Similarities Between Frederick Douglass And Harriet Jacobs

Through the foundation of such cruel practices comes the moral justification to validate such oppression. The moral backdrop for the practice of slavery is the daunting shadow of white supremacy. Fermented into Southern culture, white superiority attempts at legitimizing racist attitudes are as contradictory, flimsy, and rotten as the core of this ideology. The writings of Fredrick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs aptly counter white supremacy by demonstrating how the culture has produced individuals who were primarily deceptive and callous. Deception is no less a tactic that slaveholders use to affirm the validity of their cruel practices. The honesty of white supremacy is no more than a dagger in a bouquet of flowers. Following her escape from

Flint substitutes the letter with his own recreation. When Dr. Flint reads the substituted letter to Jacobs’s grandmother, it states how Harriet regrets leaving the plantation and, more importantly, leaving her children behind and sending them to her in New York or Philadelphia (Levine 867). Dr. Flint uses this fabricated letter in an attempt to get Jacobs’s grandmother on his side and sway her to collaborate with him in retrieving her. Furthermore, it can be added that Dr. Flint made that substitution to convince not only Jacobs’s grandmother but also himself, where he believes Harriet ought to express gratitude for being a slave to him. This reflects well on the numerous instances in which Dr. Flint attempted to secure her obedience, but failed nonetheless. Harriet is not the only one to experience such deceit, as Fredrick Douglass captures the dishonesty of white slaveholders by discussing the holidays for a slave. On days between Christmas and New Year’s Day, slaves were not expected to work and could instead engage in the festivities. Bizarrely, Douglass notes how the slaveholders deemed it disgraceful for slaves not to become drunk over the

The next criticism presented is the callousness of the slaveholder. A characteristic of sterilized emotions that is consistent among many slaveholders. Perhaps an instance of sympathy—of human kindness—would only result in making the practice unbearable. Yet compassion is not lost on many northerners who bear witness to such wicked behavior. Yet it is Jacobs and Douglass's experiences that bear witness to such vindictiveness, institutionalized and reinforced through the culture. Upon Dr. Flint's inquiry into Jacobs on suspicion of getting herself bought from someone else, during the scuffle, Dr. Flint grabs Jacobs’ five-year-old son, Benney, and forcefully throws him across the room. Dr. Flint referred to him before throwing him as a “little wretch” and stated, “Let him lie there” (Levine 858). The degree of detachment that white superiority promotes leads to an absurdity of cruelties. No act is considered too inhumane or too sadistic when the other is viewed as an object to be used and disposed of at