The Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass Essay

In the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, written by Frederick Douglass, he tells his own personal story about what it was like to live as a slave. While living through the horrors of slavery, Douglass manages to educate himself, by teaching himself to read with the help of few. As Douglass matures, life only gets harder. However, his education brings him hope. Not only does Douglass read of abolition, giving him hope, he also learns the importance of his education. Frederick Douglass discovers that education is the key to the freedom of his people through realizing the inevitable power gap is created by ignorance.

      In reading The Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass, I, like others, found myself to be deeply moved. The way in which Mr. Douglass walked me through each stage of his “career” as a slave gave me a better understanding of the African American slaves’ struggle. I realized in reading this mans story that he was a gifted individual and I pondered over where his strength came from? It is true and obvious that Mr. Frederick Douglass was an extremely gifted man, but with no mother or father to guide him, what motivated this man to accomplish his goal? For this man did indeed become free.

The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave was written by Douglass himself, giving a detailed description of the slaveholders cruelty. Douglass was born in Tuckahoe, Maryland, and he makes known that he does not know his specific birthdate, “... no accurate knowledge of my age, never having seen any authentic record containing it.” (47), but it was approximately around 1818. Once being enslaved, and then escaping in 1838 he became known as an eloquent speaker for abolitionists, being able to deliver passionate speeches about the role of a slaveholder and their relationship to their slaves, especially since he was one of them. Douglass even discovered the true meaning of the songs sung by enslaved people, “ I did not, when a slave, understand the deep meaning of those rude and apparently incoherent songs, I was myself within the circle; so that I neither saw nor heard as those without might see and hear.” (27). The book is not an easy read for those who believe in equal rights, as Douglass put into painful words the description of brutal whippings, signs of no mercy, and people being taken advantage of because if they had shown mercy they believed they would have lost their dignity.

Slavery was an embarrassing time in America’s history. In 2016, slavery has become a distant memory. It’s easy for us to admit that slavery is wrong but, in Frederick Douglass’s time no one thought that it was. Frederick Douglass went on to write books and give speeches in hope that one day all slaves would be free. In the book called “The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass”, he attempts to shine light on the American Slave system in the 1800’s.

Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey (later known as Frederick Douglass) was born a slave in Talbot County, Maryland around the year 1818. He was an African American reformer, writer, and orator. Douglass was one of the few noteworthy heroes who arose from the evils of slavery and impacted the United States and the world in significant ways. After escaping from slavery, he became known for his astounding oratory skills and remarkable antislavery writing. He became an important leader of the abolitionist movement. Northerners found it hard to believe that such an incredible orator had once been a slave. To verify this, Douglass described the events of his life as a slave and his ambition to be a free man in Narrative of the Life of

Since ancient times historians always examined artifacts and sources of different writings. The purpose of examining artifacts and writings were to find the time period, the place of its origin and whether they are primary or secondary sources. Primary sources are materials produced by people or groups directly involved in the event/ topic under consideration either as participants or as witness. Some examples of primary sources are decrees, letters, newspapers, journals, birth and death registries etc. Secondary sources are those when a person was not present at the time of the event. Examples of secondary sources may include books, articles etc. Now, this brings to our discussion - is Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass a primary source? Even though people may different opinions about the autobiography of Frederick Douglass being a primary source, Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass is a primary source because it mentions his purpose for writing, it clarifies the arguments made by Frederick Douglass, and finally, it illustrates the credibility of the author.

Frederick Douglass was born in Maryland in 1818 as a slave to a maritime captain, Captain Anthony. After decades of enslavement, Frederick Douglass escaped to the North and became one of the prominent members and drivers of the abolitionist movement. In an effort to provide an eye-opening account of the harsh treatment of slaves, Douglass wrote Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. In his autobiography, Frederick Douglass detailed his life beginning from his meager early years through his escape to the North. In writing his autobiography, Douglass utilized a variety of techniques including the use of the three rhetorical strategies: Ethos, Pathos and Logos to create a powerful and influential argument against the institution of

Oxforddictionary.com defines Christianity as “The religion based on the person and teachings of Jesus Christ, or its beliefs and practices. Jesus is the Son of God who rose from the dead after being crucified; a Christian hopes to attain eternal life after death through faith in Jesus Christ and tries to live by his teachings as recorded in the New Testament” which can be found in any version of the King James Bible. In the following are examples of true (good) and false (bad) Christianity in Fredrick Douglass version of Christianity verses Harriet Beecher Stowe’s version of Christianity.

Complete Title: An Exploration of the Relationship between Southern Christianity and Slaveholding as seen in the “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave Written by Himself”

Metal clanks against metal as the chains rub on old scars issuing in another day of toil in the heat with head-down and blood streaming as each new lash is inflicted. This is usually the picture envisioned when one thinks of slavery. While often this is an accurate depiction, there are also many other forms of slavery. The Webster’s Dictionary describes slavery as, “submission to a dominating influence.” Everyone has influences that shape who they are and what they do, but a problem arises when a person’s entire life is spent abiding under a certain, destructive influence. Often this is done willingly and a sort of addiction occurs in maintaining the hold the authority has in one’s

Slavery on a plantation was drastically different from slavery in the city. Frederick Douglass the author of Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass was born and raised on the plantation as a slave. From his early years Douglass experienced life as a slave on a plantation. He was soon relocated to Maryland at the age of seven to the slave owner’s brother Mr. Auld. Douglass is moved back and forth from the plantation to the city. The areas of food, treatment and punishment, and clothing were contrasting between plantation and city. His narrative reveals the complexity of slavery in the 1800s, and highlights the contrasts between his life in the city and plantation.

The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave. Written by Himself. takes place during the pre-Civil War era when there are still states who have slaves. These slaves are not permitted to be taught or learn how to read and/or write. Life on plantations is brutal.

While reading Frederick Douglass’s narrative I found out what it was like to really be a slave. I have always known that slavery was a horrible thing. I discovered things about slavery that I did not previously know about. While reading I found out in more detail what it was like to live in the 19th century and the emotional life that Douglass lived.

Identity is defined as the qualities or beliefs that make a particular person different from another. Often in African American literature the protagonist have a moment where they recognize their blackness as apart of their identity and often experience pain due to society 's estimation of their inferiority due to their blackness. The “Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass” is about how Frederick Douglass overcomes the struggles of slavery. The experience of slavery is a continuous fight for identity and respect. Douglass, as well as Sophie Auld struggle with identity.

Relationship to meaning: This point of view allows us to see how it was for Frederick Douglass from his own perspective.