ipl-logo

Summary Of Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass

677 Words3 Pages

Are you aware of the events that occur behind the scenes inside slave plantations? In the book Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Frederick Douglass wrote about what actually takes place in the many plantations that were around the United States. Out of everything that occurs, there are two Primary issues that obscure the American belief that "All men are created equal", Injustices And Physical Abuse against the slaves.
As an example, one main horror about slavery, not usually known by the public that Douglass wishes to expose is the Injustice involved behind the scenes. According to the Narrative, "The wife of Giles Hicks murdered my wife's cousin, a young girl between 15 and 16 years of age, mangling her person in the most horrible …show more content…

Douglass got to witness this first hand at about age 4 when he saw his auntie was brutalized. As specified by the text, "'Now, you d——d b—h, I'll learn you how to disobey my orders!' and after rolling up his sleeves, he commenced to lay on the heavy cowskin, and soon the warm, red blood (amid heart-rending shrieks from her, and horrid oaths from him) came dripping to the floor." (Douglas, Chapter 1, Paragraph 10). Simply disobeying an order will earn a slave a whipping from a sharp, heavy, leather whip that will crackle. These whips cause a lot of pain and will most definitely cause bleeding, plus this also would traumatize Douglass for the rest of his life. Another master of Douglass also ended up cruelly assaulting another member of his family, but this time it was his younger brother. Identifying what the text has stated, "Master Andrew—a man who, but a few days before, to give me a sample of his bloody disposition, took my little brother by the throat, threw him on the ground, and with the heel of his boot stamped upon his head till the blood gushed from his nose and ears." (Douglass, Chapter 8, Paragraph 4). This man just crushed a child's face just to make an example so that Douglass would follow the rules. This further induced high levels of anxiety in the young Douglass as he just witnessed savage brutalization against his very own

Show More
Related

Frederick Douglass Use Of Rhetorical Devices Used In Slavery

210 Words | 1 Pages

Slavery is a humongous topic involving both slaves and former slaves. The story of Frederick Douglass is one such story. Douglass was born into slavery at Holm Hill Farm in Talbot County, Maryland. Douglass suffered punishments, including beatings throughout his time as a slave. Frederick Douglass successfully uses vast quantities of rhetorical devices to illuminate the horror and viciousness of slavery, along with the need to eliminate slavery.

Read More

Frederick Douglass An American Slave Rhetorical Analysis Essay

732 Words | 3 Pages

Christianity was, to the slaves of America, (something with a double meaning). In the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass an American Slave, Frederick Douglass, the author, argues about how Christianity can mean one thing to a free white man and something completely different to a black slave. The slave owners follow the ‘Christianity of the Land’ while the slaves follow the ‘Christianity of Christ.’ Frederick begins to build his credibility to a, white, northern, audience by including documents from trustworthy writers and by getting into personal experiences through his writing. Throughout the narrative, he is articulate in how he writes, and it shows the reader that he is well educated.

Read More

Essay Comparing Frederick Douglass And Harriet Jacobs

486 Words | 2 Pages

After having read both Frederick Douglass’s Narrative and Harriet Jacobs’s Incident 1. How were Douglass and Jacobs similar and different in their complaints against slavery? What accounts for these differences? In both the inspiring narratives of Narrative in the Life of Fredrick Douglass by Frederick Douglass’s and in Incidents in the life of a slave girl by Harriet Jacobs the respective authors demonstrate the horrors and disparity of slavery in there own ways.

Read More

Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass Rhetorical Analysis Essay

648 Words | 3 Pages

‘’ They were frequently whipped when least deserving, and escaped whipping when most deserving it.’’ (page 18). Douglass captures the audience by using parallelism to explain how the slaves was regularly whipped. Douglass use of parallelism displayed how slavery was inhuman. Douglass again uses parallelism to show how slavery was heartbroken by describing how the overseers didn’t care.

Read More

'Slavery Exposed In Octavia Butler's Kindred'

996 Words | 4 Pages

Slavery was a long, slow process of dulling. Slaves had the constant fear of physical violence, the threat of losing the ones they love, and endured a life of always being treated as subhuman. One way that slavery dulled those in its grip was the constant fear of physical violence. Their masters could hurt or kill them at any moment and there’s nothing they could do. Dana explains how whippings were

Read More

The Narrative Of The Life Of Fredrick Douglass

377 Words | 2 Pages

The Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass presents an insight into the power differences between a slave and his master. In this account , Douglass proves that slavery destroys not only the slave but also the owner. The “poison of irresponsible power” that masters hold has a damaging effect on their morals and beliefs (Douglas 39). This immense control in the hands of a person will break their kind heart and finest feelings turning them into those of a demon. Douglass uses flashbacks , deep characterization, and appeals to the emotions to address the negative effects of slavery.

Read More

Frederick Douglass Rebunk The Myth Of Slavery

814 Words | 4 Pages

In the 1700-1800’s, the use of African American slaves for backbreaking, unpaid work was at its prime. Despite the terrible conditions that slaves were forced to deal with, slave owners managed to convince themselves and others that it was not the abhorrent work it was thought to be. However, in the mid-1800’s, Northern and southern Americans were becoming more aware of the trauma that slaves were facing in the South. Soon, an abolitionist group began in protest, but still people doubted and questioned it.

Read More

What To The Slave Is The Fourth Of July Analysis

793 Words | 4 Pages

Douglass stated, “What am I to argue that it is wrong to make men brutes, to rob them of their liberty, to work them without wages, to keep them ignorant of their relations to their fellow-men, to beat them with sticks, to flay their flesh with the lash, to load their limbs with irons, to hunt them with dogs, to sell them at auction, to sunder their families, to knock out their teeth, to burn their flesh, to starve them into obedience and submission to their masters?” He successfully expresses his pain and anger in this quote by providing images of his and his people’s suffering. He tapped into the emotions of his audience, such as mothers, workers, and those who have felt physically pain by exposing them to the amplified struggles he and others had to face. Nonetheless, he continually reminded the audience, both explicitly and subliminally, that his group of people are too human, and that the only difference they share is the color of their skin. He is pleading his cases and hoping that it gets across to his audience in hope they will do the right

Read More

Frederick Douglass Hypocrisy Essay

1049 Words | 5 Pages

Group Essay on Frederick Douglass “That this little book may do something toward throwing light on the American slave system”, and that Frederick Douglass does in his eponymous autobiography. Douglass throws light by dispelling the myths of the slave system, which received support from all parts of society. To dispel these myths Douglass begins to construct an argument composed around a series of rhetorical appeals and devices. Douglass illustrates that slavery is dehumanizing, corrupting, and promotes Christian hypocrisy. Using telling details, Douglass describes the dehumanizing effects of the slave system which condones the treatment of human beings as property.

Read More

Frederick Douglass Use And Abuse Of Power Essay

498 Words | 2 Pages

The Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass shows the imbalance of power between slaves and their masters. In his book, Douglass proves that slavery is a destructive force not only to the slaves, but also for the slaveholders. “Poison of the irresponsible power” that masters have upon their slaves that are dehumanizing and shameless, have changed the masters themselves and their morality(Douglass 39). This amount of power and control in contact with one man breaks the kindest heart and the purest thoughts turning the person evil and corrupt. Douglass uses flashbacks that illustrate the emotions that declare the negative effects of slavery.

Read More

Frederick Douglass Moral Development

985 Words | 4 Pages

As a child, punishment is a way we are introduced to good and bad. In slavery, it’s used to make slaves submit to a “master,” but in reality it’s used to create fear in those who are viewing this punishment as a warning of what could happen if they decide to get out of line. Douglass uses vivid description of his childhood to show that children are not hit if they learn very fast to fear overseers and

Read More

Frederick Douglass: Overcoming Obstacles

392 Words | 2 Pages

Douglass encountered multiple harsh realities of being enslaved. For example, the ex-slave was practically starved to death by his masters on multiple occasions. In fact, “[He was] allowed less than a half of a bushel of corn-meal per week, and very little else... It was not enough for [him] to subsist upon... A great many times [he had] been nearly perishing with hunger” (pg 31).

Read More

How Is Frederick Douglass Selfish

510 Words | 3 Pages

His year with Covey was a life changing experience. Under Covey, Douglass worked the land day and night in all weathers. For the first six months he was constantly beaten and severely punished to increase his productivity. He was whipped with sticks or cow skin. Douglass experienced an “epoch in my humble history,” and explains to readers that “You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man.”

Read More

Theme Of Abuse In Frederick Douglass

1838 Words | 8 Pages

This shows that the way a Master behaves around a slave can be very influential, and Douglass explains that he was compelled to give all his hard-earned money to Master Hugh because the influence the Master had on him was to give him everything he worked hard for. Next, on page 10 of his Narrative, Douglass proclaims, “They never knew when they were safe from punishment. They were frequently whipped when least deserving, and escaped whipping when most deserving it. Every thing depended upon the looks of the horses,

Read More

Rhetorical Devices In Frederick Douglass

631 Words | 3 Pages

Frederick Douglass Rhetorical Analysis Essay The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, written by Frederick Douglass himself, is a brutally honest portrayal of slavery’s dehumanizing capabilities. By clearly connecting with his audience’s emotions, Douglass uses numerous rhetorical devices, including anecdotes and irony, to argue the depravity of slavery. Douglass clearly uses anecdotes to support his argument against the immorality of slavery. He illustrates different aspects of slavery’s destructive nature by using accounts of not only his own life but others’ alsoas well.

Read More

More about Summary Of Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass

Related Topics

Open Document