Frederick Douglass Dehumanization

Words: 1156

Pages: 5

Open Document

When it comes to American Slavery, the dehumanization and brutality experienced by slaves is commonly discussed, however the humanity of the people dolling out this cruelty is often left out. In Frederick Douglas's memoir, The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Douglass delves deeply into what it means to be a slaveholder, and the various personalities he encountered along his painstaking journey as a slave. It is easy to observe the common character traits of his slaveholders, and Douglass is able to completely reveal the true process of transforming man into slave. This transformation was just as psychological as it was physical, and Douglass proves that the only away to escape ones chains is through mental expansion and self education. What slaveholders tried to do to keep their slaves in a submissive state was constant restriction of their will to learn, in order to prevent expansion of their horizons beyond the physical and mental chains to which they were bound. This restriction often manifested itself in violent and merciless behavior. In The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, it is evident that slave owners lose their own humanity through taking away the humanity of others. Backed by a sense of fear that their slaves will be essentially lost by letting them learn, slave owners and all who …show more content…
It is obvious that a main goal of slavery was to completely take away the humanity of the slave, but in his narrative, Douglass shows how the same can happen on the other side. In doing this, Douglass proves that slavery as an entity has an grave impact on everyone, no matter what their involvement with it may be. Its horrifying realities can be felt from all perspectives, and it will always change someone for the

Frederick Douglass: The Dehumanization Of Slavery

sufficient food and clothing (Douglass 359). A country slave owner’s reputation was defined by how barbarous and relentless he was to his slaves. The ability to elicit constant fear from the slaves was well respected and Douglass gave the label of an adept overseer to a Mr. Hopkins. “Mr. Hopkins was even worse than Mr. Weeden. His chief boast was his ability to manage slaves. The peculiar feature of his government was that of whipping slaves in advance of deserving it” (Douglass 399). The purpose of this…

Words 908 - Pages 4

Essay about fredrick douglass

Daniel S Period 6 A.P. Lit. & Comp. November 7, 2013 Dehumanization Dehumanization: The act of depriving others of the human qualities. There is nothing more degrading to a person than to taking away their humanity. In 1776, the declaration of independence was what some might say “the start of formal U.S. slavery”. This was the start of the upcoming 100 years of devastation for the African American people. Until the north finally came into the realization of the horrifying effects of slavery…

Words 1598 - Pages 7

Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass Rhetorical Analysis

Today, people think of slavery as a tragic time in American history, not giving much thought about how severe and brutal it was to African Americans. In the book, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, a man named Frederick Douglass brings the harsh truth to light. He uses rhetorical strategies and vivid personal experiences to express his own thoughts of slavery and how it impacted his life. The book starts by recalling early childhood memories. Even as a child, slavery impacted him in such…

Words 1074 - Pages 5

Frederick Douglass Essay examples

Frederick Douglass was an African American slave who dreamt all his life of being a freeman. Not only was he a slave, but he was very involved in his religious life of Christianity. Regardless of his hardships he went through, Douglass always had hope and believed that one day God would set him free. This kind of optimism was thought highly of amongst the other slaves who had little to no hope of freedom whatsoever. These slaves lived in a society in which land was only free to the whites, and the…

Words 1100 - Pages 5

Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass Narrative Essay

In addition, Frederick Douglass exemplifies the terrors of slavery in Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. Douglass’s narrative is not just an autobiography that seeks to only tell his life story, instead Douglass's reason also being to educate individuals concerning the terrors of slavery and what occurred. During this time in Talbot County, Maryland, killing a slave was not considered a crime. This meant that Slaveholders did not value the life of a slave and Douglass describes numerous…

Words 761 - Pages 4

Love: Slavery in the United States and Frederick Douglass Essay

The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, (Douglass, 1995) is a self account of Frederick Douglass’ time spent as a slave, and the trials he overcame that eventually led to his freedom in 1838. Many aspects of slavery are discussed in the novel such as, being born into slavery, the animal-like treatment given to the slaves, and lack of education are the topics that are most important. Douglass used his slave drivers brutal, degrading tactics to give him the courage needed to free himself from…

Words 416 - Pages 2

Rhetorical Analysis Of Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass

murdered as the killer rejoices? These questions are answered in Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, by Frederick Douglass, when he tells the story of his life as a slave in the South during the mid-nineteenth century and includes all the atrocious actions executed by religious slaveholders. Throughout his appalling journey, he maintains hope for freedom, which he receives after running away to the North. Douglass’ solemn tone, rhetorical devices, use of pathos and ethos convince the white Northerners…

Words 1607 - Pages 7

Frederick Douglass Rhetorical Techniques

The “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass” by Frederick Douglass depicts the humiliating scenes of dehumanization of slaves. However, throughout the text using knowledge, he shows the readers the road from slavery to freedom. Therefore, Douglass utilizes several rhetorical devices such as simile, repetition and parallelism to convey his attitude about The American Promise. In the beginning of the text, Douglass uses simile to dehumanize slaves by comparing them to horses. He adopts an serious…

Words 460 - Pages 2

Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Doug Essay

Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave Slavery has been one of the painful stains in United States history for over two hundred years. The quest for freedom has been a long road for many, but more for African slaves. Plucked from their homeland, being thrust into an unfamiliar territory, African slaves have fought to maintain their identity even though they were treated as property. In the autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Frederick Douglass focuses…

Words 934 - Pages 4

Frederick Douglass: View of Freedom Essay

Frederick Douglass View of Freedom Freedom by definition is, “the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action” (Freedom). As a young slave, Frederick Douglass did not see freedom this way; In fact, he did not see freedom as anything at all. When slaves were born, they were completely ignorant to the world outside of plantation work. Slave masters tried to keep it this way so their slaves would stay obedient and content with their way of life. Over time, Douglass realized how…

Words 1077 - Pages 5