More handpicked essays just for you.
Narrative life of frederick douglass
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
Frederick douglass life as an abolitionist
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
In the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Douglass feelings about the songs he heard the slaves sing, provoked anger deep inside his heart. Having grown up in slavery, dealing with the beatings, long hours, hardly any food, and let’s not forget any freedom. It would make him a bit annoyed. It not only provoked anger, but also reveal short-term happiness among the slaves. Frederick stated that, “they would make the dense old woods, for miles around reverberate with their wild songs.”
When Douglass was a child on Lloyd’s farm, he was not yet subjected to hard labor like the older slaves, and he even made friends with his master’s son, which gave him small benefits. Despite this, he was still subject to the cold and hunger, as slaves were not given proper meals or clothing. Children on the plantations were given cornmeal mush as food, and the linen clothing he was given was useless against the cold. In order to stay somewhat warm at night, Douglass stole a small back from the mill and slept with his head and upper body inside of it. When he was around seven or eight, Douglass was moved from Lloyd’s plantation to Mr. Hugh Auld, who lived in Baltimore.
Unlike the Lost Generation the Harlem Renaissance was the birth of the New Negro. During the 1020’s just like The Lost Generation writers in the black community a new style of literature was born with a new set of mind. Before the Harlem renaissance black literature was mostly based on slave narratives accounts written by fugitive slaves about their lives in the south and, often, after escaping to freedom. This particular literature was used to illustrate the cruelties of life under slavery one of the most prominent Negro writer of that era was Frederick Douglas (c.1818-1895). His best-known work is his autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas, an American Slave.
Why did Fredrick Douglas despise slavery? Fredrick Douglas, an African American that has an abundance of history with slavery and torment. Without reading this I wouldn’t have learned how cruel slavery actually was, and how enslavers stole people from their homes, and how he wished to be an animal. The Immorality of slavery is gruesome to many eyes. Though, people still want to rule over other people for various arrogant reasons.
While Reconstruction after the Civil War seemed to have promise for former slaves, there were still many hardships. President Andrew Johnson’s leniency with the south during this decisive period allowed for there to be debate over what the fate of freed slaves should be. Some believed that continuing to work in the fields they were once slaves in was the best option for blacks because of their past as field workers, while others believed that there were more options for blacks than just farm work as seen in the schools built in the south for the black population by the Freedman’s Bureau. However, the question still remained as to what freedom for blacks truly meant. People’s opinions on what freedom for ex-slaves needed to be depended exclusively on their race and their socioeconomic status.
Abolitionism was a well-known movement around the time of the Civil War and its aim was to put an end to slavery. The people of the early nineteenth century viewed the elimination of slavery in numerous ways. Some fought against the end of slavery, some appeared to mildly support the cause and yet others wholeheartedly supported the ending of slavery until their dying day. Charles Finney was a religious leader who promoted social reforms such as the abolition of slavery. He also fought for equality in education for women as well as for African Americans.
A slave once said to himself that he wished he was an animal, “Anything… just to get rid of thinking.” After reading this excerpt, Life of Frederick Douglass, learning more horrid things about slavery, the criminal and unaccepting ways of the enslavers, and the struggles of the slaves, I now know what us “white’s” have done wrong in our history. We treated others of different colors as if they were different, unpleasant to the eyes, or unintelligent — but the one thing we didn 't see in them is that they too, were human. Who is Frederick Douglass? When Douglass was young, he had been sent to Baltimore along with someone named Hugh Auld, a relative of his first master.
Lincoln’s and Douglass’s views differed from Davis’s because they did not consider the slaves as a chattel. Lincoln declared slavery illegal in the Confederate States in the famous Emancipation Proclamation. There is a famous quote form Douglass: where justice is denied and where any one class is made to feel that society is in an organized conspiracy to oppress and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe. Also, their views differed from Lydia Maria Child’s. Lincoln and Douglass believed the Constitution should be a protection against, rather than a sanction for slavery.
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.
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.
¨Freedom means you are unobstructed in living your life as you choose. Anything less is a form of slavery.¨ This is similar to Frederick Douglass because he lived his most of his life in slavery and then after slavery ended he chose to live his life the way he wanted. Frederick Douglass was an African American slave who wanted to abolish slavery after hearing the word abolish so many times. Douglass´s audience were many other African Americans who also said slavery was a bad thing. How slavery was bad for slaves and how it corrupts slave owners.
Frederick Douglass’s narrative provides a first hand experience into the imbalance of power between a slave and a slaveholder and the negative effects it has on them both. Douglass proves that slavery destroys not only the slave, but the slaveholder as well by saying that this “poison of irresponsible power” has a dehumanizing effect on the slaveholder’s morals and beliefs (Douglass 40). This intense amount of power breaks the kindest heart and changes the slaveholder into a heartless demon (Douglass 40). Yet these are not the only ways that Douglass proves what ill effect slavery has on the slaveholder. Douglass also uses deep characterization, emotional appeal, and religion to present the negative effects of slavery.
A particular section in the “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass” that stood out to me was the section where Douglass goes on to describe how slaveholding has negative affects and changes a person. Thomas Auld and Edward Covey are men in the story that both pretend to be something that they are not. Thomas auld tries to be the almighty and powerful slaveholder but eventually becomes crueler because cannot pretend to be an all powerful slaveholder, that the slaves know it is for show. Edward Covey pretends to be a Christian man but, any Christian man would not submit such cruelty to any kind of human being. The last example of slaveholding changing people for the worse is Sophia Auld.
Douglass’s position differ from those who supported slavery is that people who supported slavery, they thought it was a natural thing to do because on the Document “ Slavery a positive Good” on paragraph 1 it says, “ To maintain the existing relations between two races, inhabiting that section of the Union, is indispensable to the peace and happiness of both…. But let me not be understood as admitting, even by implication, that the existing relations between two races in the slaveholding states is an evil: - far otherwise; I hold to be good, as it has thus far proved itself both, and will continue to prove so if not disturbed by the fell spirit of abolition.” What this piece of evidence is saying is that slavery is a good thing and not a bad thing and that abolition should stop. Another way that Frederick Douglass’s position is different from people that support is that people who support slavery is that the people who support slavery has a different perspective of what is right and what is wrong because on the Document “ Slavery a Positive Good” paragraph 2 it says,” I hold in the present state of civilization, where two races of different origin, and distinguished by color, and other physical differences, as well as intellectual, are brought together, the relation now existing in the slaveholding States between the two is, instead of an evil, a good- a positive good… I hold then, that
In the book, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Frederick Douglass reveals his life as a slave and the valuable lessons he learned from his experience. Douglass wants the truth about slavery to be revealed and wants to eliminate the lies that portray slavery as beneficial. Douglass exposes the reality of slavery by criticizing the “romantic image” of slavery, showing the intellectual capabilities slaves had, and revealing the reasons why slaves were disloyal to each other. Douglass criticizes the southern, romantic image of slavery by exposing the harsh treatment and sadness that slaves endured. It was southerners who thought slavery as beneficial, because it benefited themselves and white society.
