Violence In The Scarlet Letter

"His mangled body sank out of sight, and blood and brains marked the water where he had stood." (Douglass, 67). Just one sentence can prove how brutal slave-owners, slaveholders, and overseers can be towards slaves. A use of violence to control slaves can be seen throughout the book, and Frederick is very against violence in all forms. He only uses it when it was necessary,like the fight with Mr. Covey. Using deadly violence to control happens on very early in Frederick's lifetime. His own Aunt, Aunt Hester, was a prime target for Captain Anthony. He always found a reason to whip her, and "The louder she screamed, the harder he whipped, and where the blood ran fastest, there he whipped longest." (Douglass, 51). She was also warned to never be absent when her master "required her presence" and never, ever to be found with a man named Ned Flanders. One night, she was absent when Fred and Hester's master required Aunt Hester's presence, and the overseers who were hired by Capt. Anthony found Aunt Hester with Ned Flanders. Strippping her of her clothes, and tying her to a hook, he proceeded to whip her, Frederick watching from the closet near them. After rolling up his sleeves, Capt. Anthony "...proceeded 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

Gore is a very great example of using deadly force to control slaves. When he had whipped Demby (a fellow slave) but a few times, Demby dashed to the river to cool down the wounds on his back, and resisted Mr. Gore's calls for him to come out. After Mr. Gore's third call to come out, (…raised his [Mr.Gore’s] musket to his face, taking deadly aim at his standing victim, and in an instant Demby was no more." (Douglass, 67). This part of the book can show that the use of deadly force to keep slaves under control can be actually deadly. It is also very disturbing how calm and collected Mr.Gore was after shooting