ipl-logo

Frederick Douglass Essay

592 Words3 Pages

Do you really know what it was like to be a slave in the 1800’s? Frederick Douglass was an African American man who was born in February of 1818 around the time of slavery. He himself was a slave working on multiple different plantations. He escaped away from his slave owners, and went to live in freedom until 1895 when he passed away from a heart attack. While he was alive Douglass wrote an autobiography called, “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass” This book was a bestseller and this book changed a lot of peoples view on slavery. Douglass in the “Narrative of the The LIfe on Frederick Douglass” tries to change what it means to be dedicated to the American idea of “all men are created equal.” Douglass was treated very poorly as a slave. …show more content…

Auld, and when his slaveholder Mr. Auld found out he was very upset and took his newspaper and punished him. Some evidence that proves this is “Mr. Auld found out what was going on, and at once forbade Mrs Auld to instruct me further.” Another example could be “that sweet accord, changed to one of harsh and horrid discord, and that anderic face gave place to that of a demon. If Douglass were to learn how to read his master, though, he would be useless on the plantation. One more piece of evidence for this is, “he will once become unmanageable and of no value to his master.” This shows Mr. Auld telling his wife that if she taught him how to read and write he wouldn't work as well. The health of the slaves was very bad. His slaves were not treated like normal people, more like animals. The slaves were fed poorly, dressed poorly, whipped and beaten over almost nothing. A piece of evidence on the conditions is, “Colonel Lloyd kept from three to four hundred slaves on his home plantation.” This shows how cramped it would be on his

Show More
Related
744 Words | 3 Pages

Frederick Douglass was an African American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. Douglass wrote the novel “The Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass” which depicted his life as a slave and enticed his ambition to become a free man. This novel helped form the big abolitionist movement. In the chapters of this novel, it explains important details like how he first learned to read and write, stays at different plantations, later in life events, leading up to his freedom.

Read More
341 Words | 2 Pages

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

Read More
622 Words | 3 Pages

At one put when Mrs. Auld wasn’t having a good day. She separated Douglass into a lonely place. Where he doesn’t have a book or anything that has to do with learning. Even sometimes She would send someone to check on him if he is hiding a book or reading something that could be knowledgable. Douglass showed Mrs.Auld slavery and education were incompatible with each other.

Read More
1319 Words | 6 Pages

Frederick Douglass was born into slavery in 1818. Douglass wrote “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Written by Himself” in 1845. This narrative was written to inform readers how the lives of slaves were, and the harsh treatment they experienced. Within the narrative we see how the slave system was corrupted. It was clear throughout the narrative that there were specific perpetrators, victims, and bystanders within the slave system.

Read More
561 Words | 3 Pages

The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass; an autobiography consisting of Frederick Douglass’ search for freedom from the slaveholders who kept many African Americans captive, allowed many to understand the pain and misery in the midst of slavery. Published in 1845, Douglass conveyed the lives of African Americans and how they have suffered a great deal of pain and discomfort through a provocative tone . Throughout his autobiography, Douglass used countless metaphors to portray his life. From Mr. Plummer to Mrs. Auld, the reader could better perceive the text by visualizing the metaphors that Douglass has used. Using Frederick’s writing, youthful audiences can gain knowledge about slavery and its effects.

Read More
566 Words | 3 Pages

In chapter VI Douglass says “Auld, she very kindly commenced to teach me the A, B, C.” This shows the reader that not everyone treated slaves badly. When Mr.Auld found out he said to Mrs.Auld “Now’ he said ‘If you teach a nigger how to read, there would be no keeping him.” This tells the reader that if slaves could read that they could figure out a way to run away. This is stated in

Read More
402 Words | 2 Pages

When Mrs. Auld teaches Frederick Douglass how to read, he realizes that the road to freedom correlates with education. However, Douglass learns this through Mr. Auld’s refusal to allow his wife to teach Douglass literacy. Auld explains to his wife, “It would forever unfit him to be a slave” (VI.409). Overhearing this, Frederick understood why masters have so much control over their slaves. They inflicted not only physical, but also mental brutality.

Read More
1057 Words | 5 Pages

To be a slave in the 1800s was to be undervalued and underappreciated. Frederick Douglass’ autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, is a first-person account of the trials and tribulations suffered by African American slaves. Douglass struggled with his life as a slave from birth. He was believed to be the result of a relationship between his enslaved mother and his white master, which instilled in him from an early age that the practice of slavery was more complicated than he could understand at the time. As Douglass grew, he started to notice how his treatment differed from that of white children and ultimately came to the realization that skin color would be a barrier he would have to endure his whole life.

Read More
473 Words | 2 Pages

Even though Douglass was a writer and orator does not mean he got there him-self. When Douglass Turned eight he was sent to live with his new owners Sophia and Hugh Auld. Sophia taught Frederick and her son how to read and write [ book pg.8 ] because she taught it was only fair if they both learned. One day Frederick red to Hugh Auld which he was very angry about [book pg.8]. After that Sophia had to stop teaching Frederick who to read and write but, Frederick kept learning him-self [book pg.9].

Read More
410 Words | 2 Pages

Douglass begins his letter with his intent, an elaborate and formal appeal to Douglass’ real audience: readers of the North Star to bring forth the atrocities caused not only by Auld but by slavery as a whole. Throughout the letter, Douglass refers to his treatment by Auld; further driving his point that slavery is terrible and that slaves deserve the same basic rights as those who own slaves. Douglass is quick to speak about his own experience as an escaped slave and his success outside of Auld’s ownership to help solidify that point further. Douglass occasionally does this specifically to belittle and call forward Auld’s actions, even referring to himself as more intelligent (Douglass 102). Throughout the letter, Douglass’ common theme is one of anti-slavery and often directly attacks Auld’s actions.

Read More
751 Words | 4 Pages

When he lived with his mistress, Aunty Katy, his tragedy started. He and the other slaves were treated very rude like usually starved and whipped. Slave had to get up early and work so hard. That work made them exhausted, but the master didn’t provide enough food for them. Not only food, but also the clothes and blankets were limited.

Read More
973 Words | 4 Pages

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

Read More
819 Words | 4 Pages

The Narrative Life Of Frederick Douglass written by the former slave himself, Frederick Douglass, was published in 1845. Douglass published his narrative to elude his past experiences and to share the evil side of slavery that most people do not discern. In his narrative Douglass mentions how his life was and what he experienced in his lifetime of being enslaved and when he was free. He uses these experiences to rebuke the so called, “romantic image” of slavery in the 1800’s.

Read More
678 Words | 3 Pages

"I have found that, to make a contented slave, it is necessary to make a thoughtless one. It is necessary to darken his moral and mental vision, and, as far as possible, to annihilate the power of reason. He must be able to detect no inconsistencies in slavery; he must be made to feel that slavery is right, and he can be brought to that only when he ceases to be a man." The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, demonstration that for many there is a direct correlation between education and freedom. Through this book, Douglass shows the reader that as a slave, he 's encountered masters who 've gone out their way to deny him an education like Mr. and Mrs. Auld.

Read More
1380 Words | 6 Pages

In Frederick Douglass’s narrative, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, he tells his story of what it was like to be a slave. Douglass was born into slavery. He spent his childhood and and some of his adulthood as a slave, and after many years was ready to be free. He tells us of how slavery is terrible for slaves, and how slavery corrupts slaveholders. With this, he decides that after years of not knowing what slavery was, and years of having to hide in the shadows, Douglass was ready to shine light on the American Slave System.

Read More

More about Frederick Douglass Essay

Open Document