Advocates for the Abolition of Slavery: Olaudah Equiano vs. Fredirck Douglass

In Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Douglass explains, in great detail, how slave master would use a variety of methods to dehumanize slaves located on their plantation. These methods involved both severe physical and psychological trauma. Nevertheless, Douglass remains diligent and finds a way to resist the harsh reality of being a slave. Because of his immovable desire to acquire knowledge to his fighting encounter with Mr. Covey, these experiences help shape Douglass to be the archetype of what it means to go from slavery to freedom. This essay will highlight the physical and psychological tactics used on slaves. In addition, the aspect of how Douglass resists the

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.

The “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass” is an autobiography in which Frederick Douglass reflects on his life as a slave in America. He writes this book as a free slave, in the North, while slavery was still running its course before the Civil War. Through his effective use of rhetorical strategies, Frederick Douglass argues against the institution of slavery by appealing to pathos and ethos, introducing multiple anecdotes, using satirical irony, and explaining the persuasive effects of slavery and reasoning behind keeping slaves uneducated.

Continuing with the theme of family values, Douglass shifts to the basic family unit. Their master separated Douglass and his mother when he was an infant, for what reason he “does not know” (Douglass 2). No one gave Douglass an explanation because this situation was customary on plantations. Douglass wanted to horrify his Northern white readers by informing them that slaveholders regularly split slave families for no apparent reason. This obviously would upset Northerners because the family unit was the foundation for their close-knit communities. Multiple generations and extended families lived together or near each other. It was unimaginable to the readers that a society existed that took children away from their mothers without reason. Northerners would think of anyone who was part of such a society as a heartless monster (Quarles ix).

One example of the harsh reality of slavery in the narrative was the fact that Douglass was separated from his mother at birth. They were moved to distant plantations so there would be no connection to any sort of family. Douglass said that his mother would at times walk for hours at night just to lay with him at night. However, this was not enough for Douglass to establish a significant relationship with his mother. When his mother passed away Douglass felt indifferent, “Never having enjoyed, to any considerable extent, her soothing presence, her tender and watchful care, I received the tidings of her death with much the same emotions I should have probably felt at the death of a stranger.”

“The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass” is often told with a harsh and unemotional tone; it is this euphemistic style that gives the reader a keen insight into the writer's epoch as a slave in Maryland during the early 1800’s. Douglass never let us forget that his narrative was true, he wanted the readers to understand the truth that was Douglass's life, in addition the symbols and allusions that populate this book showing the intelligence and sophistication of the writer, while the detached writing also gives the reader another look into that time’s attitude and into Douglass’s own perception.

In this paper, I will be comparing two stories that dealt with slavery. The two stories are "From the Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African, written by Himself" by Olaudah Equiano and "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave" by Frederick Douglass. I will be able to accomplish this by comparing the two authors and their way of life as a slave.

Three decades before the Civil War, a movement wanted Emancipation for all slaves. The Abolitionists were wanting slavery to be abolished due to moral causes along with courage. Tis movement became and Evangelical crusade in the 1830s. Their main focus and pus was to end the sin-filled behaviors against the slaves everywhere. Personal freedom was exceedingly important and a belief that, “all men are created,” (Abolitionist Movement,” History, N.p.,n.d.).

Being raised as slaves; both Harriet Jacobs and Frederick Douglass devoted their professional life for telling their true story based on their own experience. As a matter of fact, their works “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl” (1861) and “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave” (1845) are considered the most important works in the genre of slave narrative or of enslavement. Thus, this paper will compare and contrast between Jacobs and Douglass in terms of the aforementioned works.

The stories of Mary Rowlandson and Olaudah Equiano are riveting tales of struggle and subjection to the dehumanizing trials of slavery. Accounts of slavery from the perspective of the captive bring to light the strife and everyday horrors that these people had to endure, sometimes throughout their entire lives. Both of the depictions give voice to the emotional peaks and troughs that the authors experienced during their ordeals. The events described took place almost one hundred years apart, and yet they are eerily similar in spirit. Although they bear a general resemblance, the narratives of Mary Rowlandson and Olaudah Equiano are dissimilar in the tone of their respective recounting, the descriptions of their captors and life before their

Slaves had to be sold to their owner and most got separated and we can see that is what happened to Frederick Douglass. “I never saw my mother, to know her as such, more than four or five times in my life…” (Douglass 20). During this time frame most families were split and sold to different owners but his mother worked on the plantation but did her best to see her son and say good night. While most others that were separated did not see each other for years and years and most children were left to live with aunts or grandmothers.

Many slaveholders believed that enslavement of African Americans was both necessary and proper arguing that Africans were lesser beings. They believed Africans were inferior

As the most influential black American author of his time, in The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavas Vassa, the African, Written by Himself, Olaudah Equiano illuminated for the masses many of the inhumanities and atrocities associated with the slave trade that previously had been known only to those more intimately involved with it and began an entire new genre known as the slave narrative. Part of the success of Equiano’s narrative must be ascribed to the familiar themes of capture, captivity, and restoration that he experienced and many had read in one of the many “captivity narratives” that were so popular in early Colonial times. One such captivity narrative that has many similarities to Equiano’s slave

To understand why the abolitionist movement was extremely important for the slaves, it is necessary to know some basic facts about the anti-slavey movement. Although freedom is very important in American culture, many slaves didn’t have this essential right. In the past, slavery was one of the most impactful problems in the black community. For over four hundred years, Africans and their descendants parted under the hands of European and American neighbors. Despite such a hard time for blacks, there were people who spoke out on behalf of slaves, and these people were known as abolitionists. According to Thoughtco, “The abolition of slavery began in 1688 when German and Dutch Quakers published a pamphlet denouncing the practice. For more than

“The white man 's happiness cannot be purchased by the black man 's misery” (Frederick Douglass). Throughout the years, the guiding question was to determine whether or not slavery should be abolished. This is essential to better understand what humans are capable of doing. By deciding whether or not slavery should be abolished, the sense of right and wrong becomes more apparent. Frederick Douglass was a slave born and raised in Maryland. Although he lived a atrocious childhood, through self perseverance, he improved his life, and latter became an influential abolitionist. Frederick Douglass writes a persuasive narrative expressing his emotions,