Frederick Douglass Essay on His Life as a Slave

Argumentative Essay On Frederick Douglass
Nam Kim September 7, 2017
Frederick Douglass Essay The rapid advancement has enabled the level of achievements within the last decades to be beyond belief. However, people
seldom reflect about how these progressions were achieved: through learning from the past. The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass enabled
people to understand why abolitionist movement in America during the 1800s was necessary and broadened their views by explaining how slavery, an
idea so disturbing and unacceptable was the norm in the relative past. Douglass shares his story in hopes of changing the perception of some while
firmly expressing his belief that people should stand against slavery. In the 1700s and the 1800s, southern slave owners have been using African
Americans as a free source of labor. Similar to the majority of the enslaved African Americans, Frederick Douglass was separated from his mother as
a child and was sold to different slaveholders throughout his life. Unlike some of the slaves who were too abused to even imagine a future with
freedom, Frederick Douglass's determination and his strong will to learn enabled him to grow from a powerless slave to a renowned abolitionist.
Despite the cruel treatments he received from his slaveholders, Douglass managed to differentiate between men and the institution of slavery and find
warm human nature from slaveholders, further pursuing to eliminate slavery of the better of both white and
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Frederick Douglass Research Paper
Unit VII: Frederick Douglass Relevance in the 21st Century Born into a life of slavery, Frederick Douglass overcame a boatload of obstacles in
his very accomplished life. While a slave he was able to learn how to read and write, which was the most significant accomplishment in his life.
This was significant, not only because it was forbidden for a slave to read due to the slaveholders wanting to keep them ignorant to preserve slavery,
but because it was the starting point for Frederick to think more freely and more profound. Frederick Douglass then taught other slaves how to read
and write because he believed and taught "Once you learn to read you will be forever free" (Frederick Douglass). This man was an astonishing
individual who...show more content...
This helped to bring awareness of multiple issues in the black communities into the homes of other races, such as Michael Eric Dyson, Henry
Louis Gates Jr., Cornel West, and a host of others. Frederick Douglass, Martin Luther King, and Malcom X paved the way for those scholars, in
turn those men paved the way for the next generation of activist. Those next generations emerged and are currently using social media to highlight
and fight for public rights for all races and creeds. For example, Jesse Williams is an actor that uses his platform to fight for racial justice. Most
recently while accepting the Humanitarian Award at the 2016 BET Awards he stole the show when he spoke about the 2014 fatal police shooting of
a Cleveland Boy. "So, I don't want to hear any more about how far we've come when paid public servants can pull a drive–by on a 12–year–old playing
alone in a park in broad daylight, killing him on television and then going home to make a sandwich" (Bet 2017). Jesse Williams's passionate
comments about police brutality and institutionalized racism went viral. Other great examples of new generation activist would be: Bree Newsome
(Activist that removed the Confederate flag from the SC state capital), Dawud Walid (American–Islamic Relations), Erika Andiola (Immigration
Activist), Kimberly Bryant (founder of Black Girls Code), Patrisse Cullors (Co–founder of #Blacklivesmatter), and Bamby Salcedo (founder/President
of the Trans–Latin

Frederick Douglass Essays
The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave is an account of Frederick Douglass' life written in a very detached and objective
tone. You might find this tone normal for a historical account of the events of someone's life if not for the fact that the narrative was written by
Frederick Douglass himself. In light of the fact that Douglass wrote his autobiography as a treatise in support of the abolishment of slavery, the removed
tone was an effective tone. It gave force to his argument that slavery should be done away with.
Considering the fact that this was written during the height of the abolition movement the novel had to be effective in order to advance the success of
the movement....show more content...
Here Douglass shows that slavery was not a constant source of pain and suffering: "I was not old enough to work in the fields, and there being little
else than field work to do, I had a great deal of leisure time," (Douglass 71.) This is effective in proving his point because it allows him to show the true
horrors of slavery and not be lopsided in his views.
Weber 2
Having an objective also paved the way for Douglass to show the most gruesome and torrid tales of slave life. Here is where the autobiographical
form of the exposition comes in hand, enabling him to go into the closest of detail of his own experiences as a slave: "I had been at my new home but
one week before Mr. Covey gave me a very severe whipping, cutting my back, causing the blood to run, and raising ridges on my flesh as large as
my little finger," (Douglass 101.) Notice how all he does is detail the incident. He doesn't speak of how this made him feel or what he wanted to do in
response. This neutrality removes him from the picture and lets the sequence of events speak as loudly as they do for themselves.
Granted the tone changes throughout the book but the overwhelming and most effective tone was that of objectivity. Showing both sides gives him the
opportunity to say that his work was not partial to abolishment. The in depth description of the whipping was compelling while the notation of a fair
amount of leisure time as

Essay on Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass
On an unknown date in 1817, on a slave plantation in Tuckahoe Maryland,
Frederick August Washington Bailey was born. Frederick was raised in a house on the plantation with all the other slave children. At the age of seven,
like many other slaves, Frederick was put to work in the fields. As a young child he would wonder why he was a slave, and why everyone can't be
equal. His thoughts frequently came back to him, leaving him with a great hatred for slavery. In
1836, Frederick had finally had enough of his imprisonment, and attempted an escape with many other slaves. The escape was not successful,
Frederick and the other slaves were sent to work in a shipyard hauling crates. Frederick worked the shipyard for two years...show more content...
Fearing a life of slavery again, Frederick fled to England. Here in England, he gave many lectures on the abolitionists movement, and earned sufficient
funds to buy his freedom in
America. In 1847, Frederick became the "station master" of the Underground
Railroad in Rochester, New York. Here he also began publishing his anti–slavery newspaper, The North Star. During these publishing years, Frederick
became good friends with John Brown. John had a vision of training groups of men to help slaves escape via the Underground Railroad. However, in
1859, Douglass learned it was Brown's intention to raid the Federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry. He was sure this would bring disastrous results, and took
no part in the raid.
Following the raid, Douglass fled to Europe, fearing the government would hold him responsible for what had happened. He stayed for six months,
until finally returning to America to campaign for Abraham Lincoln during the Presidential election of 1860. At the outbreak of the Civil War,
Frederick helped raise the regiment of the Massachusetts 54th. This group of soldiers fought hard, and
Douglass was respected as a leader of ex–slaves. Frederick soon fought for the
13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments for the U.S. Constitution, which gave rights to everyone. He became U.S marshal for the District of Columbia
(1877–81), recorder of deeds for the District of Columbia (1881–86) and U.S. minister to the Republic of Haiti (1889–91). After his

Brief Summary: The Life Of Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass
Frederick was born in Tuckahoe, near Hillsborough. He wasn't sure of his age, most slaves did not know their age, slaves didn't go to school, didn't
have an education or know how to read or write. It was a tough life for slaves, some days he never had any piece of food. Federick only knew who his
mom was, but it was whispered this his owner was his father. He worked all day, all week, month and year. His master was Captain Anthony, he was
like most slaveholders: cruel, savage and evil. He was a field slave, but later became a house slave. By the time he believed that he was around 17 years
old, he became to be a house slave. He was bought by Colonel Lloyd and was sent to his family to Baltimore. He had to take care Master Andrew, he
was Colonel Lloyd's son. Mrs. Sophia had decided to secretly teach him the ABC's. Frederick was learning fast and often would cheat his friends to
learn more. After he mastered the reading and writing, he wished that he never learned anything. He was terrified of the slaveholders. He never
imagined how cruel and savage humans...show more content...
Gardner's was his Master. He was twice as good as his past masters. Even though he was better than my other masters, he always wanted things to
be done perfectly. It was that time of his life where my anxiety to escape was at full level. Every Sunday he met with other slaves, in which he
taught them to read and write. After most of them had succeeded in writing and reading, he had planned an escape plan to run away. It was said
that now those days the Underground Railroad had become the Upperground Railroad. It wasn't safe no more to run away with a group of slaves,
because it might cause more noise and they would have to trust all of the slaves in the group. If one of slaves gets caught he puts the rest of the group
in danger. The day had come, and they were all ready for the runway. In lunch, everyone received a surprise, someone had snitched that they were going
to run

Frederick Douglass Ethical Issues
The most obvious ethical problem in Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is slavery. Slavery has been around since the beginning of time. All
around the world you could find slavery and you can still find slavery in places in the world today. Frederick Douglass was a slave in the United
States, by the 18th century slavery was abolished. Slavery was okay in peoples mind because they thought that slaves were a less devolved version
of the human species and they should be treated like animals. Frederick said that if you treat people like they are lesser than you or if you treat them
like animals, they will act like that. Slaves act a certain way because their owners tell them to act that way. "If their increase will do no other good, it

Essay On Frederick Douglass
Who do you consider a revolutionist? Did they help change the world in a helpful way?Growing up a slave, Frederick Douglass was sent to a
Baltimore home where he learned to read and write from his slave owner and neighborhood children. As he got older Frederick later taught other
slaves on the plantation to read and write Working Thesis: Frederick Douglass has helped changed todays racial society do to his persuasive words
he used to bring attention to the worlds society of the time Douglass can get attention from all people do to his words. Frederick book has discussed
his life growing up as a slave and his feelings/perception of the issue."Douglass immortalized his years as a slave in Narrative of the Life of Frederick
Douglass, an American...show more content...
Before the Civil War, he was one of the most famous men in the country." ( Frederick )Not only has Douglass became friends with Lincoln but he has
became nominated for vice president my the public.
Frederick Douglass has brought much attention to the wrong doings of slavery but he also brought attention to the nations other problems, like women's
rights. "In 1848, he was the only African American to attend the first women's rights convention at Seneca Falls, New York...Douglass stood and spoke
eloquently in favor, arguing that he could not accept the right to vote as a black man if women could not also claim that right. The resolution passed."
(biography)
Restate Thesis: Frederick Douglass has a way with words and a way to people's minds and hearts and while being a part of the change in the united
states equalityFrederick Douglass had no hesitation or regrets for his way of expressing his feelings in his writing. "Right is of no Sex – Truth is of no
Color – God is the Father of us all, and we are all brethren."(Biography) Was the motto written on the weekly paper called "The North Star " by
Frederick Douglass. Think of this quote anytime you see any type of

Essay on Frederick Douglas
Paper on Frederick Douglass
In the 1800's, slavery was a predominant issue in the United States, one that most Americans in the South dealt with daily. The Narrative of the Life of
Frederick Douglass reveals much about American history during the time of slavery as well as expounds arguments for the abolition of slavery. As a
historical document, it conveys information about the slave family, work, the master–slave relationship, and the treatment and living conditions of
slaves. As an antislavery tract, it argues against commonly held beliefs about slavery's benefits and its morality, making strong points for getting rid of
slavery. In The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Douglass reveals, through the story he tells "the...show more content...
As these examples show, any member of a family could at any time be separated from any other member. Controlling the family in this way,
slaveholders took away the potential strength that the slaves could have had if they were allowed to have strong, lasting family bonds. Frederick
Douglass' narrative reveals a lot about the work of the slaves. Some few slaves worked in the master's house, some more worked in the master's
production huts around the farm, but most of them worked in the field under the watch of an overseer with a whip ready in hand. The slaves
would be punished, sometimes very severely, if they weren't working early in the morning. They could also be punished if they didn't work fast
enough or well enough. After a long day of work, they would have to go to their huts and do their own cooking and washing. They could only sleep
a few hours a night after doing all the work they had to do. When they were finished with their work they would fall down on their beds and "sleep
till they [were] summoned to the field by the driver's horn." (48) Looking at the slaves as property, the master wanted to use them as much as he could
to get his money's value. He didn't think of them as human beings who had needs, but as machines

Research Paper On Frederick Douglass
Jeremy Melendez 4–21–17 Period 3 Word Count: 248 Frederick Douglass Who was Frederick Douglass? Frederick Douglass was born in Talbot
County, Maryland his date of birth is unknown but, he later chose to celebrate it on February 14, and died February 20, 1895 in Washington, D.C.,
people estimated he was born in 1818 which would make him 77 years old. His original name was Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey. Frederick
Douglass was born a slave his mother was Harriet Bailey and his father was Anthony Aaron. When he was 12 his master's wife, Sophia, taught
Douglass the alphabet. When his masters forbade his wife to give lessons, Douglass continued to learn by tricking the white children and others in the
neighborhood to teach him. Douglass tried

Frederick Douglass
Rhetorical Analysis Essay
The learning experience of a slave, who understood the secrets of education through a stagnant progression. Frederick Douglass is an African American
slave, who learns how to read and write through unusual but effective approaches. In his essay, Frederick Douglass, "Learning to Read and Write", he
argues that without freedom, that education is achieved through continuous but persistent patience. He develops an earnest tone to convey to the reader
that being literate has both a negative and positive effect to one's overall character.
To begin with, Douglass opens his essay by justifying that learning to read is not only a part of education, but should be an everyman freedom. The
author explains, that his mistress was...show more content...
The author starts with section of the text with a pessimistic demeanor by Douglass "regretting [his] own existence". He has just learn to read and this
was new and a very unfamiliar to Douglass. During this time, there were not a great deal of slaves that were literate, so Douglass had no one to relate
to; especially when could now understand what was actually going on around him dealing with slavery. Then Douglass, moves to explain a personal
anecdote he had with learning to write, by which he had learned at a shipyard, but that only taught him the basics of writing. The author demonstrates
how simple everyday ongoings can influence and even further someone's education. That not all learning experiences involve normal learning
situations, yet as long as they have a beneficial effect on that person that these learning experiences overall are better than none. In addition to this,
Douglass realizes at the end of his essay that the process of education is a "long, tedious effort." He implies that education is difficult, uphill battle
especially if you lack certain freedoms. Altogether in this section, Douglass illustrates that effects that educations has and may it be effective or
negative, however, education is important to one's self.
To reiterate, Frederick Douglass unquestionably persevere in his education. Throughout essay Douglass use rhetorical techniques to illustrate that
education can be gained but it takes tolerating lack of freedom to complete. As well, Douglass proves that becoming literate has both its negative and
positive effects on one's character as a

frederick douglass Essay examples
Slave and Citizen; the Life of Frederick Douglass
In the biography of Frederick Douglass written by Nathan Irvin Huggins, covers the life of a magnificent man who lived his life as a slave, only to flee
for his freedom to be a foremost advocate against slavery. Douglass was a black leader in the time of hostilities towards his race and became the
foremost leaders of the abolitionist movement. He fought to end slavery within the United States in the decades prior to the Civil War and even harder
after. He was also a great writer, husband and father to four children.
A brilliant speaker and self–educated, Douglass was asked by an abolitionist group the American Anti–Slavery Society to tour and give lectures of his
accounts as a slave. He...show more content...
Frederick Douglas became recognized as one of America's first great black speakers. He achieved world fame when his autobiography was
publicized in 1845. This was the first of three autobiographies he wrote. Each biography went more into detail of his accounts as a slave and a free
man. The first was written while still a slave. In fear of his capture the information given was not as forth coming as his later writings.
Two years later he began publishing an antislavery paper called the North Star, and after 13 years of publication he changed the name to the Frederick
Douglass' Paper.
Many of Douglass's would be friends where against him writing and editing his own paper. When he began writing the North Star, the abolitionist or
"Garrisonians" felt he was going against what they believed in. William Lloyd Garrison himself was outraged and dismissed Douglass as being against
the abolitionist movement for freeing slaves and spoke badly about Douglas in his paper.
Douglass also served as an adviser to President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War and fought for the adoption of constitutional amendments that
guaranteed voting rights and other civil liberties for blacks. Douglass provided a powerful voice for human rights during this period of our American
history. Frederick Douglass was also worked very hard in the women's rights movement. He once said
"When I ran away from

Argumentative Essay On Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass Essay
In The Life of Frederick Douglass An American Slave, written by himself the author asserts that the way to enslave someone is to keep them from
learning at all. Douglass supports his claim by, first, when Frederick was small he was never able to tell his age or the date, and secondly, they
were never allowed to be taught how to read that was something always hidden from him as a young child. The author's purpose is to inform the
reader that as a slave there were so many things they were not allowed to have that we may take for granted, in order to make it very clear that we
should not take our education and opportunities for granted. Based on The Life Of Frederick Douglass An American Slave, Douglass is writing for the
white people who believed that slavery was right, he wanted to make it very clear that the slaves and Douglass had nothing handed to them.
Frederick Douglass shows an accurate representation that way to enslave someone is to keep them from all learning. " I have no accurate
knowledge of my age, never having seen any authentic record containing it. By far the largest part of the slaves know as little of their age as horses
know of theirs..."(Douglass 1). I guess any amount of knowledge began making the slaveholders nervous. If slaves were kept at the level of
ignorance, they were at they would not know anything else, but that they were slaves. They would not seek freedom, or try to gain superiority amongst
other slaves. If slaves had

The book Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, by Frederick Douglass, is a story about Frederick Douglass's life as a slave and how he goes
on his quest to achieve freedom. Douglass was born into slavery and goes from master to master, and he finally sees the power of education when
he reaches Baltimore to work for some new people. Here Douglass begins to learn how to read and write and he uses this to his advantage in hopes
of becoming free one day. He manages to teach himself how to read in secret and then helps the other slaves become more literate. Eventually
Douglass does manage to escape but he doesn't stop there, he becomes an activist himself in hopes of ending all slavery one day. Through this book,
Douglass reveals that...show more content...
He writes, "The plan which I adopted, and the one by which I was most successful, was that of making friends of all the little white boys whom I
met in the street. As many of these as I could, I converted into teachers... I finally succeeded in learning to read" (149). Douglass knew that the
little boys wouldn't judge him just because he was a different race and he used that to his advantage. He made friends with all of the little white
boys nearby who could read and write well, and through them he taught himself how to become more literate too. Making friends showed Douglass
that there might be some good people out there who'll give him a chance and by making those friendships he was able to accomplish a lot of his
goals and become a more successful person. An additional point which Douglass proves to be true is that slavery can really hurt a slave's mind
mentally. I don't think the slave owners realized how much it could hurt the slaves when they mistreated them, and in return it really did some
damaging things to their heads. They began to believe everything their masters said about them, which were in fact false. During the holidays, the
masters give their slaves quite a bit of alcohol and get them pretty drunk. The slave owners trick them into thinking they're getting more freedom and
then when the holidays are up they go back to treating them poorly. Douglass writes, "I have said that this mode of treatment is

Frederick Douglass Analysis
In the Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass: an American Slave, written by himself, the author argues that slaves are treated no better than,
sometimes worse, than livestock. Douglass supports his claim by demonstrating how the slaves were forced to eat out of a trough like pigs and
second, shows how hard they were working, like animals. The author's purpose is to show the lifestyle of an American slave in order to appeal to
people's emotions to show people, from a slave's perspective, what slavery is really like. Based on the harsh descriptions of his life, Douglass is writing
to abolitionist and other people that would sympathize and abolish slavery.
Frederick Douglass shows an accurate representation of how slaves were treated...show more content...
The horses were treated better than the slaves. Furthermore, Douglass says, "Our food was coarse corn meal boiled. This was called mush. It was put
into a large wooden tray or trough, and set upon the ground. The children were then called, like so many pigs, and like so many pigs they would come
and devour the mush; some with oyster–shells, others with pieces of shingle, some with naked hands, and none with spoons," (Douglass 39). This
statement truly shows how the slaves were treated like livestock because they ate their food exactly the same as pigs. In the same fashion,
Douglass made another statement comparing slaves to animals was, "We worked in all weathers. It was never too hot or too cold; it could never
rain, blow, hail, or snow, too hard for us to work in the field. Work, work, work was scarcely more the order of the day than of the night. The
longest days were too short for him, and the shortest nights were too long for him," (Douglass 70). Slaves were worked like animals. Animals never
had a break and are forced to work in all conditions, just as slaves were. Slaves were treated like animals that had to be trained without any time for rest.
On the contrary, many slaveholders and people with power in the South do not agree with Douglass. Frederick Douglass states, "We were worked
fully up to the point of endurance. Long before day we were

Frederick Douglass
The narrative piece written by Frederick Douglass is very descriptive and, through the use of rhetorical language, effective in describing his view of
a slave's life once freed. The opening line creates a clear introduction for what is to come, as he state, " the wretchedness of slavery and the
blessedness of freedom were perpetually before me."
Parallel structure is present here, to emphasize the sanctity he has, at this point in his life, associated with freedom and the life–long misery he has
associated with slavery. This justifies what he chooses to do next, as he leaves his chains and successfully reaches New York, a free state. The metaphor
used within this description is also effective, as chains give the...show more content...
He also states that he feels "like one who had escaped a den of hungry lions," implying that he had been given an incredible sense of relief.
This near–bliss feeling is shortly subsided as he realizes he is a stranger in this new land, for fear of falling into the wrong hands once again. Douglass
describes the slave–owners as, "money–loving kidnappers," and himself as the "panting fugitive slave;" while making another comparison yet, "as the
ferocious beasts of the forest lie in wait for their prey." Each of these images demonstrates the intense fear and inferiority Douglass feels toward
slave–owners, even in his new state of freedom. He no longer views this as a free land, but "a land given up to be the hunting–ground for slave
holders." He fears everyone is against him, and he is forever being hunted, "as the hideous crocodile seizes upon his prey," the slave owners feel no
mercy, and would, if provided the opportunity, seize his life in an instant with no regrets, as the crocodile devours their prey. He continues with this
trend of metaphors and similes to compare slave–owners to "merciless men–hunters," "wild beasts," and "monsters of the deep," while describing
himself as, "perfectly helpless," a "half–famished fugitive," a "helpless fish," and "the toil–worn, whip–scarred fugitive

Frederick Douglass Essay Frederick Douglass has finally managed to run away from one of his masters to become a free slave, but yet he feels
fear and paranoia. As he runs away, he contemplates all the possibilities of him getting caught by slaveholders or even turned in by his own kind.
And it upsets him having to pass all the houses and food, but he has no shelter and starves with no food. This in fact heightens the intensity of his
fear and paranoia because he is more likely to be caught with no where to hide and having no energy to run because he is starving. In The Narrative
Life of Frederick Douglass, he utilizes things such as parallel syntactic structure, paradoxes, figurative language, and caesuras to help portray his
feeling of...show more content...
The paradoxes get people to understand how irritating it is to be passing by all these necessities stay you need to live and survive, taunting you as
you pass by. While Douglass is running away, he relates slaves and hunting slaveholders, using figurative language, to wild beast and himself to
the helpless prey. On page 136, Douglass says "...as hideous crocodiles seize upon his prey!" He says this because he feels so defenseless that he
feels like a little animal going to be eaten. With all the slaveholders and there guns and all slaves that might turn him in, he doesn't really stand a
chance with no where to hide and running out of energy. In addition, on page 137 he says "...famished fugitive is only equaled by that with which
monsters of the deep swallow up the helpless fish upon which they subsist," In this he basically saying it is only a matter of time before they find
him and take him in. He can't really run from them with how hungry he is, he has no energy and no hope that he could out run them if he tried. On
pages 136 and 137, caesuras are applied multiple times throughout these pages to conduct a sense of his worry and anguish. He says like "...in total
darkness as to what to do, where to go, or where to stay –perfectly helpless both as to the means of defense and means of escape–" (Douglass 137) The
breaks leave you kind of hanging because you don't know if at the end of the next break he could be caught or even shot. And that is where the worry

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass Essay
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
The tone established in the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is unusual in that from the beginning to the end the focus has been shifted. In
the beginning of the narrative Douglass seems to fulfill every stereotypical slavery theme. He is a young black slave who at first cannot read and is
very naГЇve in understanding his situation. As a child put into slavery Douglass does not have the knowledge to know about his surroundings and the
world outside of slavery. In Douglass' narrative the tone is first set as that of an observer, however finishing with his ownpersonal accounts.
When first introduced to Douglass and his story, we find him to be a young slave boy filled...show more content...
Instead of creating a tone that centers on the lives of slaves around him, Douglass grabs the reader's attention by shifting the tone to more personal
accounts.
By centering on his own personal story, Douglass is able to capture the attention of his audience. With a more detailed description of events taking
place, the reader is trapped into that time period, being able to live out the experience with Douglass. Frederick Douglass' quest for freedom almost
becomes a quest for the reader as well. The tone set during this section of the narrative shows Douglass to be much more in charge than he was as a
child. A confident slave, Douglass anticipates his freedom, yet also creating a freedom for himself while still enslaved.
It is at this time that Frederick Douglass learns one of the greatest freedoms of all. He is set free, in an educational sense. Douglass has been taught a
few reading lessons form his mistress. Soon after his master discovers this, and commences the teaching at once. Soon thereafter, Frederick Douglass
uses some smart tactics to resume his learning. He in a sense manipulates the children around him into teaching him how to read and write. This grand
achievement taught Douglass something, as he says, "From that moment, I understood the pathway from slavery to freedom. It was just what I wanted,
and

Throughout this excerpt from his autobiography, Frederick Douglass constantly refers to the importance of Education and Literacy. He continuously
details not only that education represented power, but also that an educated and literate slave would be dangerous in the eyes of the slave–loving
southerners. Education all throughout time has represented knowledge, and knowledge is seen as power, both of which could easily corrupt someone,
hence why slave owners chose to keep slaves in the dark in regards to education. Douglass argued that education was seen as the key to success and
free thoughts, however, both were luxuries unknown to a slave unless they took matters into their own hands.
In lines 18–32, Douglass describes what was an abnormality in those times– a white woman (his master's wife) taking pity on him, and teaching him to
read and write. Douglass's juxtaposition of his master's wife's attitude toward him– which was one of a "pious, warm and tender–hearted" nature, to the
way the rest of society perceived him as a "mere chattel" helped highlight just how abnormal her behavior was. This contrast further developed through
the fact that to treat a slave as a human being back in those days was "not only wrong, but dangerously so," yet despite that commonplace assertion
found all throughout life back then, his master's wife still treated Douglass no different than she would treat a friend. This section of the text elaborated
upon her kind–hearted nature, which led her to pity and help those worse off than her, no matter how society perceived it. Douglass emphasized this
point by using mostly long, well constructed sentences that were filled with figurative language. This syntax helped elaborate upon the tone of
newfound hope in this section, by demonstrating his flowing thoughts and feelings, due to his newfound freedoms. This syntax helped emphasize the
fact that Douglass had acquired the very knowledge slave owners sought to keep from him, therefore acquiring the power that had been kept from him
his whole life.
In lines 33–56, Douglass' tone shifts from the hopeful and optimistic sense of potential, to showing the overwhelming negativity slavery can have on
someone. Douglass displays this by

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,...show more
content...
The power that they have over their slaves has a damaging effect on their moral health because they are careless. Douglass describes adultery and
rape as typical behavior patterns of slaveholders which damage their families. Sophia Auld is Douglass's main illustration of the corruption of
slave owners. The power of slaveholding changes Sophia from a nice woman to a demon. She went from a kind, caring and loving person into a
typical mean slave master. She was no longer able to teach Douglass how to read because her husband disapproved it. Slaveholders gain and keep
power over blacks from their birth onward by keeping them ignorant of basic facts about themselves. For example slaves didn't know their birth date
or who their parents were. They didn't want slaves to have a natural sense of identity. Slave children were not allowed to learn to read or write because
this would lead slaves to question their rights.
Douglass uses family relationships, starting with his own birth, to gain the compassion of his target audience. He never knew the identity of his father,
but it was "whispered" (Douglass, Narrative, 43) that it was his master. Douglass shocked his Northern white readers when he informed them that
slaveholders regularly split slave families for no reason. This upset Northerners because their family units were the foundation of their communities.
People couldn't believe that slave children were taken

Frederick Douglass Essay on His Life as a Slave

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Frederick Douglass Essay on His Life as a Slave