Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass Critical Lens

The texts The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass both do well to paint a picture of how slavery was easily accepted in the American Society. These books show us how many white slaveholders were able to justify slavery with religion, dehumanization, and by convincing themselves that the slaves themselves were content with their situations.

In both of these books we are shown how many white slaveholders seem to justify their cruelty and the horror that is slavery through religion. In the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, We are presented with a quote about his master Captain Auld. This quote reads “I have seen him tie up a lame young woman, and whip her with a heavy cowskin upon her naked

In Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, he quotes, “He that ate the fastest got the most; he that was the strongest secured the best place; and few left the trough satisfied.” The way he describes feeding time of the young slaves is primitive and animalistic. Out of context one may presume that the author is talking about pigs rather than people. This shows how slaveholders were able to feel guiltless, as they viewed these people as animals and property. In Huckleberry Finn, we are given the quote, “It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to a nigger; but I done it, and I warn't ever sorry for it afterwards, neither. I didn't do him no more mean tricks, and I wouldn't done that one if I'd a knowed it would make him feel that way.” Throughout the book we see Huckleberry unlearning the ways of racism and slavery as he spends more time with Jim, but he obviously had trouble apologizing to him. He felt as if Jim wasn’t worthy of an apology even though it was Huck who had done something wrong, because Jim was a slave, therefore less of a person than him. After a while he realized he needed to apologize to Jim because it was the right thing to do, but we can clearly see the last of socially ingrained racism clinging to him. Dehumanizing the slaves made it easier on everyone’s conscience’s and helped cruelty

In the narrative, his master speaks of why it is not a good idea to teach slaves to read. It reads, “Now,” said he, “if you teach that nigger (speaking of myself) how to read, there would be no keeping him. It would forever unfit him to be a slave. He would at once become unmanageable, and of no value to his master. As to himself, it could do him no good, but a great deal of harm. It would make him discontented and unhappy.” This quote suggests that as long as slaves live in uneducated ignorance, that they will be happy with the situation they are in. The master will convince himself that he is doing no wrong, as the slaves are perfectly satisfied with their lives in bonds. In Huckleberry Finn, they say, “Everybody naturally despises an ungrateful nigger, and they’d make Jim feel it all the time.” This suggests that Jim should not only be content being a slave, but happy. All things considered, Mrs. Watson would be considered a “good” mistress and everyone would expect Jim to be ashamed of himself for running away. In reality, there is no need for Jim to be grateful that Mrs. Watson didn’t brutalize him like other slaveholders, it isn’t a competition of which slaves were more oppressed. They were all slaves, and they were all treated as such. Believing that the slaves were happy with the conditions they were forced to live in is