Dehumanizing Effect of Slavery

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It is widely known and accepted that humans are superior to animals. Humans can read, write, and have opposable thumbs, while animals cannot, or do not have the ability to do those things. Although in actuality humans are animals, to be referred to as an animal is a comment many take as offensive. Frederick Douglass, a well-known African American who had escaped slavery, in his book, The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, uses this fact to illustrate the inhumane treatment slaves endured, and how the mere participation in slavery affected both the slave and the slave owner. In his novel he discusses how he began his life, what he went through, and ultimately how he reached his goal of becoming educated and escaping the bonds of slavery. In the midst of all that, he uses analogies and draws parallels between the life of the slave and the life of an animal. His purpose for doing this was to illustrate the extreme factor of dehumanization slavery bestowed on its subjects, and in doing this he uses metaphors, similes, and vivid detail to help the reader capture what was really going on during his life and the lives of the people around him.

Douglass begins his book by discussing how he began his life as a slave and illustrated how much slaves owners withheld from their slaves. For example, Douglass explains that he was never told his age, and up to the point of his own death he did not know his birthday (19). He did however, over hear his master in a conversation and from that concluded that he was born somewhere around 1818. Not allowing slaves to know too much about themselves had a dehumanizing effect on them, because it implied that the worth of a slave was equal to, or even less than animals. Douglass reinforces this...

... middle of paper ...

...he evils of slavery affected the owners.

In conclusion, Douglass’s main argument throughout his novel was that slavery was inhumane for both parties; the slave and the slave owner. Douglass illustrates that slavery was an evil that could turn the nicest soul into a soul red with rage, as he experienced firsthand. Throughout his novel Douglass is able to use analogies to compare slavery to animal behavior, and vivid detail to put the reader in his shoes and view it from a slaves perspective. By using these rhetorical elements, Douglass is able to more fully explain the dehumanizing effect slavery has on its subjects, and just how lucky he was to be able to educate himself and escape what he called, “a den of hungry lions.”

Works Cited
Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. New York: Barnes

and Nobles Classics, 2003. Print.

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