Narrative of Life of Frederick Douglass

880 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: an essay about modern slavery

Published in 1845, ‘Narrative of life of Frederick Douglass an American slave written by himself’ is still the most highly acclaimed American autobiography ever written. It was published seven years after Douglass escaped from his life as a slave in Maryland. It describes his experience of being slave and his psychological insights into the slave-master relationship. The main focus is on ‘How he learn to read and write ‘and ‘the pain of slavery.’ The goal of this paper is to bring more insight analysis of his narrative life through the most famous two chapter’s in which he defines, “How he learn to read and write” and “The pain of slavery.” To achieve this goal, the paper is organized into four main sections. First, author background and introduction, second summary of chapter VII and chapter VIII and the last analysis of chapter VII and VIII. Summary: Chapters VII–VIII Douglass spent seven years in master Hugh`s house and learnt to educate himself secretly where slaves were kept illiterate. But soon he was unhappy as he saw the new and wretched world for him. From newspapers, he realized about the enormity of people enslaved. He was informed about the abolitionist movement in North and an Irish playwright and politician Richard Brinsley Butler Sheridan and his struggles for catholic emancipation and human rights. He then ran away to north at the age of twelve. Chapter VI deals with his master Hugh Auld`s forbiddance to teach Douglass to read, Chapter VII elaborates the idea that with education comes enlightenment specifically about appreciative and wrong nature of slavery. His encounter with the Columbian Crator represents the main events of his educational and philosophical growth. He then had the clear articulation of ... ... middle of paper ... ...glass to picture the atrocities of slavery. It not only presents the events in his life that lead to his escape from slavery but also the general dehumanizing effects of slavery for both slaves and slaveholders. Works Cited Chua, John. "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave." Cliff Notes. N.p.. Web. 19 Mar 2014. . Douglass, Frederick. "Learning to Read and Write." Trans. Array The Writer`s Presence. . Seventh Edition. New York: Bedford/St Martin`s, 2012. 86-92. Print. Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass. Oxford University Press, 1999. Print. Douglass, Frederick. "A Short Biography of Frederick Douglass." Frederick Douglass Comes to Life. Fremarjo Enterprises, Inc. Web. 19 Mar 2014. .

Show More
Related

  • The Ingenuity of Frederick Douglass: Learning to Write

    524 Words  | 2 Pages

    From an early age, Frederick Douglass refused to accept the life of confinement into which he was born. The way he learned to write is a fine example of his exceptional resourcefulness and persistence to rise above. In The Norton Anthology of World Literature, Douglass's depiction of his self-education can be found on page 94...

    Read More

  • Frederick Douglass' Words Caught the Attention of Many - Including Slave Owners

    867 Words  | 2 Pages

    Literature is written in many ways and styles. During his time, Frederick Douglass’s works and speeches attracted many people’s attention. With the amount of works and speeches Douglass has given, it has influenced many others writers to express themselves more freely. Though Douglass lived a rigorous childhood, he still made it the best that he could, with the guidance and teaching of one of his slave owner’s wife he was able to read and write, thus allowing him to share his life stories and experiences. Douglass’s work today still remain of great impact and influence, allowing us to understand the reality of slavery, and thus inspiring many others to come out and share for others to understand.

    Read More

  • Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave

    1297 Words  | 3 Pages

    Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. An American Slave Written by Himself. (New Haven, Ct: Yale University Press, 2001)

    Read More

  • Teaching Frederick Douglass in American School Systems

    1609 Words  | 4 Pages

    Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written by Himself. 1845, The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Nina Baym. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2003. 2032-2097.

    Read More

  • Dichotomy In The Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass

    1324 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Frederick Douglass’s autobiography Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Douglass is represented in two extremely dissimilar personas as both the narrator and the protagonist. The broad gap between Douglass’s two roles is an intriguing dichotomy throughout the Narrative: Douglass advances from an illiterate, subjugated slave to a sophisticated and eloquent public figure. Douglass recurrently embellishes this transformation from his younger immature self to his older wiser self throughout the book by noting his juvenile obliviousness, innocence, and ignorance. His progress is exemplified through self-criticism of how captivated he was as a teen taking

    Read More

  • Power of Persuasion in Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

    823 Words  | 2 Pages

    All references are to Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Written by Himself (New York, N.Y.: W.W. Norton and Company, 1997).

    Read More

  • Fredrick Douglass

    1342 Words  | 3 Pages

    Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Written by Himself (New York, N.Y.: W.W. Norton and Company, 1997).

    Read More

  • Essay on Literacy in African-American Literature

    2285 Words  | 5 Pages

    As a relatively young man, Frederick Douglass discovers, in his Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, that learning to read and write can be his path to freedom. Upon discovering that...

    Read More

  • Frederick Douglass

    992 Words  | 2 Pages

    Gaining mental emancipation also made him a man. He had the power of knowledge and yet he didn't know the impact of being literate. He wasn't ready to have his world open right in front of him. Being able to read opened Douglass' eyes to what slavery really was. "He got the bold denunciation of slavery, and a powerful vindication of human rights."*(278) He saw things that he would have never seen if he had remained ignorant. He saw all the horrors and sadness of his life as a slave. He wasn't quite ready for the harsh realities that he was then exposed to. He felt that his master, Master Hugh, was right. Douglass learning to read brought him the discontentment, torment and anguish that Master Hugh said would follow if a slave learned how to read.* (279) The visions that Douglass saw was really affecting him. He saw things he never saw before. Dou...

    Read More

  • The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: The Formation of Identity

    2136 Words  | 5 Pages

    The reader is first introduced to the idea of Douglass’s formation of identity outside the constraints of slavery before he or she even begins reading the narrative. By viewing the title page and reading the words “The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, written by himself” the reader sees the advancement Douglass made from a dependent slave to an independent author (Stone 134). As a slave, he was forbidden a voice with which he might speak out against slavery. Furthermore, the traditional roles of slavery would have had him uneducated—unable to read and incapable of writing. However, by examining the full meaning of the title page, the reader is introduced to Douglass’s refusal to adhere to the slave role of uneducated and voiceless. Thus, even before reading the work, the reader knows that Douglass will show “how a slave was made a man” through “speaking out—the symbolic act of self-definition” (Stone 135).

    Read More

  • Key Arguments in "The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass"

    1143 Words  | 3 Pages

    Douglass, Frederick. “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave: Written by Himself (ed. John Blassingame) Yale University Press, 2001.

    Read More

  • Analysis of Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass

    1293 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...a lot of atrocities at the hands of their owners, who were successful in using ignorance as a tool of slavery, besides treating them as personal property. However, the slaves struggled to gain education on their own, ultimately knowing their rights and questioning some of the heinous acts. Slave owners ensured that slaves worked tirelessly so that they do not get time to idle around and gather in groups that would shake the administration. The narrative, through highlighting the experiences of Douglass himself, painted a true picture of the type of life slaves were undergoing under the surveillance of their slave masters in the United States, a picture that the slaveholders did not want to be brought to the limelight.

    Read More

  • The Use of Rhetorical Devices in The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass written by Frederick Douglass

    696 Words  | 2 Pages

    One day, Douglass eavesdrops on him and Mrs. Auld’s conversation. Mr. Auld persuades her that reading “could do him (Douglass) no good, but a great deal of harm.” (page 39) This antithesis along with the rest of his statement makes Douglass come to the realization that literacy is equated with not only individual consciousness but also freedom. From that day on, Douglass makes it his goal to learn as much as he can, eventually learning how to write,

    Read More

  • Analysis of The Narrative of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass

    902 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Narrative of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass is written to have people place their feet in the shoes of Frederick Douglass and try to understand the experience he went through as a slave. Douglass writes this piece of literature with strong wording to get his point across. He is not trying to point out the unpleasant parts of history, but to make people face the truth. He wants readers to realize that slavery is brutalizing and dehumanizing, that a slave is able to become a man, and that some slaves, like himself, have intellectual ability. These points are commonly presented through the words of Douglass because of his diction.

    Read More

  • Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

    915 Words  | 2 Pages

    When first introduced to Douglass and his story, we find him to be a young slave boy filled with information about those around him. Not only does he speak from the view point of an observer, but he speaks of many typical stereotypes in the slave life. At this point in his life, Frederick is inexperienced and knows nothing of the pleasures of things such as reading, writing, or even the rights everyone should be entitled to. Douglass knowing hardly anything of his family, their whereabouts, or his background, seems to be equivalent to the many other slaves at the time. As a child Frederick Douglass sees the injustices around him and observes them, yet as the story continues we begin to see a change.

    Read More

More about Narrative of Life of Frederick Douglass

Open Document