The Exposure of Slavery [1] In the “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass” Frederick Douglass is able to provide the reader with a clear theme. The theme of this novel consists of the exposure of the cruel treatment of slaves. It highlights the daily dehumanization African Americans went through, as well as how they were treated like property rather than regular human beings with civil rights. Douglass' theme in his novel is clearly based on the slavery system, and how they were stripped of their human rights and dignity. Nevertheless, the perfect literary lens that illustrates this theme would be the lens of politics, specifically the category of postcolonial criticism. Based on this category, there will be an analysis of the theme of …show more content…
In the narrative, African Americans are treated poorly because of their race. Similar to what Markus stated “Race and ethnicity influence identity and behavior in a wide range of ways.this influence depends.how others view this group” (Markus). This connects to how African Americans were treated so cruelly because all the white masters viewed them only as slaves because of their race. Based in the novel, those who were born African Americans were automatically put into a home who will be taken care of until they were old enough to be with new owners known as masters. However, once they were with their masters, torture began for them. In addition, another objective from the lens of politics that illustrates the theme of the novel is on the ways this novel represents aspects of colonial oppression. The text in the “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass” by Frederick Douglass expresses colonial oppression through his personal experiences as a slave. Douglass’s narrative exposes the brutal realities of the slavery system, including physical and emotional abuse, and the denial of basic human