Frederick Douglass 'Hypocrisy Of Christian Slaveholders'

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In the autobiography, Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass, Frederick Douglass narrates his own life as a slave. He explains and talks about his tough experiences as a slave. Born on a plantation in Maryland he witnesses the abuse of his fellow slaves. As a slave, he saw many “christian slaveholders” who used Christianity as a justification of their actions. Douglass feels like these slaveholders are the worst. Douglass’s disdain for the hypocrisy of Christian slaveholders is shown through his use of tone, personification, and diction.
Douglass’s use of irony demonstrates his distaste for the Christianity of the slaveholders. Douglass reminisces about how he used to learn how to read in the streets of Baltimore, from the little white children. He does not …show more content…

When Douglass talks about how the worst slaveholders, are the slaveholders that say that they are the most religious. He then continues to say, “the religion of the south is a mere covering for the most horrid crimes,—a justifier of the most appalling barbarity,—a sanctifier of the most hateful frauds.” (103) When Douglass uses the words justifier and sanctifier and the words barbarity and frauds it illustrates his belief that Christian slaveholders are hypocritical. He uses these words saying that Christianity of slaveholders is not real and that Christianity is just a “mere covering” of their actions regarding slavery. Another time when Douglass explains how when his students were learning they could be whipped; “Every moment they spent in that school, they were liable to be taken up, and given thirty-nine lashes.” (107) Douglass’s use of “thirty nine lashes” is interesting because it is actually in the bible. It is associated with death, that indicates how the Christian slaveholders use the bible as an excuse for their actions. Douglass uses his word choice to express his hatred toward the Christianity of

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