Category: Frederick Douglass

Slave Narratives: Shedding Light on Struggles

Slave narratives helped bring light and awareness of the struggles slaves faced in the 1800’s. These narratives allowed modern readers to experience the African-American struggle for freedom from their slave masters in the South. Two great slave narratives were the autobiographical novel Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas by Frederick Douglas and Nat Turner’s confession “T’was My Object to Carry Terror and Devastation Wherever We Went. Frederick Douglas and Nat Turner were both born slaves in the early 1800s whose legacy will be remembered forever. Nat Turner and Fredrick Douglas earned fame for two separate reasons. They were both blessed with the gift of a beautiful mind and the power and ability to resist slavery. They resisted slavery in ways that a majority of slaves feared. Although they both share similar beliefs on the immoral acts of slavery, they took different routes to bring awareness to the cruelty of slavery.

The Legacies of Frederick Douglass and Nat Turner

The autobiographical novel Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas by Frederick Douglas is a novel depicting the life of the author. Douglas used his knowledge and education to his advantage by using his faith in Southern Christianity to help gain freedom from slavery. Douglas was a slave to the Hugh Auld household; while there, he utilized and engulfed himself with literary empowerment and took great risks to continue gaining more knowledge. He continued to learn to read and write. The imagery, combined with Douglas’ views on religion’s role in the enslavement of black people, paints a story that can be compared to the views of Nat Turner.

The Power of Resistance: Douglas and Turner’s Shared Beliefs

Douglas and Turner also shared the same belief, in my opinion, in the pursuit of authority. The idea that no human should be allowed to own another human being. They were both considered useless as slaves because of their ability to read and write. This was portrayed when Douglass was sent to live with Edward Covey to be “broken” into a slave. This initially worked until Douglass fought back against Covey. After a two-hour fight, Convey never put his hands on Douglas again. Turner, on the other hand, was told his uncommon intelligence deemed him useless as a slave; he still became a slave in his adult years. This was a turning point where he realized his purpose was larger than being a slave. After running away from his master, he returned after 30 days. He remembered all his visions as a child and believed the Holy Spirit visited him and told him to return to his “earthly master.”

Different Paths of Resistance: Douglass and Turner’s Approaches

In contrast to Douglass’s narrative “T’was My Object to Carry Terror and Devastation Wherever We Went,” Nat Turner’s “Confesses,” Virginia, 1831, was a confession Turner made in jail after killing slave owners. Nat Turner led one of the greatest slave revolts in the history of slavery. Turner uses scriptural and biblical knowledge to justify his actions. He, in a sense, played “God”. He believed he was following the orders of the Holy Spirit. Nat Turner was an uncommon child. He was born with birthmarks and had visions of acts that happened before his lifetime. He was never taught how to read like Douglas; it was believed he was born with the ability. When he would cry, they would give him a book, and he would essentially teach himself how to read and write.

I believe Douglas’s intended audience was anyone he could inform why slavery was immorally wrong and inhuman. Turner’s narrative, however, was made for an audience to understand why he led the rebellion and murdered his slave-owners. Douglass’s message was more widespread than Turner’s message. I think Douglass’s message was more important as well because he wanted the reader to think about what it takes for the human spirit to be free rather than just thinking about the legal, historical, and political issues of slavery and freedom. Turner’s narrative was a message that shined light on his holy spirit, giving him the power and the understanding of why the world should not continue with slavery.

References:

1. Douglass, Frederick. (1845). “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave.” Retrieved from Project Gutenberg: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/23
2. Turner, Nat. (1831). “Confessions of Nat Turner.” Retrieved from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: https://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/turner/turner.html
3. Roediger, D. R., & Franklin, V. P. (Eds.). (1998). “Black on White: Black Writers on What It Means to Be White.” Random House.
4. Genovese, E. D. (1979). “From Rebellion to Revolution: Afro-American Slave Revolts in the Making of the Modern World.” LSU Press.
5. Blassingame, J. W. (1972). “The Slave Community: Plantation Life in the Antebellum South.” Oxford University Press.
6. Osofsky, G. (1971). “Puttin’ on Ole Massa: The Slave Narratives as Folklore.” Journal of American Folklore, 84(332), 313-328.

Frederick Douglass and Self-Reliance

They also have a right to be helped, for they have helped themselves. Only who is able to stand alone is qualified to be a citizen. Even though Emerson treated this as a low priority instead of a high priority, he just did not have any respect for the government during that time. Massachusetts, in its heroic days, had no government and was anarchy. He did not believe in moral suasion; he believed in putting things through.

Abandonment of Self-Reliance: Emerson and Anti-Slavery

George Kateb did not take Emerson’s anti-slavery activities seriously but saw them as the abandonment of self-reliance, suspension of individualism in favor of mobilization, military discipline, and eventually conscripted self-sacrifice. Emerson’s philosophy is self-reliant thinking, a willingness to suspend all authorities and fixed intellectual positions and simultaneously entertain multiple and conflicting moral perspectives without choosing among them. Douglass felt that by far, the larger part of the slaves know as little of their ages as horses know of theirs, and it is the wish of most masters within my knowledge to keep their slaves, thus, ignorant. Douglass stated that he did not remember to have ever met a slave. Douglass asked who could tell of his/her birthday.

They seldom come nearer to it than planting-time, harvest-time, cherry time, spring-time, or fall-time. Douglass stated that the master is frequently compelled to sell this class of his slaves out of deference to the feelings his white wife, and, cruel as the deed may strike anyone to be, for a man to sell his children to human flesh-mongers, it is often the dictate of humanity for him to do so, for unless he does this, he must not only whip them himself, but must stand by and see one white son tie up his brother, of but few shades darker complexion than himself, and play the gory lash to his naked back; and if he lisps one word of disapproval, it is set down to his parental partiality and only makes a bad matter worse, both for himself and the slaves whom he would protect and defend.

Self-Trust and Consistency: Emerson’s Paradox

Emerson stated in “Self-Reliance” that men do what is called a good action as some piece of courage or charity, much as they would pay a fine in expiation of daily non-appearance on parade. Their works are done as an apology or extenuation of their living in the world as invalids. The insane pay a high board. It is harder because you will always find those who think they know what your duty is better than you know it. It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion. It is easy in solitude to live after ours, but the great man is he who, in the midst of the crowd, keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude. The other terror that scares us from self-trust is our consistency, a reverence for one past act or word, because the eyes of others have no other data for computing our orbit than our past acts, and we are loth to disappoint them. But why should you keep your head over your shoulder? Why drag about this corpse of your memory, lest you contradict somewhat what you have stated in this or that public place? I suppose no man can violate his nature. All the sallies of his will are rounded in by the law of his being, as the inequalities of Andes and Himmaleh are insignificant in the curve of the sphere.

Beyond Conformity: Douglass’s Struggle for Identity

Emerson stated that ordinarily, everybody in society reminds us of someone else or of some other person. Character and body in society remind you of nothing else; it takes the place of the whole creation. The man reality reminds you of nothing else; it takes the place of the whole creation. The man must be so much that he must make all circumstances indifferent. The man in the street finding no worth in himself, which corresponds to the force that built a tower or sculptured a marble god, feels poor when he looks at these. To him, a palace, a statue, or a costly book has an alien and forbidding air, much like a gay equipage, and seems to say like that, “Who are you, Sir?”

This one fact the world hates is that the soul becomes one that forever degrades the past, turns all riches to poverty, all reputation to shame confounds the saint with the rogue, and shoves Jesus and Judas equally aside. Man does not stand in awe of man, nor is his genius admonished to stay at home, to put itself in communication with the internal ocean, but it goes aboard to beg a cup of water from the urns of other men. We must go alone. I like the silent church before the service begins better than any preaching.  Douglass stated that he often found himself regretting his existence and wishing that he was dead, but for the hope of being free, I have no doubt that he should have killed himself or done something for which he should have been killed.

References:

1. Emerson, R. W. (1995). Selected Essays, Lectures, and Poems. Bantam Classics.
2. Kateb, G. (2002). Emerson and Self-Reliance. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
3. Perkins, G. (2009). The American Tradition in Literature, Volume 1: Colonial Period Through Whitman. McGraw-Hill Education.

Frederick Douglass: A Voice Against Hegemony

Frederick Douglass was an influential man and an abolitionist in the nineteenth century. He told his audience his story and the difficulty of being an enslaved man during the eighteen hundreds. In his book My Bondage and My Freedom, he explains to his audience what slavery was like firsthand by reliving the unforgettable moments in his life. His recounting of his experience as a slave and his reflections on his role as a black former slave in America help illustrate the meaning of Gramsci’s critique of hegemony and DuBois ideology of double consciousness.

Unveiling Hegemony through Douglass’ Experiences’

Hegemony is the political or economic predominance or control of one state over others. In the nineteenth century, hegemony came to describe the social or cultural predominance of one group over other groups. Antonio Gramsci’s idea of hegemony was that the ruling class could manipulate the value system and mores of society so that their views become the views of the world. In other words, hegemony is the social, cultural, ideological, or economic influence exerted by a dominant group. In order for hegemony to function, consent must be given; however, if hegemony fails, coercion is in play. Slavery plays by the rules of hegemony, and for Douglass, in My Bondage and My Freedom, both outcomes of hegemony, consent, and coercion take place.

Frederick Douglass was born into slavery in Maryland as Frederick Bailey approximately in 1818. Douglass served as a slave on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and in Baltimore throughout his youth. In Baltimore, especially, Douglass enjoyed relatively more freedom than slaves usually did in the South. At the age of eight, he started to educate himself with the help of his master’s wife, Mrs. Auld. Mrs. Auld’s instructions come to a conclusion as soon as Hugh Auld finds his wife teaching Douglass the alphabet. “Master Hugh was amazed at the simplicity of his spouse, and, probably for the first time, he unfolded to her the true philosophy of slavery and the peculiar rules necessary to be observed by masters and mistresses in the management of their human chattels” (Douglass, p. 113).

Mr. Auld forbids her instructions and tells her, “that the thing itself was unlawful; that it was also unsafe, and could only lead to mischief” (Douglass, p. 113) Mr. Auld continues speaking and soon unveils the secret to freedom, “he should know nothing but the will of his master, and learn to obey it.’ ‘if you teach that nigger—speaking of myself—how to read the bible, there will be no keeping him;’ ‘it would forever unfit him for the duties of a slave.”

Douglass’s narrative at this point shows how slaveholders maintained slavery. By keeping their enslaved men and women ignorant, white slaveholders did not have to worry about their rebellion. Around the time Douglass began writing, people believed slavery was completely normal and thought nothing wrong with it. They believed that blacks did not have the capability to participate in society and thus should be kept under the control of the whites. Slaveholders did not keep track of any slave’s basic information about themselves, such as their birth certificates or parental documentation.

This enforced ignorance robs children of their natural sense of individual identity. As slave children grow older, slave owners prevent them from learning how to read and write, as literacy would give them a sense of self-sufficiency and capability. Slaveholders understood the importance of literacy and how it would lead slaves to question their rights and the rights of whites to keep slaves. However, by keeping slaves illiterate, slaveholders could quiet slaves and keep the rest of America in the dark. If slaves could never learn to write, their life experiences as a slave would never be known.

Empowerment through Knowledge: Frederick Douglass’ Journey to Freedom

Just as slaveholders enslave both men and women by denying them the possession of both knowledge and education, slaves become free once they obtain knowledge and education. Douglass learns the importance of knowledge and how it can be the path to freedom from Hugh Auld and his wife after Mr. Auld forbids his wife from teaching Douglass to read and write. Without Auld noticing, he confesses to Douglass indirectly the secret as to how slaveholders manage to keep slavery in order and how slaves can free themselves. Douglass understands that his education is the primary means by which he can become a freedman and use his education as a tool to bring freedom to all slaves.

Abolitionist Advocate: Frederick Douglass’ Transformation and Activism

In 1838, Douglass fled to the North and towards the state of New York where he soon became a member of the antislavery movement or the abolitionist movement. While in New York, Douglass encounters Anna Muray, a free black woman from Baltimore, and marries her. Both felt uneasy about Douglass being a fugitive and settled further to the North in New Bedford, Massachusetts, where Douglass changed his last name from Bailey to Douglass. For three years, Douglass worked as a laborer and continued his self-education. In the early 1840s, the abolitionist movement was gaining power. In Massachusetts, Douglass began to read the Liberator, the abolitionist newspaper written by William Lloyd Garrison. In 1841, Douglass attended an abolitionist meeting in Nantucket, Massachusetts, where he met Garrison and was encouraged to tell the crowd about his experiences as a slave. Douglass’s spoken account was so well‑received that Garrison offered to employ him as an abolitionist speaker for the American Antislavery Society.

Between the years of 1841 and 1845, Douglass traveled with Garrison throughout the Northern freed states, speaking basically every single day on the cruelty and corruption of slavery. Douglass was oftentimes charged with lying and not telling a true story. Many did not believe that such an articulate and insightful person had escaped from slavery. “They said I did not talk like a slave, look like a slave, nor act like a slave, and that they believed I had never been south of Mason and Dixon’s line” (Douglass, p. 282). Douglass’s use of real names and places demonstrated the truth to those who questioned the honesty of his experience as a former slave. However, the use of real names forced Douglass to flee from the United States as his former slave owner was legally entitled to track him down and bring him back to his duties. Douglass spent the next few years traveling Europe, where he was kindly accepted. Douglass was not able to return to the United States until two of his English friends purchased his freedom.

As a young man, Douglass had no idea that knowledge was the key to rendering slaves free. Slaveholders kept them away from knowledge because they understood it was the only way slaves could articulate the injustice of slavery to all of America and help prove that they had rights as men. Freedom was not provided immediately, as Hugh Auld had predicted; suffering was the result of this awakened consciousness. Every slave would be bound to feel hate towards their masters but would not be able to become free until they met coercion.

Slaveholders’ Corruption and Its Societal Impact

Slavery was not only harmful to slaves themselves but to slaveholders as well. The idea of white hegemony was a corrupt and irresponsible power that slaveholders enjoyed and could only harm their own moral health. With this claim, Douglass is inhumane and unnatural for everyone involved. Throughout his book, he recounts how many slaveholders were tempted to adultery and rape, becoming fathers to their enslaved children. The child born to a slave mother shall be enslaved no matter the condition of the father. Slaveholders simply used pregnancy to multiply their workforce.

Slaveholders simply wanted to expand their productive labor minus the idea of having to compensate via paid wages. Thomas Auld, on the other hand, slaveholders used their religious sense to blind themselves from the sins they committed. Douglass’s main illustration of the corruption of slave owners is Sophia Auld. The irresponsible power of slaveholding transforms Sophia from an idealistic woman to a demon. “Slavery can change a saint into a sinner and an angel into a demon” (Douglass, p. 111). By showing the detrimental effects of slaveholding on Sophia Auld, Douglass implies that slavery should be outlawed for the greater good of all society.

DuBois ideology of double consciousness, or the perception one has of oneself and the perception one has of others, plays a huge role in the development and understanding of My Bondage and My Freedom. According to DuBois,

the Negro is a sort of seventh son, born with a veil and gifted with second sight in this American world — a world which yields him no true self-consciousness but only lets him see himself through the revelation of the other world. It is a peculiar sensation, this double consciousness, this sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity. One ever feels his two-ness — an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body.

In this quoted passage, there are two types of “double consciousness”: the first, which arises from the sense of “always looking at oneself through the eyes of others,” seems astonished appropriate when used as a matrix for understanding Douglass’s career from 1847 onward; however, it is the second formulation, which describes the African-American as “two souls… warring ideals in one dark body,” goes to describe how the idea of slavery was formed. To describe this more, before African Americans were turned to slavery, slave owners had to erase their culture and their identity and reconstruct them to suit slavery. This new identity depended on the culture of an American or white man.

In conclusion, Gramsci’s critique of hegemony and DuBois ideology of double consciousness is portrayed through Douglass’s experience as a slave and his reflections on his role as a black former slave. Hugh Auld reinforces the idea that the ignorance of slaves and their lack of education is the only form in which slavery is still intact. If a slave were to become educated and learn to both read and write, the secrets of slavery and the mistreatment of slave owners would turn the rest of America against them. The Declaration of Independence would have no meaning and make America a hypocrite. However, Douglass, in secrecy, learns to read and write by being self-educated and runs away to the North. He gained his freedom with the help of English friends and became a national leader of the abolitionist movement. Douglass’s double consciousness and his experience as an enslaved man and a freedman helped him change America.

References:

1. Douglass, Frederick. “My Bondage and My Freedom.”
2. DuBois, W.E.B. “The Souls of Black Folk.”

Throughout American history, the existence of blacks in history is very important. Whether it was the abolitionist movement or the Civil War, black people have added a heavy pen to American history. In these movements there are two blacks who have made great contributions to the status of blacks. They are Martin Luther King and Frederick Douglas.

Freedom is never obtained by gifts, but by the sacrifice and suffering of some people. However, the power of love can avoid sacrifice.In a lecture at Berkeley University in 1957 that non-violent confrontation is the most effective way to fight evil. (Martin , P1133) He has always been a representative figure who opposes the use of violence against evil. He believes that using the power of the soul to resist material violence and how to get the friendship and understanding of the other party is the best way to solve the problem (Martin , P1134). Most people think that nonviolence is weak, ineffective and impossible to succeed. The best way to fight against violence is to use stronger violence, but King uses his own methods to win the respect of the enemy. In the 17th century, discrimination against blacks by whites was taken for granted. This attitude lasted for a hundred years, so it is difficult to change the attitude of whites towards blacks. Whether it is prohibited by law or not cannot change people’s psychology and ideas. Violence can’t change people’s psychological views, so Kim uses the power of love to make people gradually understand and accept blacks. He not only made the world’s attention and sympathy for the black movement, but also touched the hearts of white people from all walks of life. The discriminated status of blacks also disappeared because of his efforts.

In contrast, Frederick was more radical in the abolitionist movement. Compared to Kim’s way of using love to influence the enemy, Frederick chose his own way to warn blacks and criticize whites. As a successful speaker, Frederick exposed the crimes of American slavery in his speech. In his eyes, white people are pacifists who love revolution. They prefer revolution to peace (Frederick, P507). Frederick has been a slave since he was born. He knows the suffering of being a slave, so he can feel the horror of slavery firsthand. In an era when black people were generally educated and restricted, Frederick could clearly express his thoughts and inspire more people to follow him towards the same goal. Frederick pays attention to the equality of human rights. The United States was born in the war for freedom, so why should black people wait patiently for others to grant freedom? This positive attitude allowed the northern government to promote the cause of black liberation more quickly.

Whether it is King or Frederick, what they did and what they called for was to liberate the status and rights of the blacks. Some people may not accept their approach, but they are still a great communicator and active and constructive promoter.

In 1759 Olaudah Equiano published his self-narrative The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equaino, Or Gustavus Vassa, The African. Nearly 100 years later in 1845 Frederick Douglass published his self narrative The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. Both self-written memoirs were revolutionary first hand accounts of their experiences with slavery which went influenced governing bodies of the time and impacted generations to come. Though the two memoirs are both self-written slave narratives they tell varying accounts of their personal experiences as slaves. The different stories they tell highlights the complexities of slavery and how all those enslaved held varying definitions of what it meant to be a slave.

Olaudah Equiano was born in 1745 in the village of Essaka, near modern day eastern Nigeria (Onyeoziri). He describes his childhood with strong endearment, he speaks of his village as a community, explaining the celebrations, daily routines, and governing body with a strong positive tone. He explains that they never went without, “As we live in a country where nature is prodigal of her favours, our wants are few and easily supplied” (Equiano 14). They lived a life of few luxuries, but never went without the essentials. Equiano explains the lack of diversity in his community stating “I had never heard of a white men or Europeans, nor of the sea”(Equiano 12), and that his father was “one of those elders or chiefs” (Equiano 12) highlighting the life of privilege he held before he was kidnapped from him home country and put into slavery.

Frederick Douglass was born into slavery. He was born in Talbot county, Maryland, with no strong idea on what year he was born, but gives his best estimate to be about 1818. He describes his parentage as such “My mother and I were separated when I was but an infant…I never saw my mother, to know her as such, more than four or five times in my life” (Douglass 30). Douglass states that his father was a white man, but “by law established, that the children of slave women shall in all cases follow the condition of their mothers” (Douglass 31). Douglass describes the remainder of his childhood, until he was old enough to work in the fields, as miserable. He was always cold and hungry, never being given enough food or water, and constantly surrounded by the abuse of the older slaves around him, showing him what his future would look like when he was old enough to move to the fields.

The differences between Frederick Douglass’s and Olaudah Equiano’s childhoods are striking. Frederick Douglass had been born into slavery, he was separated from his parents very early on, and put to work from the second he could hold his own. His childhood was clouded by the abuse of his elders by their masters, foreshadowing what his fate would be when he became old enough to do hard labor. Equiano was born with the promise of one day being a leader of his community. He was surrounded by the rich culture of his people “We are almost a nation of dancers, musicians, and poets”(Equiano 12). He knew of slavery, but the slavery in his country was very different than that which Douglass was to experience in North America. Douglass knew what was to come of his future from the second he was born, Equiano lost his future when he was kidnapped and put into the slave trade.

There are many differences between Douglass and Equiano in terms of experience, outlook on life, and path to freedom, but one similarity they share is their faith in religion. Equiano had been aware of religion since a young age, but began to really have faith after his first experience at a church “After this I went to church; and having never been at such a place before, I was again amazed at seeing and hearing this service” (Equiano 27). Equiano came to the conclusion “After this I was resolved to win Heaven if possible; and if I perished I thought it should be at the feet of Jesus, in praying to him for salvation” (Equiano 73), deciding his life goal was to end in salvation at the feet of Jesus Christ. Only once did Equiano state that he saw the dark side of religion “This Christian master immediately pinned the wretch down to the ground at each wrist and ankle, and then took some sticks of sealing wax, and lighted them, and dropped it all over his back” (Equiano 43) here he acknowledges the downfalls of some religious followers, but never once did his faith waver.

Douglass had a similar personal relationship with religion, but saw a much stronger dark side to faith as well. “I have said my master found religious sanction for his cruelty”(Douglass 93). Douglass saw religious masters as using their religion to be more abusive towards slaves, using verses and scriptures to support their cruelty towards their slaves. “The religion of the south is a mere covering for the most horrid crimes…For of all slaveholders with whom I have ever met, religious slaveholders are the worst” (Douglass 118). Douglass began to question his religion due to the cruel treatment of his brothers and sisters around him “I am almost ready to ask ;Does a righteous God govern the universe?’”(Douglass 122). Donald B. Gibson, a Professor of English at Rutgers University, cites “ Douglass’s response to the question raised by theodicy, the recognition of the problem raised by the co-existence of a just God and evil, had a profound effect on Douglass’s thinking.” (Gibson 591). One moment struck Douglass deeply, he was attempting to teach a group of slaves about religion when the group was attacked by white men “Rushed upon us with sticks and stone, and broke up our virtuous little Sabbath school, at St. Michael’s – all calling themselves Christians!” (Douglass 122). Though Douglass never abandoned his religion, he had plenty of reason to question his God throughout his life, but his faith maintained his hope.

The most extreme difference between the life of the two men is their path to freedom. For Equiano the means to freedom was saving enough money to buy his way. “The captain then said he knew I got the money very honestly and with much industry, and that I was particularly careful” (Equiano 55).In order to obtain enough money to buy his freedom Equiano had been buying goods from countries they travelled to with his allowances and selling them for a greater cost at their next stop on their voyage. His master had previous promised that if he could make the money, Equiano would be allowed to buy his freedom “My master then said, he would not be worse than his promise; and, taking the money, told me to go to the secretary at the register office and get my manumission drawn up” (Equiano 55). Equiano went to the secretary and had his manumission written as his master had asked, and by the end of the day he was a free man. After his freedom he remained working for his old master, “and from that day I was entered on board as an able-bodied sailor, at thirty-six shillings per month” (Equiano 56) he was making the same as his white coworkers and enjoyed all the privileges of being a freeman. Equiano remained with his former master until the day he died “every man on board loved this man, and regretted his death; but I was exceedingly affected at it” (Equiano 58). After his death he realized how much this man meant to him, thanked him in death endlessly, and moved on with his life as a free man.

Douglass disclaims in the beginning of his last chapter that he will not disclose the exact means by which he escaped slavery. He gives his first reason as stating the minute details would be impossible, and it would put those that assisted him along his journey in a dangerous position. Douglass then states his second and main reason “Secondly, such a statement would most undoubtedly induce greater vigilance on the part of slaveholders than has existed heretofore among them; which would, of course, be the means of guarding a door whereby some dear brother bondman might escape his galling chains” (Douglass 143). Douglass didn’t want to make it any more difficult for his fellows in slavery to escape than it already was by publishing his story in detail. Three years after his original declaration to escape slavery, Douglass escaped “on the third day of September, 1838, I left my chains, and succeeded in reaching New York” (Douglass 151). At first it was very difficult for Douglass “I saw in every white man an enemy, and in almost ever colored man cause for distrust” (Douglass 152). He was incredibly lonely and he couldn’t trust anyone for every stranger could be a slavecatcher trying to send him back to his master. Due to the help of a man named Mr. Ruggles, Frederick Douglass was finally able to obtain full freedom in New Bedford, where he began his activism efforts.

Once obtaining freedom and settling down each man turned their efforts towards abolition. In England, Equiano began writing his memoir to be a first hand account of what slaves truly went through. His memoir is considered to be the first self written slave narrative and had a huge impact on the legislature, one of the last lines in his book is directly for the lawmaker “As the inhuman traffic of slavery is to be taken into consideration of the British legislature” (Equiano 94). Equiano did not live to see the abolition of slavery in England but his legacy lived on as the freeman who wrote the memoir that inspired millions. Douglass wrote his memoir and began touring to share his experience in hopes to aid the abolition movement. Once on a book signing tour Douglass was advised not to sound too educated and civilized because his advisors believed it would cause listeners to find doubt in his story (Williams). Douglass was instrumental in abolition in the United States, which occurred in 1833. Douglass continued to fight for Black rights until his death in 1895. These two men left legacies with their memoirs, ones that were powerful enough to still be written about, thought about, and acknowledged nearly 200 years later.

Works Cited

1. Onyeoziri, Friday. “Olaudah Equiano: Facts about His People and Place of Birth.” Human Architecture: Journal of the Sociology of Self Knowledge, vol. 6, no. 4, 2008.
2. Douglass, Frederick. The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. Arcturus Holdings Limited, 2018.
3. Equiano, Olaudah. The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa the African Written by Himself . The Project Gutenburg, 2005, Project Gutenburg, www.gutenberg.org/files/15399/15399-h/15399-h.htm.
4. Gibson, Donald B. “Christianity and Individualism: (Re-)Creation and Reality in Frederick Douglass’s Representation of Self.” African American Review, vol. 26, no. 4, 1992, p. 591., doi:10.2307/3041873.
5. Williams, Bayo. “Of Human Bondage and Literary Triumphs: Hannah Crafts and the Morphology of the Slave Narrative.” Research in African Literatures, vol. 34, no. 1, 2003, pp. 137–150., doi:10.1353/ral.2003.0018.
6. Potkay, Adam. “Olaudah Equiano and the Art of Spiritual Autobiography.” Eighteenth-Century Studies, vol. 27, no. 4, 1994, p. 677., doi:10.2307/2739447.

In modern societies, an education is seen as the key to a successful life. It’s a well known fact that if you go to college you’re more likely to get a higher paying job or a raise and if you never get a college degree then most job opportunities will be locked for you. This is nothing new as proven in the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Fredrick Douglass. Frederick Douglass, a born slave, always wanted to know what it was like to experience freedom. He knew the difference between the free and enslaved was the color of their skin, however, he believed it went deeper than that. Fredrick Douglass, being enslaved for all of his early life shows the reader through his story that knowledge is not only power but also the key to freedom.

Fredrick Douglass’s thirst for knowledge is what separates him from other slaves. Douglass makes it quite apparent that from a very young age he has always pondered even the simplest of questions withheld from him such as his birthdate or who his father was. He did not understand why a white kid had this right, yet he did not. After his slave owner in Baltimore Mrs.Auld teaches him about reading her husband Mr. Auld states “A nigger should know nothing but to obey his master-to do as he is told to do. Learning would spoil the best nigger in the world.” (26) Douglass learns what holds him back. His master unknowingly reveals that ignorance was his most powerful tool, and Frederick intended on removing it.

After learning to read and write from poor children and pieces of a boat in Baltimore Frederick Douglass’s feelings of accomplishment did not last long as he succumbed to anger. He had come to the realization that the real barrier to his freedom was knowledge. Frederick 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 sucessful robbers….and in a strange land reduced us to slavery.” (30) Reading had allowed him to see the cause for his enslavement which in turn caused him to see why he must become free. It had made him fear his captors less and encouraged him to find freedom.

While most slaves fear the opportunity to be free, Douglass learned to embrace any opportunity he got to escape. He was done with being enslaved and in his own words “You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man.” (41) Fredrick later uses his new found courage to fight his current master Mr.Covey. This causes Covey to rid Douglass and he soon found himself back in Baltimore as Covey did not want the other slaves to know that he resisted. Douglass uses his new circumstances as his opportunity to find freedom.

Overall, Frederick Douglass’s story reminds the reader of the overwhelming power that knowledge can bring. Knowledge should not be seen as simply a tool to land you a job in today’s economy. In the past it was what seperated the free from the enslaved and today it is what separates those who can see and those who cannot. Without knowledge we can do nothing but what we are told.

When thinking of the causes and matters of slavery, evangelization, tyrannical, and dominance, should be taken into consideration. Spanish Colonist, Bartolomé De Las Casas, witnessed evangelization, tyrannical, and dominance first-hand when he traveled alongside the Europeans to many locations, such as the Land of the Indians, for the purpose of evangelization. After De Las Casas realized that the Europeans were not exercising a peaceful evangelization but tyrannical instead, he changed his views on the trade slave and became an advocate for antislavery against the Indians. In addition to De Las Casas experience, De Crevecoeur looking to escape the evil practices of British’s societies, moved to New York and later visited Charles-Town, where he discovered the evil establishment of slavery and stated the Europeans greed as the reason. Unlike De Las Casas and De Crevecoeur, who only witnessed slavery take place from an unconfined standpoint, African American authors Sojourner Truth and Frederick Douglass, had endured first-hand the tyrannical acts of slavery from the hands of Europeans slave owners. Both Sojourner Truth and Frederick Douglass debated claims made by the Europeans that Africans were inferior and unequal. Sojourner debated these claims in her speech “Ain’t I A women” from a woman’s point of view saying women were equal to men and Frederick debated the claims made by the Europeans that Africans Americans were not equal or of humanity. Even though De Las Casas, De Crevecoeur, Sojourner Truth, and Frederick Douglass, had individually experienced the evil, unrighteous, and unjust acts of slavery from the hands of Europeans, they all seek out for the abolishment of slavery by writing, speaking and becoming advocates against it.

Spanish Colonist De Las Casas journey begun as a soldier traveling alongside the Europeans to different lands, one being the Land of the Indians, in attempt to spread a peaceful evangelizations, according to the article, A Comparison of the Voices of the Spanish Bartolomé de Las Casas and the Portuguese Fernando Oliveira on Just War and Slavery”, “Las Casas spent a lifetime advocating for peaceful and persuasive evangelization that wins the mind with reasons, and the will with gentleness, with invitation” (Thomas p.12). Summitting to Laws and living in the age of acceptance, he at first accepted the transatlantic slave trade and religious expansions but later in his journey realized that the Europeans (Christians) was not excising a peaceful evangelization or evangelization at all, but instead tyrannical to gain dominance over the Indians and their land. In his document, “From An Account, Much Abbreviated, of the Destruction of the Indies”, he described the evil and unjust acts of the Europeans, stating, “They would enter into the villages and spare not children, or old people, or pregnant women …….but would open the women’s belly and hack the babe to pieces” (Casas p.68). Seeing that the Indians had been nothing more than welcoming to the Europeans (before they started invading and terrorizing their land for gold and power), he change his views and seen that it was not the Indians performing any unrighteousness, but the Christians and became an advocated by denouncing the unjust acts of slavery against Indians and religious expansions. Putting in place Property laws and the encomienda system to protect the Indians from slavery, Des Las Casa became known as the “Protector of all the Indians” (Thomas p. 14). In addition to De Las Casas experiences, De Crevecoeur also witnessed the Europeans greed though the use of slavery.

De Crevecoeur wanting to develop a better life for him and his family, escaped British’s evil societies and moved to America, saying, “Must I then bid, farewell to Britain, to that renowned country…. She herself first inspired the most unhappy citizens” (SAAR p.12). Later visiting Charles- Town, he discovered he had moved to a more corrupted country, after witnessing unjust acts and evil deeds of slavery committed by the Europeans towards African Americans. Crevecoeur knew the Europeans greed for riches and power was the reason stating, “behold a people enjoying all that life affords most bewitching and pleasurable, without labor, With gold, dug from Peru-fatigue, hardly subjected to the trouble of wishing” (De Crevecoeur p.647). In his Letter IX he described the scenes of slavery and the cruel acts of the Europeans towards the slaves, as they went insensible of their actions and pain they was causing the slaves, stating, “their ears by habit are become deaf, their hearts are hardened; they neither see, hear, nor feel for the woes of their poor slaves” (De Crevecoeur p.647). De Crevecoeur strongly called for emancipation after witnessing the evil, unrighteous and unjust acts of the European slave owners. Abolitionists and Feminist, Sojourner Truth and Frederick Douglass, was African Americans who endured and escaped the evil, unrighteous, and unjust acts of slavery from the hands of European slave owners.

Both Sojourner Truth and Frederick Douglass focused on the essences of anti-slavery and women’s rights but concentrated more on their individual debates. Sojourner debated focused more on the essences for black and white women’s rights and Douglass debated focused more on the essences on Europeans false claims. Sojourner Truth’s gave speech “Ain’t I a Women” debated the claims women was not equal to men by saying, “I have as much muscle as a man” (Truth p.787). With saying this, Sojourner debated the claims that regarded women as weak and dependable on men, when she voiced her experience as a black woman who endured the unjust acts of slavery and countered the times, she had done equal or further more work than a man. Revealing, she had been called by God, she questioned Earthly men actions by comparing them to Jesus’s actions, saying, “When Lazarus died, Mary and Martha came to him with faith and love and besought him to raise their brother. And Jesus wept- and Lazarus came forth” (Truth p.787). By giving this example from the Bible, Truth argued if women can cry out to Jesus and he answers, why can’t Earthly men do the same? Therefore, Jesus saw no difference between in man or woman. Sojourner Truth acknowledged the efforts of men that helped fight for the rights of women, one of these men was abolitionist Frederick Douglass. Although Frederick Douglass was a feminist, his debates however focused more on the false claims of the Europeans. The European slave owners claimed that African Americans was not of humanity. Douglass stated in his speech “What to the slave Is The Fourth of July?”, “Must I undertake to prove that the slave is a man?” (Douglass p.1237). Douglass questioned how slaves could be punished for crimes, when slave owners claimed they were not human and debated if slaves considered unhuman, can be punished for crimes unknowingly then “the slave is a moral, intellectual, and responsible being” (F. Douglass p.1238). Douglass summed up the denial of the Europeans by saying, “the whole argument in defense of slavery, becomes utterly worthless the moment the African is proved to be equally a man with Anglo-Saxon” (F. Douglass p.1293). He established the Europeans slaver owner’s denial and refusal to believe that African Americans was equal, as their excuse and argument for it to continue. He continued debating false claims of the Europeans until the truth was profiled, stating in the eBook, “The Mind of Frederick Douglass”, “all the space between man’s mind and God’s mind is crowded with truth that awaits to be discovered and organized into law, for the government and happiness of the of mankind” (Waldo E p.170). Frederick Douglass put the denial of the Europeans to rest, when his debate helped for the emancipation of slavery.

Although Des Las Casas, De Crevecoeur, Sojourner Truth, and Frederick Douglass had individually experienced the evil, unrighteous, and unjust acts of slavery form the hands of Europeans, they all achieved in having slavery abolished. When De Las Casas came to realize the Europeans (Christians) motives was to gain dominance over the Indians and their land, he passionately fought for their rights and successfully put in place laws for their rights. After De Crevecoeur moved to America and witnessed the Europeans evil slavery in Charles-Town he had called for emancipations. Sojourner Truth being an African woman spoke for equality for black and white amongst men who thought differently became one of the greatest influencers for women’s rights. Frederick Douglass debated the argument of the Europeans slave owners who denied and refused to believe that African Americans were equal and of humanity, but ended the debate when stating the argument of slavery itself is worthless when African Americans are proven as equal with the Anglo-Saxon.

Cites

1. Casas, Des Las. From the Account, Much Abbreviated, of the Destruction of the Indies. Ed. Juile Reidhead. Ninth. Vol. A. New York: W. W. Norton & Comany, Inc, 2017. 23 April 2019.
2. Douglass, Frederick. ‘What to the Slave Is The Fourth of July?’. Ninth. Vol. B. Rochester: The Norton Anthology American Literature, 1856. 19 April 2019.
3. Douglass, Frederick. ‘From The Claims of the Negro, Ethologically Considered.’ Ninth. Vol. B. The Norton Anthology American Literature, 1820-1865. 1291-1293. 20 April 2019.
4. Martin, Waldo E. The Mind of Frederick Douglass. The University of North Carolina Press, 1984. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=104001&site=eds-live
5. Orique, David Thomas. “A Comparison of the Voices of the Spanish Bartolomé De Las Casas and the Portuguese Fernando Oliveira on Just War and Slavery.” E-Journal of Portuguese History, vol. 12, no. 1, June 2014, pp. 87–118. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=30h&AN=96908928&site=eds-live.
6. Saar, Doreen Alvarez. Early American Literature, vol. 22, no. 2, Sept. 1987, p. 192. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f6h&AN=5412113&site=eds-live.
7. Truth, Sojourner. ‘Speech to the Women’s Right Convention in Akron, Ohio, 1851. Ed. Julia Reidhead. Ninth. Vol. B. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2017. 23 April 2019.

Frederick Douglass was previously a slave who broke free from the chains of his masters before becoming a well known advocate against slavery. Conceived and taken from a slave mother when only a newborn child, against his will received much harsh treatments, for example, experiencing hunger, and abuse. Frederick was one of the few slaves that received any education although to a limited degree by the wife of a slave owner. In the age of twenty, Frederick got away from his slave life and went to the north where he spread his abolitionist views about slavery through lectures and newspapers. On the fourth of July 1872, he got one of solicitations to an Anti-Slavery meeting amid, a festival of Fourth of July in Rochester. He was depended on to talk about how important the Fourth of July was to the African Americans. Although, he could have applauded the festivals like other diverse speakers did, the abolitionist rather uncovered the bad faith of the Americans with respect to their festivals of majority rule government, balance, and opportunity. In his speech about the Fourth of July, Douglass utilizes rhetorical themes to show his theme to the group of onlookers that were listening. All to pass on his incredible feelings regarding the matter, and the final product is an all around successfully contended point.

Frederick Douglass’ didn’t have to express his feelings about the Fourth of July, but did anyway. Frederick Douglass started, ‘The blessings in which you, this day, rejoice, are not enjoyed in common” (The Meaning of July Fourth to a Negro, Frederick Douglass). It set the tone for whatever remains of the portion, observing that The Fourth of July, while being an exceptional event to to white men, is definitely not a cheerful event for all men. Douglass made it extraordinarily sure that in light of the way that the African Americans were enslaved, they were not seen as subjects of the United States and did not feel as vigorously about the Fourth of July. Douglass productively utilizes the expressions ‘you’ and ‘me,” ‘us’ and ‘them,” to push the way that the Fourth of July is of a hypocritical, and for his kin it is multi-day of grieving, while for whatever remains of them, it is multi day of visually impaired satisfaction. In the content, such words are emphasized, implying that while he gave the speech, he tried to put accentuation on these words in a way that would be equivalent to crushing the weight purposes of his gathering of onlookers.

Douglass perceived how a slave sees the Fourth of July as he was a slave himself in the past. He said that it is seen as “What point in the anti-slavery creed would you have me argue? On what branch of the subject do the people of this country need light? Must I undertake to prove that the slave is a man?” Douglass, a past slave, knew the hardships that the slaves went up against, and was offended that the slave owners could applaud their business which was considered to him as ‘slaveholders themselves acknowledge it in the enactment of laws for their government.” Douglass’ speech to all of the slaves on the Fourth of July served to demonstrate the slaves that there is nothing for them to celebrate. The slaves were not free and the autonomy that whatever is left of the nation celebrated did not have any significant bearing to them.

Douglass addresses the immoral subjugation of the slaves is and how the Declaration of Independence is inconsistent. Which means it says a certain something and everyone is doing the direct opposite and not holding to these words. The Declaration of Independence expresses that all men are made equivalent, and what’s more have certain unalienable rights and that it fuses life, opportunity, and the journey for happiness. However, and still that isn’t having any significant bearing to everybody, for example, the slaves. Alone with him raising realities about the rights that slaves must have. It feels as though there is somewhat snide and as he is making explanatory inquiries alluding to the Declaration of Independence and addressing those that are keen on observing his point, that all men paying little mind to race ought to be qualified for freedom. Douglass proceeds onward to discuss the wrongs submitted by America, and how they have heaped out of this world to the final turning point. He expresses that any simply man who isn’t bias will see that his words are of truth. He discusses the Constitution, he talks about the Bible, and he discusses God.

A battle for American democracy for the slaves just as also as chance and correspondence, which helps prop the point up. His tone is forceful yet straightforward in his speech. Douglas scrutinizes the American belief system as being conflicting and agrees with activists who trust that the establishing founding fathers truly meant to kill subjection and that the Constitution is a reflecting of this. He states, “Must I argue the wrongfulness of slavery? Is that a question for republicans? Is it to be settled by the rules of logic and argumentation?”. He, in fact presents on each unique part of why African Americans have indistinguishable constitutional rights to opportunity like other people.

Douglass closes the astonishing speech with the explanation that he has been attempting to demonstrate up and down: The Fourth of July is a disturbing holiday to him, and his kin of the progressing brutality that America endeavors to put a cloak over with this joke. While the visually impaired celebrate, the abused are driven further into trouble. His speech is a calling, a calling for change. Change is all that America needs to seek after, Douglass contends, for the obscenities of the past cannot be fixed, and the awfulness of the present must not go on. He requires a stop to the harm, and for the introduction of the culprit: America.

MLA Citation

1. Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Frederick Douglass.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 22 Feb. 2019, www.britannica.com/biography/Frederick-Douglass.
2. “Frederick Douglass.” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, www.nps.gov/frdo/learn/historyculture/frederickdouglass.htm.
3. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/10/15/the-prophetic-pragmatism-of-frederick-douglass

Frederick Douglass, an honorary abolitionist who attempted to put an end towards slavery and the author of his memoir The Narrative of Frederick Douglass, describes his emotions after escaping slavery and also his arrival in New York. In his written narrative, he not only addresses how slavery was reducing the mentality of slaves within slavery but even after being freed from it. He convinces to explain further on how it continues to affect former slaves’ lives despite being freed from slavery. While doing so, he strives to convey with his audience by applying similes and syntax throughout his writing.

When Frederick Douglass recalls back the time when he escaped slavery and arrived in New York, he began to express within his writing about how he felt after he finally becomes a free man through the use of figurative language specifically, similes. Douglass mentions that when he became free, it was the best highlight of his life that he ever experienced. In Paragraph 2, he describes what it felt to no longer still be a miserable slave when he said, ‘I felt as one may imagine the unarmed mariner to feel when he is rescued by a friendly man-of-war from the pursuit of a pirate.’ (Line 14-16). This following quote applies the usage of similes because Douglass resembles as an unarmed mariner being rescued from the hunt of a pirate. He uses this particular figure of speech because he’s striving to make his descriptions clear and emphatic. After Douglass arrived in New York, he wrote a letter to his friend to describe his inner thoughts and emotions of entering in a free state as a free man. “I said I felt like the one who had escaped a den of hungry lions.” (Line 17-18) In this quote, Douglass uses similes to portray how he felt after escaping. Since similes are known to create some connection with the readers in the writing, he’s attempting to connect with those who specifically used to associate themselves with slavery that felt a similar way when they transitioned into becoming a free man.

However, that previous state of mind was overwhelmed through Douglass’s insecurities and how his isolation affected his experiences in the real world after he arrived in New York, a free state in the U.S. With his past experiences with slavery, it began to haunt him. Therefore, from the perspective of a former slave, Douglass stated, ‘I saw in every white man an enemy, and in almost every colored man cause for distrust.’ (Line 35-36) This quote reveals how Douglass felt around people of a different color, especially toward whites. It presents a similarity between slave owners and white people in general. Since slaves had always feared and despised their slave owners, because they’re of the same color, it clarifies why Frederick Douglass only saw his worst enemies. It was a painful situation for him to share with because, in every white man, he only saw an enemy. In other words, a slave owner. All in all, the following quotes represent similes because not only he’s attempting to connect with his audience about the recounts of his emotions on escaping slavery, but he strives to deliver his descriptions clear and especially emphatic. By doing so, he utilizes the usage of similes throughout his writing to convey his states of mind.

After Frederick Douglass uses a set of similes in his writing, we can also recognize the use of syntax. Since syntax determines how the tone and atmosphere will be displayed to form a sentence, Frederick Douglass uses syntaxes to explain how the effects of slavery dehumanize slaves even after escaping. With Douglass’s past experiences with slavery in the South, it began to disturb and traumatize him after he makes his first arrival in New York. In Paragraph 2, Douglass struggled to trust others and reach out to people about his current situation because he formerly believed that life in New York lives under the same circumstances as the harsh and sad conditions he dealt with in slavery. “The motto which I adopted when I started from slavery was this—‘Trust no man!” (Line 33-35). Given in this quote in Paragraph 2, the following represents syntax because Douglass employs an exclamatory sentence to illustrate strong and intense emotions to justify why he had a tough time to trust his surroundings. He states how he follows and lives by a ‘motto’ during times of slavery because trusting no one, especially slave owners, is a necessity towards survival. Not only slaves were frequently punished by their slave owners, but slaves saw them as a constant threat. Thus, which makes trusting a lot more painful and complicated for the situation of slaves. In the same paragraph, Douglass then tells us how it’s not that easy to fully understand his current position as a former slave. If others want to achieve and gain a sufficient understanding of his situation, one must experience the whole story along with him or imagine to be in his shoes as a wretched slave. “I say, let him be placed in this most trying situation,–the situation in which I was placed,–then and not till then, will he fully appreciate the hardships of, and know how to sympathize with, the toil-worn and whip-scarred fugitive slave.” (Line 58-63). This quote portrays the use of syntax because he adds an imperative sentence to convey command amongst his audience. After recounting his emotions on escaping slavery, Douglass tries to associate with his readers by indirectly telling them to imagine what it’s like to be tortured and a slave. Although he didn’t address the situation too forcefully, he did manage to serve his audience with the intention to get themselves involved and feel for Douglass. In addition, a similar quote with the same served purpose follows with Douglass stating, “Let him be a fugitive slave in a strange land–where he is every moment subjected to the terrible liability of being seized upon by his fellow-men, as the hideous crocodile seizes upon his prey!” (Line 39-44). This quote also represents as syntax because he utilizes imperative sentences to get his message sent throughout his audience. It’s expressed as an imperative sentence because, in a sense, Douglass is leading his audience to get them to relate to his situation. By doing so, he wants them to gain a better understanding of how slavery changed him even after he escaped. In the end, the syntaxes that Douglass utilizes are a set of imperative and exclamatory sentences to not only reveal his inner thoughts but also share out his frustration within the tone of his writing.

To conclude, Frederick Douglass, practices different stylistic components in his narrative to explain how slavery was reducing the mentality of slaves within slavery but even after being freed from it. In such a case, when Frederick Douglass recalls back to his first arrival in New York about how he felt after he finally becomes a free man, he applies the use of similes with the intended purpose to make sure his descriptions were clear and empathic. Douglass also uses syntaxes to explain how the effects of slavery dehumanize slaves even after successfully escaping. By doing so, he reveals his inner frustration and emotions within the tone of a former slave in his writing by applying syntaxes. Not only these rhetorical devices were used with the intention to evoke emotions from the audience, but they were used to explain his struggles, in a sense, that let the audience to feel the injustice of being owned and controlled by another person.

To conclude, Frederick Douglass, practices different stylistic components in his narrative to explain how slavery was reducing the mentality of slaves within slavery but even after being freed from it. In such a case, when Frederick Douglass recalls back to his first arrival in New York about how he felt after he finally becomes a free man, he applies the use of similes with the intended purpose to make sure his descriptions were clear and empathic. Douglass also uses syntaxes to explain how the effects of slavery dehumanize slaves even after successfully escaping. By doing so, he reveals his inner frustration and emotions within the tone of a former slave in his writing by applying syntaxes. Not only these rhetorical devices were used with the intention to evoke emotions from the audience, but they were used to explain his struggles, in a sense, that allows the audience to feel the pain of being owned and controlled by another person. During that time, to live as an African American was a major obstacle for all. Douglass’s success in gaining the education he needs was due to his talent and skills. But, most importantly, he also uses the ability to employ rhetorical devices up to his advantage.

The Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass was written by Frederick Douglass during the peak of slavery in the south. The many views of the slaveholders did not allow slaves to become free and instead were dehumanized and mistreated. Douglass’ use of personal anecdotes helps detail the dehumanization of slaves.

The value that slave owners placed on the enslaved population were based purely on an economic standpoint. At the beginning of the novel, Colonel Llyod discovers that Aunt Hester ‘[disobeys] his orders in going out’ and finds her with Ned, leading to a ‘bloody transaction'(6) with her master. Her disobedience generates anger with her master causing the transaction to occur. The transaction reveals the economic concept as she pays for her defiance through a whipping. An old slave of Colonel Lloyd was killed by Mr. Bondly, who comes over to see, “whether to pay for his property” but their “whole fiendish transaction was hushed” and believes that it is “worth a half-cent to kill a n****r, and a half-cent to bury one”(22). The slaveholders show no regard for the human life of slaves and only view the death or a slave as damaged goods. Slaves are regarded as products meant to be sold, showing the degradation of their status as living things to commercial assets. Douglass captures the degradation of humans through the

The author utilizes the comparison to animals to show the demeaning of slaves. A plantation was valued based on men, women, and children being ranked together with “horses, sheep, and swine”(39) and “holding the same rank in the scale of being”(39). This shows the “brutalizing effects of slavery upon both slave and slaveholder”(40). The ranking system shows the demeaning of slaves as they are ranked among animals and not humans. The author uses ‘brutalize’ to emphasize the humanity taken away by slaveholders as they transform them into mindless beasts. Similarly, Douglass has his ‘body, soul, and spirit’ broken as Mr. Covey’s ‘discipline tamed him,’ transforming him into a ‘brute'(55). The author uses ‘tamed’ to show the animalistic views that were held against slaves, comparing them to a wild animal. Douglass’ human characteristics were stripped away from him, showing the dehumanization through his alteration into an unintelligent animal working in the field. The author displays his past experiences to demonstrate the slaveholders’ inhuman abuse.

The harsh treatment the author received helps create the image of the degradation of slaves. Douglass feels weak from the strenuous fieldwork causing him to fall; Mr. Covey orders him to stand and gives him ‘a savage kick in the side’ and deals ‘a heavy blow upon [his] head, making a large wound'(58). Douglass receives a barrage of kicks, and each blow represents the slow breaking of his human spirit. The breaking of his spirit addresses all the slaves who face the same humiliating trial. The author faces an overseer that was ready ‘to whip anyone who was so unfortunate’ and took ‘pleasure in manifesting his fiendish barbarity.'(9) His own experience allows the readers to realize the severe conditions he and many slaves faced throughout the South. Having an owner that took pleasure in beating slaves not only shows the cruelty but the degrading mentality they held upon slaves. The unrelenting treatment Douglass experiences expose the dehumanization of slaves.

Slavery was built upon the dehumanization of slaves. Douglass gives graphic details to help get his point across. The economic value, comparison to animals, and the harsh treatment displays the true nature of slaveholders to break slaves down into obedient animals. His own experiences allow the readers to understand the grim reality of the slaves.