Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass Character Analysis Essay

Fredrick Douglass encounters many brutal and merciless people during his time as a slave. In The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, written by himself, Douglass creates psychological profiles of masters, mistresses, overseers and other characters in positions of authority. By describing these personalities, Douglass ensures the reader pictures an accurate representation of them and the interactions that occur. This causes Douglass’s words to have a greater effect on the reader when they can form emotions and opinions on characters. These descriptions contrast throughout the memoir, displaying the different personalities of each of the slaveholders. Douglass creates complex and in depth psychological profiles for the characters he

Soon after he arrived on the plantation, he picked up on his harsh character: “Mr. Covey was one of the few slaveholders who could and did work with his hands. He was a hard working man. He knew by himself just what a man or boy could do. There was no deceiving him”(Douglass 72). Covey was portrayed as a brutal man, which caused future events to have a greater effect. This helps us fully understand Douglass’s actions. Additionally, Douglass describes Covey’s ability to deceive: “Mr. Covey seemed to now think he had me, and could do what he pleased; but at his moment-from whence came the spirit I don’t know-I resolved to fight; and suiting my action to the resolution, I seized Covey hard by the throat; and as I did so, I rose”(81.) The author's purpose of Covey's profile is to add impact when Douglass retaliated. With Covey being portrayed as this terrible, hateful monster, the readers are impressed with Douglass’s confidence in lashing out for if he was unsuccessful, it would cost his life. Edward Covey was a monstrous slaveholder, but not every enslaver Douglass encountered was this

Douglass was the first slave Auld had owned, and we can observe how slavery changed her . When he first arrives at the Auld house, his first impression is positive: “My new mistress proved to be all she appeared when I first met her at the door, a woman of the kindest heart and finest feelings. She had never had a slave under her control previously to myself…”(47). When Douglass had first met Miss Auld, she was a kind woman with perspective on what is morally correct. However, after she had owned him for a short amount of time, she was changed; “The fatal poison of irresponsible poison was already in her hands, and soon commenced its infernal work. That cheerful eye, under the influence of slavery, soon became red with rage; that voice, made all of sweet accord, changed to one of harsh and horrid discord…”( 47). After the effects of slavery had an impact on her, she had changed for the worse. The author's purpose in generating this profile was to prove that the system of slavery is skewed and to give examples of those in power who were corrupted. A once kind and loving woman, turned to a monster by simply owning one