglass was born into slavery in rural Maryland. He spent many years enduring the torture that comes with enslavement. He was subjected to horrible injustices, witnessing and often experiencing the cruel treatment of the enslaved.

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Douglass suggests how slaves often are transferred year in and year out, regardless of the place the slaves’ families are. Slave owners know that they get slaves with the right amount of value and the age of the slaves only to the extent that they can be valuable and have productive labor; they frequently treat slaves like livestock, mere animals, barring reason. Douglass presents this cure of people as objects or animals as cruel and absurd. Douglass’s life as a slave describes the slaves on Colonel Lloyd's massive plantation as living in concern of beatings and other varieties of bodily abuse. (Douglass).

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In his book The Narrative of the Life of Frederic Douglass the author attempts to show the negative effects of slavery to the white readers in the North. In his account Douglass shows how slavery is not only dehumanizing the slaves but also the slaveholders themselves. The detrimental effects of the slavery system are shown as early as Douglass’s childhood. His father being white, and the master of the boy’s mother, is encouraged by the power he holds not only to break maternal bonds between a mother and her child, but also to personally distance himself from his own so flesh and blood so much as to whip them or sell them off. This done either out of economic interest or out of deference for his wife.

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Frederick Douglass, a slave of the deep south makes his escape into the free north, but even after his escape he can “trust no man”. No matter the color of one’s skin either black or white, Douglass has a deep sense of mistrust in any man, engraved into his person by the years of “the wretchedness of slavery”. Douglass’ diction in his narrative shows how slavery can shape a man into a self conscious and paranoid person. Throughout his life as a slave, Douglass was constantly exposed to conditions in which the only way to survive was to fight for his life. Like the sisters who were raised by wolves -Amala and Kamala- Douglass is not adapted to society and does not trust anyone but himself.

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Many individuals, without any given option, were conflicted of multiple hardships through an early stage in their life to late adulthood only for the sake of making money for other’s benefit. Enduring such forced labor proved to be difficult for anyone eating “ash cake” (Online Douglass 68). The end results never took a pleasant appearance due to the fact that many fell ill to such cruelty, or even worse many died before ever having any contact with family. Thus leading a man by the name of Frederick Douglass to apostatize and acquire a mentality, by means of learning how to read and write, that no human is to stand idle against such a barbarous thing as slavery. After a lengthy solo fight for freedom and escaping North, Douglass settles down

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Frederick Douglass talks about how growing up in slavery affected him and how he learned to read a little from his master's wife. When her husband found out about it he was furious so Douglass had to turn to kids in the streets to teach him. Frederick Douglass took the risk of learning to read and write when he was forbidden to. In the outcome of the risk Frederick Douglass took he learns to read and write and realizes the horror of his circumstances. He wrote¨ It had given me the view of my wretched condition, without the remedy.¨ (paragraph 7,Douglass).

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Fredrick Douglass, a now-known household name, who is known for his many trials and triumphs, writes the story of his life. In his narrative, The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, he retells the stories of his poor childhood, the transition into being a slave, and how his determination led him to become a free man. Douglass fits years and so much pain into an eleven-chapter book and does it so profoundly that the reader has no choice but to consider what Douglas encountered and the pain he endured. Throughout the book, Douglass emphasizes how knowledge was what he used to set him free, how slavery and slaveholders used slaves’ unawareness to perpetuate them, and the effect of slavery as a system. Being aware of the fact

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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.

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A theme that is found in the novel “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave” is that being educated is essential for freedom and liberty. In the novel, Douglass shares his experience as a former slave and how he became free. However, if it weren’t for his ambition to learn how to read and write, Douglass may not have accomplished his goal to be a free slave. When Douglass went to live with Mr. Auld, his wife, Mrs. Auld, “kindly commenced to teach [him] the A, B, C” and “how to spell words”. Unfortunately, Mr. Auld discovered what was going on and apprised his wife about how perilous teaching a slave was and said, “if you teach that nigger how to read, there would be no keeping him” and that he “would become unfit for

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The legendary abolitionist and orator Frederick Douglass was one of the most important social reformers of the nineteenth century. Being born into slavery on a Maryland Eastern Shore plantation to his mother, Harriet Bailey, and a white man, most likely Douglass’s first master was the starting point of his rise against the enslavement of African-Americans. Nearly 200 years after Douglass’s birth and 122 years after his death, The social activist’s name and accomplishments continue to inspire the progression of African-American youth in modern society. Through his ability to overcome obstacles, his strive for a better life through education, and his success despite humble beginnings, Frederick Douglass’s aspirations stretched his influence through

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Douglass is again denied of something he sees white people have so again he is deprived mentally. He begins seeking an education for basic things like reading and writing, things most people do automatically without even second guessing doing it. Sophia Auld starts to teach Douglass how to read, but once her husband tells her not to she refrains from it and Douglass frantically teaches himself. “Mr. Auld found out what was going on, and at once forbade Mrs. Auld to instruct me further, telling her, among other things, that it was unlawful, as well as unsafe, to teach a slave to read” (Douglass 48). Mr. Auld knows that literacy is what makes a man out of a slave, so he shuts down Douglass’ learning as soon as he finds out about

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Because of this, he successfully creates a contrast between what the slave owners think of and treat the slaves and how they are. Douglass says that slave’s minds were “starved by their cruel masters”(Douglass, 48) and that “they had been shut up in mental darkness” (Douglass, 48) and through education, something that they were deprived of, Frederick Douglass is able to open their minds and allow them to flourish into the complex people that they are. By showing a willingness to learn to read and write, the slaves prove that they were much more than what was forced upon them by their masters.

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Furthermore, Education opened Douglass’s eyes to the reality of his injustice as a slave; thus, compelling him to action as he recalls, “In moments of agony, I envied my fellow-slaves for their stupidity. ”(Douglass, 2014, p.133) Education caused Douglass heartache. While attaining his education benefited Douglass, he could not relate to his fellow slaves. The fellow slaves had the ability to remain content with their current state of being since it was all they had ever known. Douglass knew otherwise and longed for the forbidden life as a free man, as it changed from an unattainable idea into an achievable

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Education gives hope for Douglass’s life since he began to truly understand what goes on in slavery. As he figured out more about the topic, his self- motivation poured out hope in his life. As Frederick saw an opportunity to become free, he worked hard to accomplish it. Masters and slaveholders believe teaching slaves is wrong, but with Douglass’s

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Douglass was born into slavery and was denied an education. When Douglass was young, the mistress had taught Douglass how to read until her husband found out and told her she had to stop. She then became furious and violent when Douglass was learning on his own. In paragraph 2 Douglass said, "I have had her rush at me with a face made all up of fury, and snatch from me a newspaper, In a manner that fully revealed her apprehension.” Douglass knew that if he learned how to read, there would be major consequences from the mistress and the master, but he knew that knowledge was worth taking a risk.

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