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Theme Of Frederick Douglass Awakening Sense Of Manhood

1090 Words5 Pages

Juliana Blahous
Ms. Finigan
AP Language and Composition - A block
13 February 2023
Frederick Douglass’ Awakening Sense of Manhood
There are few figures more noteworthy and recognizable in American history than Frederick Douglass. A leading civil rights activist, writer, and orator after his escape from slavery, Douglass is revered for his advocation for the abolition of slavery and for confronting injustices imposed on African Americans. In 1845, Douglass published his famous autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, which not only details Douglass’ escape from the brutal chains of slavery but also illustrates several compelling themes. One of these themes is his dawning sense of manhood and its role in Douglass’ personal …show more content…

After being sent to Baltimore at a young age, Douglass began his education when his [new] mistress, Sophia Auld, began to teach him the alphabet. However, after Sophia’s husband discovered what was going on, he forbade her from offering Douglass more instruction, given that teaching an enslaved person to read was illegal. It was through his undeterred desire to pursue his education that Douglass’ ideological opposition to slavery began to form. Using the rhetorical appeal of ethos, Douglass writes, “The more I read, the more I was led to abhor and detest my enslavers. I could regard them in no other light than a band of successful robbers, who had left their homes, and gone to Africa, and stolen us from our homes, and in a strange land reduced us to slavery.” (Douglass 34) Douglass establishes his credibility as a narrator by demonstrating how his education affected his views of himself and the world around him. In doing so, he informs the reader that he is, like any other man, refined in his ethical and philosophical views by the process of …show more content…

Douglass uses the rhetorical appeal of anecdotes to detail the inner sense of pleasure and contentment he experienced when he found employment in New Bedford: “It was a happy moment, the rapture of which can be understood only by those who have been slaves.” (78) In this quote, Douglass elaborates on how many people took freedom and the ability to obtain jobs for granted because they did not experience the traumatic state of slavery the way Douglass did, and uses the word “rapture” to lure the readers into the true joy he felt after working long and hard to attain freedom. Douglass makes clear that working independently is a form of self-reliance that demonstrates one’s

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No one had advanced faster than Frederick Douglass during the era of self-made man in American. He defied the laws of Maryland by learning how to read and write, after all Frederick owner’s wife was his teacher along with other Caucasian children (Fonder, 395). Fredrick’s life would be different from slaves, he worked as a skill craftsman and a house servant before working the field of a plantation. So, Fredrick Douglass soon faced many floggings to break his self-determine and free spirit. Instead of oppressing his spirit, Fredrick became more determine to pursue a new career.

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In Frederick Douglass' autobiography, NLFD, he explains his life experiences during and after slavery. He develops the connection that education has to freedom. He supports this connection with rhetorical devices that contributes to the structure and meaning of his ideas. I've been asked to consider the questions including "What is freedom?", "Why is it important for people and cultures to construct narratives about their experiences?", and "In the face of adversity, what causes some individuals to prevail while others fail?" Your personal answer to each question can determine how one would interpret Douglass' connection between education and freedom.

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To begin, Douglass masterfully hooked the reader by relating his experiences to those of the readers. When Douglass related to the reader's experiences it helped him create a deeper connection between them, leading to a deeper understanding of his arguments. He emphasizes: “It caused me more pain than anything else in the whole transaction. I was ready for anything rather than separation.”

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Once Mr. Auld finds that Mrs. Auld is teaching Douglass to read, Mrs. Auld is told that it is “unsafe” when a “slave [learns] to read” (Douglass 20). This experience shows Douglass that if he continues to become more educated, he will be treated more and more inhumanely because owners will think he is a “threat” to them. Even though being a “threat” merely means losing money at most, it is enough for slave owners to choose not to educate their slaves. While Douglass felt evocative of this experience, he realized that the experience showed him “the pathway from slavery” (Douglass 20). From that moment on, Douglass knew that at some point in his life, he would be a free man, no matter what it took.

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In particular, when Douglass learned to read he began reading documents that contained argument against slavery and in doing so, he became conscious of the true horror of slavery. He writes, “I often found myself regretting my own existence and wishing myself dead…” (ch. VII). However, he continues, saying “...and but for the hope of being free, I have no doubt but that I should have killed myself…”(ch.

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Since his early years, Douglass was opposed to slavery and showed a great self-esteem, especially in comparison with the other slaves who did not have such strong urge to protect themselves. After obtaining the reading skills, Douglass did not stop reflecting on the unfairness of the system he lived in. Indeed, Douglass himself wrote about his beliefs and regarded himself as a supporter of the rights of slaves but this was after the process of his regret, emotional loss, and inability to find the reasons for living, “I often found myself  regretting my own existence, and wishing myself dead; and but for the hope of being free, I have no doubt but that I should have killed myself, or done something for which I should have been killed” (Douglass 36). Even during the time of despair, Douglass thought that he must be freed from the whole life of a slave. Apart from this, after he became free, this man was confident enough to talk to the white people and did not face the inner willingness to be too pleasing.

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Douglass points to the vast unwillingness from the group of whites that refuses to fully perceive and accept African-Americans as deserving and equal citizens of the nation. Based on his personal experiences as a slave, Douglass is abundantly aware that the battle to abolish slavery is not an easy task. For the first twenty years of his life, he witnessed firsthand the abject cruelty of that institution in our country. Tactfully, Douglass seizes this opportunity to publicly highlight the unmerited and coarse differences in the treatment between the whites as opposed to the blacks living in the United States during this time period. He makes a “powerful testaments to the hypocrisy, bigotry and inhumanity of slavery” (Bunch 1).

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In his narrative, Frederick Douglass explained the concept of manhood by emphasizing on how one should be acknowledge with their own identities and have their own possession of clothes, shelter, and foods as well as privileges that God has given them. Manhood is an important measurement for Douglass because every man discovers, have desires, and develop passions whenever a man looks into himself or by a mirror of reflection. Throughout his journey as a slave, Douglass observed and experiment the cruciality of mankind when one has the power to take control of their subjects. From Mrs. Auld’s amazing lessons, education has helped him not only able to read and write but also understand the reasons behind slavery existence (Douglass, pg 22-23).

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“I have observed this in my experience of slavery, – that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only increased my desire to be free, and set me to thinking of plans to gain my freedom.” Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, this autobiography was published in 1845. Frederick a prominent abolitionist figure was the first black “public intellectual.” At a time where many slaves were illiterate and prohibited to learn how to read and write, Douglass, despite being forbidden to do so by his master (Hugh Auld), managed to learn to read and write. His narrative has very astounding vocabulary which impressed many people.

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Education gives hope for Douglass’s life since he began to truly understand what goes on in slavery. As he figured out more about the topic, his self motivation poured out hope in his life. As Frederick saw an opportunity to become

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Douglass managed to overcome the maltreatment of his wretched slave owners through the eventual attainment of freedom. The injustice imposed upon the African-American slaves by their owners was the crux of Douglass’s motivation to escape this inhumane life. Adolescents in today’s society could use Frederick’s determination as an example of moving forward to better oneself or one’s situation regardless of

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Douglass remains uneducated about the abolition of slavery, of course knowing not everyone was in support of it, just unknowing of the extent at which people were trying to end it. In fact, until later in his life, Douglass would “hear something about the abolitionists,” yet, “it was some time before I found what the word meant” (55). The slaves were so sheltered from education and the outside world that they did not even understand what an abolitionist was. After learning about the whole world of abolitionists out there, Douglass wanted to become part of the movement and leave his mark on the world, which would not have been possible if he didn’t learn to read and write. The new concept of an abolitionist and the fact there were others who wanted the same change as he did intrigued him.

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Douglass states: “The more I read, the more I was led to abhor and detest my enslavers. I could regard them in no other light than a band of successful robbers, who had left their homes, and gone to Africa, and stolen us from our homes, and in a strange land reduced us to slavery” (Douglass 51). Reading and writing opened Frederick Douglass’s eyes to the cause of the abolitionist. He became knowledgeable about a topic that white slave owners tried to keep hidden from their slaves. Literacy would eventually impact his life in more ways than what he could see while he was a young slave under Master Hugh’s

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Because of this, he successfully creates a contrast between what the slave owners think of and treat the slaves and how they are. Douglass says that slave’s minds were “starved by their cruel masters”(Douglass, 48) and that “they had been shut up in mental darkness” (Douglass, 48) and through education, something that they were deprived of, Frederick Douglass is able to open their minds and allow them to flourish into the complex people that they are. By showing a willingness to learn to read and write, the slaves prove that they were much more than what was forced upon them by their masters.

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Education gives hope for Douglass’s life since he began to truly understand what goes on in slavery. As he figured out more about the topic, his self- motivation poured out hope in his life. As Frederick saw an opportunity to become free, he worked hard to accomplish it. Masters and slaveholders believe teaching slaves is wrong, but with Douglass’s

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