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Who Is Mr. Douglass Dehumanized

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Ladies and gentlemen, have you ever witnessed a slave being whipped? Have you seen the raw flesh of the back send a flood of blood down the body? Or have you seen the protruding bones through the almost translucent skin of the starved slaves? These people, or property as it is referred to, are treated beyond the bounds of what is humane; cattle may be treated better and as a result, Mr.Douglass was in a situation in which he was forced to defend himself or be killed. He has described his state under the supervision of Mr.Covey, “I was broken in body, soul, and spirit. My natural elasticity was crushed...the cheerful spark that lingered about my eye died; the dark night of slavery closed in upon me” (Douglass 39). The point to remember, is the horrendous conditions slaves are subjected to is unfathomable for most and has become dehumanizing; it should only be expected for Douglass to act as he did against the violent attack. …show more content…

This emphasizes Mr.Covey’s unreasonable expectations for slaves, he forgets they are human and have limits just as all us white folk do. Mr.Douglass could not have obeyed his orders and continued working even if he desperately wanted to-his body was not able. So how could have Mr.Covey justified his attack on Douglass the following days? Lastly, Douglass did what he did as an act of self defense to save his life. Douglass had already disobeyed his master and run away for a night; considering all the atrocities Mr.Covey has inflicted on his slaves, it was reasonable for Mr.Douglass to assume he’d be severely beaten to the point of possibly bleeding or being whipped to death. It is not unreasonable to fight if one’s life is

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Frederick Douglass published two similar versions of his fight with the ‘slave-breaker’ Edward Covey in the tenth chapter of his The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave, and in the seventeenth chapter of My Bondage and My Freedom. By comparing the two accounts it is possible to see an evolution of his thoughts on abolishing slavery and person hood which occurred in the years which transpired between the two works, 1845 and 1855. In the first account which Douglass wrote at around the age of 27 he narrates a physical confrontation where he refuses to allow himself to be whipped. Douglass struggles for two hours with Covey and also fights off Covey’s cousin at the same time.

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Covey was the turning-point in my career as a slave. It rekindled the few expiring embers of freedom, and revived within me a sense of my own manhood… My long-crushed spirit rose, cowardice departed, bold defiance took its place; and I now resolved that, however long I might remain a slave in form, the day had passed forever when I could be a slave in fact. I did not hesitate to let it be known of me, that the white man who expected to succeed in whipping, must also succeed in killing me.” Analysis: There are several turning points on Douglass's journey from slavery to freedom, but the fight with Covey marks his largest turning point.

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Douglass uses paradox to demonstrate that slavery degragrates the slaverholder. When Douglass under Mr. Sever’s care he described that: “He was less cruel, less profane… He whipped, but seemed to take no pleasure in it. ”(Douglass 24). Most slaveholders are characterized to be cruel and inhuman because of the whipping and the way they treated the slaves.

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“The gross injustice and cruelty to which slave is the constant victim.” (Doc.4) From frederick douglass’s personal experiences and judgement, he believes that slavery is the worst thing that any country has ever let happen and that

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He states that “ Mr. Covey gave me a very severe whipping, cutting my back, causing the blood to run…” This is the first cruel incident, of many to come, that Douglass is involved in. Deserving or not, he will be forced to endure these hardships until the end of his bondage or death, whichever comes first. Soon after, Douglass and Covey fight for nearly two hours. In doing so, Douglass concludes that he, only in mind, is no longer a slave, “ I now resolved that, however long I might remain a slave in form, the day had passed forever when I could be a slave in fact.”

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Covey is not only the most malevolent overseer Douglass has encountered, but also a metaphor for the oppression of slavery he has faced throughout his life. Towards re-humanization he faces and reaches many milestones. Determined to learn how to read on his own, Douglass begins reading books but is perplexed as he is awakened by the reality of slavery; that he can do nothing about. “In moments of agony, I envied my fellow-slaves for their stupidity. I have often wished myself a beast.

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Covey, and he is known for “breaking” slaves which means working them hard and getting them into shape. Mr. Covey puts Frederick through a lot of difficult work, and he just wants to stop learning how to write and read, and also doesn’t want to live anymore. Frederick talks about he no longer feels like a man, and feels like a little brute. This example shows that the dehumanization can make someone feel like they aren’t wanted anymore, it can make them not want to live anymore and that’s what is happening to Frederick. Frederick has no human rights and Mr. Covey doesn’t care with what he has to say because “black slaves” don’t matter and they are only used for working, and being slaves to the white people.

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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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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

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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.

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1041 Words | 5 Pages

This supports the claim of the terrible effect slavery has to the slaves meaning physical harm. Douglass used another quote to describe the harshness of slavery, and said, “I had been at my new home but one week before Mr. Covey gave me a very severe whipping, cutting my back, causing the blood to run, and raising ridges on my flesh as large as my little finger” (Douglass 971).This is more evidence that Douglass continually used the method of Pathos for the support of the audience. He used the cruelty of the quote to send a message to the audience. That message being that slavery is is problem and is in no way just. In these two quotes, Douglas tells the audience not only the truth of slavery, but truth about being physically owned and “cared for” like a piece of

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Frederick Douglass’s narrative provides a first hand experience into the imbalance of power between a slave and a slaveholder and the negative effects it has on them both. Douglass proves that slavery destroys not only the slave, but the slaveholder as well by saying that this “poison of irresponsible power” has a dehumanizing effect on the slaveholder’s morals and beliefs (Douglass 40). This intense amount of power breaks the  kindest heart and changes the slaveholder into a heartless demon (Douglass 40). Yet these are not the only ways that Douglass proves what ill effect slavery has on the slaveholder. Douglass also uses deep characterization, emotional appeal, and religion to present the negative effects of slavery.

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Resolving to fight back against Covey thrusts Douglass into manhood and is the first instance of justified violence seen in the novel: “It rekindled the few expiring embers of freedom, and revived within me a sense of my own manhood...and inspired me again with a determination to be free” (68). Although up to this point the violence described was portrayed as completely unjust and terrible, here the reader is to understand that, for the slave, this type of violence may not only be necessary, but completely justified when attempting to gain

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Dehumanization of both slaves and slave owners must occur for slavery to exist. Slavery harms everyone involved, including the slaveholders who superficially seem to profit from the arrangement. Douglass’s narrative acknowledges the damage inflicted on both sides of the institution of slavery, emphasizing that a human being’s personality and disposition form per the laws and socially acceptable practices exhibited within the society. Douglass has an excellent example how he seen with his own eyes how his mistress became demonized when she became an owner of a slave. Douglass became Mrs. Auld's first salve owner and at the begging when they first met “she [was] of the kindest heart and finest feelings” (38).

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PAGE 2 In the Narrative Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass, he uses this text to explain his purpose in “throwing light on the American slave system”, or show it for what it really is, as well as show his position on how he strongly believes slavery is an issue that needs to be addressed and how it differs from those who defended slavery, with experiences from his own life to support his argument. Douglass uses experience from his early days as a young slave to throw light on the aspect of physical abuse. According to his narrative, Douglass states, “Master, however, was not a humane slaveholder.

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