Frederick Douglass: An Example Of An Epic Hero

Towards the end of chapter ten in The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Douglas describes how slave owners would make slaves’ holidays miserable. Slave owners did this to manipulate the slaves into believing that they are better off in slavery. They would entice slaves to get drunk by placing bets on who could drink the most. When a slave had had enough to drink, he would then ask for something else, but unknowingly receive more alcohol. As a result, slaves would prefer to work in the fields instead of having holidays. This passage illustrates how African Americans remained content in their shackles of slavery for 245 years in America.

The Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass gives readers a detailed overview of the life of a slave who share his own personal experiences and struggles from a slave to a freeman.  Frederick Douglass was born in Talbot county, Maryland. He was the son of Harriet Bailey and his father was a white man  (Douglass 1). After living with his master for nine months, Frederick was sent to stay with Mr. Covey, a man who is known for “breaking down young slaves” (Douglass 34). But while he was at Mr Covey’s Douglass faced many struggles.

Every con has its pro. In the same way that a student may not be good in math, but uses his/her talent to excel in English, Fredrick Douglass turned his suffering and disadvantages into motivations. Throughout the novel, three main points indicated the weaknesses behind his strengths: being denied the right to read, being beaten without mercy, and being snatched away from his loved family and friends.

The life of Frederick Douglass was as horrible and miserable as any other slave. However, since bravery was his most dominant trait Frederick’s life became the life of a hero. Born into slavery on the year of 1818, Frederick never really got to know his family and was separated at birth. Growing up, he knew that blacks like him were not supposed to be educated, or treated as well as the whites. This compelled Frederick even

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,

“You are a product of your environment.”- W. Clement. The way you were raised, the people who raised you and the community that you are raised in all play a role in who you are as an individual. Constantly throughout time the way an individual defines themselves is based on their roots, the actions or reactions that have built a foundation of who they’re today. Through the lens of a slave later turned into one of the largest faces of abolitionist acts, Frederick Douglass creates “The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass” in which he accounts the community he was raised in and the constant fear instilled within his community as well as his later assimilation into new communities and possibly being responsible for creation of a

‘The Narrative Life of Frederick Douglass’ is an autobiography of Frederick Douglass, the slave who escaped and became one of renowned social reformers of his time. The book is a collection of actual experiences of the author during his time in slavery and experiences of fellow slaves. He describes brilliantly the oppressive conditions into which he was born, lived, as well as his struggles and triumphs. The author meant to make the reader comprehend life of the African Americans in slavery before the ending of slavery. He also meant to highlight the misuse of religion and to use it to control other people whom they deem inferior.

Everyone would agree that education helps develop us into who we are and what we can become. We are able to explore new ideas and concepts, which leads to more knowledge. In the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Douglass is thrown into a new world of knowledge and opportunity, once he learns how to read and write. Through his knowledge, he learns more about his situation and potential. Douglass discovers that a slave was set free by persuading his master, and as a result, this information makes Douglass an avid learner. He understands that education is his only way out of slavery. Education empowers people to make good decisions and paves a future that provides opportunities. An education can open doors that were once closed.

The narrative begins with Douglass being oblivious to the identity of his father. This theme of Frederick Douglass being young and naïve is continued throughout the beginning. The idea of slaves being young and naïve is seen in almost all slave narratives. One of the ways slave owners kept slaves captive is through keeping the slaves ignorant. It is nearly impossible for a slave to escape slavery if they cannot read and write. Slave owners knew how impossible this was so they kept them ignorant, they kept them from learning. Since ignorance is what seems to hold slaves captive, one could easily conclude that knowledge is the key to freedom. Douglass figured this out at a young age. He starts learning from Mrs. Auld but eventually ends up

“There were no beds given to the slaves, unless one coarse blanket be considered such, and none but the men and women had these. This, however, is not considered a great privation.” (Pg. 27). Slaves are treated very badly and Frederick Douglass is one of them. He explains his story as a slave and many of his surroundings affected his moral character. The surroundings include things that are cultural, geographical, and physical.

The Heroic Slave a novella written by Frederick Douglass is loosely based on The Creole Revolt of the only documented successful African – American Slaves eighteen who revolt gain their freedom including one hundred ten other slaves, who were set free in Nassau, Bahamas in 1841. (Eschner) Whereas, in The Heroic Slave, Frederick Douglass alters the actual account to introduce ideas to illicit whites to assist in abolition for slavery. (Douglas) In his novel based his story on Madison Washington one of the four slaves who is noted as prominent leader in the revolt.

Being a slave in the United States was not uncommon in the 19th century. There were many brutalities of being a slave including physical and spiritual abuse. Slaves were considered property and not as human beings. They were mistreated and kept illiterate. The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave is a autobiography written by Frederick Douglass himself that told of his experiences of being a slave in the United States. He expresses the brutality the slave owners and how he struggled with running away to become a free human being. The themes of his story include: the ignorance of slaves, the treatment of slaves as property, religion used as justification, and the victimization of female slaves.

The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass perfectly depicts the dreadful experience of living in slavery. From being unsure of the day he was born, to his first beating from a master, to the brutal and exhausting work, and to the joyous day he was freed. Besides describing his experience as a slave, he describes the toll slavery had on the masters and families of slaves. Frederick Douglass also includes his view of education in relation to freedom. The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is a good excerpt from The Classic Slave Narratives that can be considered a good historical resource due to the historical content it provides about slavery.

In Frederick Douglass’s narrative, Frederick Douglass struggles to free himself mentally and physically from being a slave, he also struggles with the lack of knowledge surrounding his family and his parents, and he also struggles with the reality of being a slave. Douglass struggles to save money to escape to New York City, in the end; he ends up marrying a free black woman and becomes a speaker for the Anti-Slavery Society.

of living a slave life and he feared he would walk that path for the remainder of his life. Despite