Paper #1 The “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass” is based on himself showing us his life as a slave and his road to freedom. Fredrick Douglas is the protagonist, who was the author and narrator of the story. When he was born he was separated from his mother at birth (Harriet Bailey). Captain Anthony was Douglass’s first owner and most likely to be his Father. Captain Anthony was the Clerk of a rich man named Colonel Edward Lloyd. Colonel Edward Lloyd was a very wealthy man who owned hundreds of slaves including Douglass. Later Douglass is sent to Baltimore to live with Hugh Auld and Sophia Auld, where Sophia starts very kind to Douglass and starts to teach him how to read and write but later stops from Hugh. Captain Thomas Auld was …show more content…
“I wish I could describe the rapture that flashed through my soul” (Douglass 26). This when he described first meeting Sophia Auld. This was a much different view of when he first Colonel Lloyd (whom he never liked). Another Difference between Maryland and Baltimore was that the sleeping arrangements were a lot different. In Maryland he describes sleeping in Colonel Lloyds plantation as being absolutely terrible. “I was kept almost naked—no shoes, no stockings, no jacket, no trousers, nothing on but a coarse tow linen shirt, reaching only to my knees. I had no bed. I must have perished with cold, but that, the coldest nights, I used to steal a bag which was used for carrying corn to the mill” (Douglass 23). This differs a lot from when he got shipped over to Baltimore and lived with Mr. and Mrs. Auld. “A city slave is almost a freeman, compared with a slave on the plantation. He is much better fed and clothed, and enjoys privileges altogether unknown to the slave on the plantation” (Douglass 30). This shows that he much preferred Baltimore and then Maryland when comes down to these things. My last difference between his times in Maryland And Baltimore was that he was treated with a lot more respect in Baltimore compared to Maryland. Mrs. Auld actually talked to Douglass like a human compared to when he lived on Colonel Lloyd …show more content…
I would probably thank him and completely agree him. As this man said that his relatives never owned slaves and you couldn’t blame them. I would somewhat agree to this form some of my experiences. It reminded of a time with a young white man who wanted us learn about the New Testament. “Mr. Wilson, who proposed to keep a Sabbath school for the instruction of such slaves as might be disposed to learn to read the New Testament.” (Douglass 48). It showed that this man cared about African American’s and hopes that his relatives were like the same way. Being a slave was the worst experience of my life and I would like to share some of my experiences with
To begin, one of the most influential black African Americans is known as Frederick Douglass. Throughout his whole life he worked hard to fight for life and equality. The purpose for this research paper is to argue information about Frederick Douglass life and impact.
One question I asked myself while reading his autobiography is how can these ideas relate to all people? For example, in this piece Douglass told us that “Frequently, before the child has reached its twelfth month, its mother is taken from it, hired out on a considerable distance off, and the child is placed under the care of an old woman, too old for field work.” This quote shows that the slave owners did not care for the people they were hurting. Everyone knows what it’s like to care for someone very much, it’s in our blood. Now imagine having them ripped away from you, living a separate life forgetting your existence. That is exactly what slave owners did to people. Do we think that’s okay? No we don’t that’s why the readings apply to everyone because we all know what it’s like to love someone. Douglass also said that “There were no beds given the slaves, unless one coarse blanket is considered such, and one about the men and women had these.” Most people have gone camping, or have slept on the hard floor before, and it’s not ...
Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey (or better known as Frederick Douglass) was born in 1818 to a black mother and a white father. Despite this unfavorable beginning, he was – and still is, to this day – universally recognized as a symbol for freedom. He dedicated his entire life towards earning rights like freedom and the right to vote for African American people.
Frederick Douglass, an abolitionist who altered America's views of slavery through his writings and actions. Frederick's life as a slave had the greatest impact on his writings. Through his experience as a slave, he developed emotion and experience for him to become a successful abolitionist writer. He experienced harsh treatment and his hate for slavery and desire to be free caused him to write Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. In his Narrative, he wrote the story of his miserable life as a slave and his fight to be free. His motivation behind the character (himself) was to make it through another day so that maybe one day he might be free. By speaking out, fighting as an abolitionist and finally becoming an author, Douglass's transformation from a slave into a man.
...talking about slaveholders. He reveals both the good and bad qualities of slaveholders and don’t discard any favor he gets from any person even slaveholders. Douglass's wrote history from the perspective of those who previously had no voices and can say nothing about themselves. In addition, in his Fourth of July speech as well as his Narrative, Douglass used sound argument and rationalization to communicate with his listeners and readers. All his arguments were supported side by side by facts from his life and the life many slaves. The very existence of the narrative makes it a testament to its author's humanity and, therefore, a document of revisionist history. Through his intellectual and lateral ability, Douglass was able to prove to his critics that all the information imbedded in his work is, in deed, true and ought to be classified under historical sources.
Frederick Douglass was an incredibly influential part of the abolitionist movement. He has seen the harshest acts induced by slavery, even in the kindest of people. Douglass worked his entire life to get away from slavery and secure his freedom. With this new found freedom, he chose to speak out against the institution of slavery and inform the public of the evil truths that lay within slavery. He used wit, humor, pathos, ridicule, satire, mimicry, intellectual and emotional appeal to reach out to his audience in hopes of enlightening them (Douglass, July 146). On July 5th, 1852, he gave a speech to whites in New York about the injustices of slavery and how inhumane it was. He did this to open the eyes of Americans who had not been fully exposed
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.
Frederick Douglas is the author of the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. The story took place from 1817-1845 in Tuckahoe. Fredricks accomplishments were becoming an American Writer and abolitionist. Fredrick Douglas was so motivated to do the things he did because he wanted the next generation of us to not have to go through all of the things he had to go though. he wanted them to become brighter and greater. There were 3 main important turning points to me in Frederick's life. There was the time he saw his brother die, the time when the mistress taught him how to read, and the time he had ran away.
Frederick Douglass is known through the eyes of many as a passionate abolitionist, who worked to gain rights for the African American population. In reality, he was much more than this. As an adult he was a prized author, an editor of a newspaper, a lecturer, and a salesman (Schmitt, 1). Such accomplishments were not gained overnight, though, his journey was a long one riddled with pain and challenges. He began his life as a slave, raised by his grandparents (3). As he grew older and more useful he was moved around to other plantations, at one of with he learned to read under the watchful eye of his master’s wife (5). After a few years here, it was observed by his masters that he had become “softened” by the relaxed life of a city slave, so he was sent to a renowned slave beater to be straightened out. To their dismay, by this point in his life Douglass was strong and courageous, and after six months at the hands of the slave beater he began fighting back (6). Scared of what Douglass would do to his reputation, the slave beater sent the boy back to his previous owner. It was at this time Douglass planned his escape to New York. At the age of 20 he made his move (7). Once free, Douglass lived
Douglass spends most of the first five chapters giving the reader his background from birth. He explains the beginning of his sad life, hardships he has seen and endured on the plantation. Then when he was about 7 or 8 Douglass set sail to Baltimore This is the first time Douglass uses a reference to God. He says” that the transfer to Baltimore is a gift of providence” (Douglass). If he had not been
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is an autobiography written by Frederick Douglass and published in 1845. Frederick Douglass, a former slave and passionate abolitionist, provides descriptive stories of his life as a slave, all the way from his childhood to his escape. Chapter four specifically focuses on the unjustness of slavery, and Douglass’ central claim that there is no justice system in the slave world. In chapter four, Douglass describes the brutal murder of Demby and recounts multiple killings of slaves by overseers to support his central claim that slaves receive no justice, safety or security.
There are a number of times when he talks about the things slaves perceived to be good, but the things he describes are far from good. For instance, Douglass states, “A representative could not be prouder of his election to a seat in the American Congress, than a slave on one of the out-farms would be of his election to do errands at the Great House Farm” (56). The plantation he lived on was very large and had one huge house in the center called the “Great House Farm” where the “mechanical operations” are performed (56). The out-farms that surrounded the Great House Farm was where the crop fields were located. Basically Douglass is saying that the highest honor a slave can get is running errands instead of working in the field. This statement can be interpreted as straightforward because obviously it would better to run errands at the “Great House Farm” than work in the field, but to a free person that statement sounds a bit ridiculous. Running errands does not really compare to winning an esteemed government position. So Douglass could be pointing out that the life of a slave was so bleak that running errands was the best they could hope for. However, if it is read with a mocking tone, then the absurdity comparing someone with no freewill to someone who is the representation of freewill becomes apparent. Also Douglass may have used the comparison of slaves and members of congress as an insult. The members of congress at this time were likely to be slaveholders. Therefore, they were probably extremely racist and saw slaves as less than human. So it is logical to assume that a member of congress would be offended by the notion that they could be compared to
In The Narrative of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass, an African American male describes his day as a slave and what he has become from the experience. Douglass writes this story to make readers understand that slavery is brutalizing and dehumanizing, that a slave is able to become a man, and that he still has intellectual ability even though he is a slave. In the story, these messages are shown frequently through the diction of Frederick Douglass.
His main argument in the speech is that it 's unjust and hypocritical for a country to celebrate its freedom while it still has slaves. Now that in itself is a morally viable argument, and it has never been more relevant than today in our racially hate fueled world where every situation is turned into a hate crime. However, back in those days majority of slaves were sold into slavery by their own people. Most slaves were sold by rival tribes as prisoners of war, or trouble makers of the tribe, thus giving us the “bottom of the barrel” of the groups. Another counter to Douglass was that even though slaves were people, they were still considered property. A hard working farmer could have used his last penny in order to purchase that slave because he was unable to tend his farm and provide for his family. One common misconception was that all slaves were beaten and treated lower than swine, while to the contrary some were treated well being given a bed and meals every day in exchange for their hard work. While Douglass may have had a bad time under the ownership of Auld, most northern states did not treat their slaves in this manner. This is one of the main reasons Douglass learned how to read, yet no credit is given to his former owner. Most slaves developed a relationship with their owners, in which their owners taught them useful skills such as reading, writing, simple math and farming skills. Another argument brought into Douglass’ speech was that most churches were segregated, and in turn perpetuated the racism that helped keep slavery alive in well. He proposed that a God that wouldn’t allow such evil and disservice in this world would contradict everything the bible proposes and teaches. He praises the writers of the constitution, considering them his equal and thanking the signers of the Declaration of Independence, calling
Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass is the account of Fredrick Douglass’s life while being a slave, told in the first person. Many themes run throughout the book, but the prominent theme is that of freedom. Fredrick becomes obsessed by the prospect of freedom and it stays with him until he is able to obtain it. He hears talk of freedom for the slaves through Mr. Gore and his defense for killing Demby, a slave. He claims that if one slave refuses to take punishment and keeps his life, he would set an example for the other slaves. Many of the overseers and slave owners think this way to validate their actions. This type of thought helps to hinder Fredrick in his search for freedom. Later on, Fredrick gets to escape the plantation life