Freedom In Douglas's The Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass

Freedom is the American ideal. In Frederick Douglass’s autobiography, the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, he questions the morality and righteousness of slavery. Douglass, a former slave, is convinced that slavery is immoral and unjust. However, the world that surrounds Douglass disagrees vehemently. In an effort to instigate change and improve the lives of millions, Douglass interrogates the moral conscience of his readers, primarily consisting of Protestant, white, undecided Northerners, by forcing them to question freedom and if slavery fits with the vision of the Founding Fathers. Douglass claims and forces the reader to understand that slavery restricts the principles of life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, and the right

Douglass tells the story of Sophia Auld, the wife of his slave master, who almost taught him to read. Douglass says “she [Ms. Auld] kindly commenced to teach me the A, B, C,” and “assisted me in learning to spell words” (63). Douglass notes Ms. Auld as a good slave master who reduced the “dehumanizing effects of slavery” (63). Unfortunately, as Douglass mentions, the slave code and Mr. Auld “forbade” any instruction because it was “unlawful to teach a slave to read” (63). The code forbids reading because, as Mr. Auld says “Learning would spoil the best n-- in the world,” which references the supremacy that masters wish to maintain over their slaves (63). In addition, by forcing slaves to remain illiterate, the law trapped slaves in the vicious cycle of slavery by not offering them any skills to end the cycle. The ban on education restricted a slave 's right to liberty by forcing them to remain ignorant about the world and socially oppressing them. The ban on education also restricts Douglass’s right to the pursuit of happiness by preventing him from pursuing his passion. Douglass’s description of the slave code and its ban on education probes into the reader 's moral conscience by forcing them to understand the restrictions that slavery placed on the rights to liberty and the pursuit of

Douglass’s grandmother dies with “none of her children or grandchildren present, to wipe from her wrinkled brow the cold sweat of death.” Douglass’s grandmother was abandoned by her master, and her children (and grandchildren) were sold elsewhere. By not caring for and treating Betsy properly, the master effectively murdered her. In response to his grandmother’s murder, Douglass pleas for “a righteous God [to] visit for these things”. Douglass also notes that the masters used “religious sanction as support for [their] slaveholding cruelty,” a justification, which according to Douglass is hypocritical. Douglass criticizes the slave masters because they justified their cruel actions with prayer and scripture, which demand kindness, equality, and justice among other things, but do not condone whipping, murder, or enslavement. In addition, slave masters violated their scripture’s own words by inflicting pain and suffering upon the slaves. Douglass cites religion as the master’s argument for slavery; however, he considers this argument hypocritical because the masters themselves did not follow the scripture. Douglass argues because slavery has violated the “unalienable” rights of countless slaves, it counters the