Essay - Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave Reaction Paper PDF

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Reaction Paper for first book we had to read in African American Literature. ...

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ENGL 3260 June 30, 2017

Reaction Paper: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave “It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.” –Frederick Douglass. Throughout his book Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Douglass reveals the harsh reality of the life of a slave through sharing his personal experiences and how they affected him. He clearly presents how the white male’s desire for power and dominance dictated the outcome of a slave’s life, and how the color of their skin allowed them privileges and basic rights that a slave was denied. He also emphasizes the importance of education, why it was denied to slaves, and how it helped lead to his freedom once he discovered it. In this paper, I will be discussing Douglass’s experiences that helped him realize these facts. In the very first chapter of his book, Douglass mentions that “The white children could tell their ages. I could not tell why I ought to be deprived of the same privilege.” (23) Today, nobody thinks twice about something as simple as knowing the date of our birth, but slaves were forced to accept that their birth date didn’t mean anything more than induction into slavery to their owner. His own master berated him for wishing to know this information about himself, and Douglass went through years of his life guessing his age. Once born into slavery, children were taken from their mothers so not to know them or experience any kind of loving relationship with them, resulting in Frederick’s emotionless reaction to the death of his own mother. This act of separation was just one example of the white male believing it was his right to remove any kind of

positive relationship from his slave’s life so the slave would only know how to be submissive to his master from the start. Additionally, the unconsented conception of many slaves was between a master and one of his female slaves, which Douglass stated . . . is done too obviously to administer to their own lusts, and make a gratification of their wicked desires profitable as well as pleasurable; for by this cunning arrangement, the slaveholder, in cases not a few, sustains to his slaves the double relation of master and father. This relation of master and father was used as an excuse by the master to abuse his child slave because his wife hated them out of knowledge of who it came from and that it was a consequence of their husband’s infidelity with someone they believed to be socially unacceptable. The violent treatment and abuse of slaves is one of the most widely recognized problems of slavery. Frederick Douglass witnessed much of this being done to his own family members. One of many distinct instances he mentions is when his first master, Captain Anthony, beat his aunt with no reservation. He recalls, I have often been awakened at the dawn of day by the most heart-rending shrieks of an own aunt of mine, whom he used to tie up to a joist, and whip upon her naked back till she was literally covered with blood. . . He would whip her to make her scream, and whip her to make her hush; and not until overcome by fatigue, would he cease to swing the blood-clotted cowskin. (Douglass, 27,28)

The masters used violence for their own twisted pleasure, with no regard for the physical and mental suffering the slave was experiencing. Not only did this abuse effect the person being beaten, but also the surrounding slaves who knew they would experience the same thing even if they did no wrong. As Douglass expressed, “It was the blood-stained gate, the entrance to the hell of slavery, through which I was about to pass.” As mentioned in my thesis, the white man’s desire to feel some kind of power and pleasure by controlling the actions of his slave was met by his ability to influence the mindset of slaves into a fearful and subservient one. As a young child, Douglass expected these gruesome things to happen to him next and was fearful for his future. He witnessed violence, labor that was expected to be done without any reward other than not being beaten, and punishment that came from making any kind of mistake. However, he later decided that instead of being fearful, he was going to try and overcome the mind of the master with his own knowledge that was condemned and unexpected. The second topic I will discuss is that of education and what it meant to a slave’s mental freedom, as well as Douglass’s personal freedom. Education was a right stripped from slaves so they would not be aware of the unjustified conditions they lived by. When Douglass is moved to Baltimore to work for a man by the name of Hugh Auld, he is initially treated with kindness by Mrs. Auld and begins to learn basic spelling/reading. Her role as a teacher to Douglass quickly ends when her husband finds out what she is doing, and he reveals why education for a slave was considered unacceptable and a threat to a master when he declares

if you teach that n***** (. . .) how to read, there would be no keeping him. It would forever unfit him to be a slave. He would at once become unmanageable, and of no value to his master. As to himself, it could do him no good, but a great deal of harm. It would make him discontented and unhappy. (Douglass, 56) This single quote disclosed one of the primary fears of a master: if his slave became educated, he would eventually be able to read and understand his rights as a human, realize his treatment was discriminatory and inequitable, and attempt to fight back. It was much easier for the masters to refuse slaves the service of education so they could focus on having them complete requested tasks and use them at their disposal with no confrontation. Douglass realizes that education is the one thing that he or any other slaves could possibly use against their master to be free, and sets out to obtain it in any way possible. Once he gains mental freedom from slavery by realizing the enormity of its repercussions and that there are other forces trying to abolish it, he seeks to gain physical freedom as well. The understanding Douglass has of the conditions he has been sold into create an intense internal conflict that escalated from the one he was already battling, and cause him to consider taking his own life on multiple occasions. However, he pushes forward and takes a turning point in his slavery when physically fighting back one of his cruel masters, Edward Covey. This mental and physical defeat of a master for the first time gave Douglass the strength he needed to continue seeking freedom. After gaining the bravery to fight back in a different situation, he eventually comes to a point where he has the tools needed to escape, and does so. Douglass went on to speaking to a white crowd about his time as a slave, which would have never

happened if he didn’t come to the realization that education could provide the chance he needed to become a free man. In conclusion, The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave leaves no imagination to the reprehensible conditions slaves were subjected to. Douglass provides numerous accounts of the white male’s power over slaves, and how it affected the outcome of their lives. He shows through personal experience how gaining an education about his position along with a strong determination helped lead him to freedom, and how that education could do the same for other slaves. He documented his experiences with complete honesty and intention to help others understand what it was like to be a slave during his lifetime....