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Slavery In The Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass

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Some forms of slavery are not as obvious as other kinds of slavery. In Frederick Douglass’ The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, slavery is apparent and the slaves were well informed of their servitude. However, in Mary Shelley’s Brave New World the people in the World State were unknowingly enslaved by their leaders. The consciousness of slavery is the major difference between these two examples of slavery. On the other hand, there are many similarities between the slavery in these two books. Slaves in The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass and Brave New World have little to no relationship with their parents, are bred by their leaders, and are disposed of if they cause problems. Breaking parental bonds between slaves is a common technique used to ensure that the slaves do not unify and rebel against their leader. African-American slaves in the United States were often taken away from their …show more content…

Frederick Douglass discusses this topic in his narrative writing, “If a slave was convicted of any high misdemeanor, became unmanageable, or evinced a determination to run away, he was brought immediately here, severely whipped, put on board the sloop, carried to Baltimore, and sold to Austin Woolfolk, or some other slave-trader, as a warning to the slaves remaining” (Douglass 8). African-American slaves were often beaten, and sometimes killed if they upset their owners. Other times the slaves were sold to a different owner, so their improper behavior would not influence other slaves. In Brave New World, the leaders did not physically punish their people, but they did exile those who caused trouble. Helmholtz and Bernard were exiled from the World State because they were involved in a riot among the people. This is an example of the leaders banishing a few people to prevent the spread of bad behavior. Punishment is a major part of leaders keeping order among their

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