Slavery’s Dehumanizing Effects on American Slaves and Slaveholders

Slavery is a humongous topic involving both slaves and former slaves. The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave Story is one such story. Douglass suffered punishments, and watching others get punished, he uses those experiences to make his argument against slavery.Douglass’ tone in the narrative is sarcastic and dark. Frederick Douglass successfully uses vast quantities of rhetorical devices, illuminating the horror and viciousness of slavery, including the need to eliminate it.

In a Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave written by himself, the author argues that no one can be enslaved if he or she has the ability to read, write, and think. Douglass supports his claim by first providing details of his attempts to earn an education, and secondly by explaining the conversion of a single slaveholder. The author’s purpose is to reveal the evils of slavery to the wider public in order to gain support for the abolition of his terrifying practice. Based on the purpose of writing the book and the graphic detail of his stories, Douglass is writing to influence people of higher power, such as abolitionists, to abolish the appalling reality of slavery; developing a sympathetic relationship with the

Frederick Douglass wrote his autobiography to provide a look into the world of a slave. His audience varied, from abolitionists, to whites that were on the fence about the issue, but his purpose remained: to allow non-slaves to learn about the horrors of slavery. In this autobiography, Douglass dispelled readers’ “illusions about slavery” by merely telling his true story, an everyman tale for slaves. Douglass worked on plantations in the Maryland area, and those plantations were considered to be easier than those of Georgia or Alabama, as unruly or ornery slaves were “sold to a Georgia [slave] trader” as punishment (54). Douglass may very well have been one of the better-treated slaves of his era, and in revealing the horrors of his

As one reads Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, they are convinced of the wrongness of slavery. Frederick Douglass uses heart-wrenching emotional imagery, examples of his own moral conscience, and logical arguments to create a case against slavery. The descriptions of the treatment of his fellow slaves causes the reader to feel sympathy, persuading them that slavery is wrong. Douglass then tells of instances when he put himself at risk to do something morally correct, demonstrating that he is a person of good morals and is credible in his argument against slavery. Finally, he uses clear logic, comparing slavery to other evils. These all allow him to present a solid argument against slavery in his work.

After reading Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, it is clear to see the true horrors behind the entirety of slavery. It is one thing to learn about it from a textbook or to sit through a lecture, but it is a completely different experience to get an account of how grossly inhumane, frightening, and appalling slavery really was from someone who experienced the terrors first-hand. Reading this narrative provided extremely descriptive details of how slaves truly were treated. Douglass recounted the time where he had often:

In Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass, Douglass employs several literary themes and techniques through which he appeals to people’s emotions and basic humanity rather than using cold and convoluted logic to prove that slavery was an immoral practice. Douglass provides vivid first hand examples of abuse that he and other slaves have endured. He describes various instances, in compelling detail, in which slaves were tortured physically and psychologically. He conveys to his reader the fear and caution that slaves had to deal with in order to get by every day. In his memoir, Douglass reflects on his life, and details his journey of being born into slavery, what his life was like as a slave, how he escaped from his grim reality and how he eventually became one of the most gripping orators and thinkers of his time, enlightening the rest of the world on the horrors of what was occurring in the United States in the 18th and 19th centuries.

“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.

Frederick Douglass stresses the lack of humanity of these slave owners by analyzing the way relationships between children and parents are diminished. Douglass attempts to comprehend what effect mother-child separation has done and concludes “… I do not know, unless it be to hinder the development of the child’s affection toward its mother, and to blunt and destroy the natural affection of the mother for the child. (p.237)”. Despite this, Douglass’s mother would walk 12 miles to lie next to him and leave before he woke up (p. 237). She dies when Douglass is seven years old and he “received the tidings of her death with much the same emotions I should have probably felt at the death of a stranger. (p.237)”. Douglass further compares this detachment to that of his father and other slave owner who have slave children. He states “… slaveholders have ordained, and by law established that

When women slaves had children they rarely ever had the chance to develop real relationships with their children because the family was separated and sold to different slave-owners. At one point in the narrative, Douglass described what it felt like to be separated from his loved ones. "The thought of leaving my friends and family was so decidedly the most painful thought with which I had to contend"� (Douglass, 63). The white masters and slave-owners during the time of slavery were above all cruel, uncaring, and responsible for damaging slaves mentally, emotionally, and physically. Mr. Covey, one of Douglass' masters was especially cruel to his slaves.

In the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave written by himself, the author asserts that justice for slaves and all men of color is different from justice for whites. Douglass supports his claim through examples by demonstrating how white men get away with killing slaves. Douglass’s purpose is to incite anger and compassion in the hearts of the people in order to abolish slavery and grant slaves the justice they deserve. Based on his provocative use of diction, Douglass is writing to the country’s leaders who have the power to pass legislation that will end slavery. Frederick Douglass, a former slave, received no justice and was denied the basic right to hold a trial and testify before court for the violent crimes he witnessed.

The “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass” has been regarded by many as one of the most influential slave narratives in American history. This colorful autobiography has and will forever situate Douglass at the forefront of the American abolitionist movement. Many scholars involved in the study of African American history, including James Matlack, a writer for the Atlanta Review of Race and Culture assert that the effectiveness of Douglass’s narrative rests upon his superior technique in sharing his experience and elating them to the general American population (Matlack 15). In this short narrative Douglass wonderfully exploits several themes that soon

Life of Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass illuminates the horrors of slavery in his memoir Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. There is so much evil transpiring from Douglass' intrinsic story that it is difficult to understand how such a cruel thing can happen in the not too distant past of American history. Douglass continuously illustrates the dehumanization of black slaves and how it played a tremendous role in the continual proliferation of slavery and the unhuman practices that came laterally. He touches the emotions of the readers through his short analyses following his stories, and while doing so, he emphasizes the violence and difficulties that were faced by black slaves in addition to the false notions that people have already had. Though some believed that violence was uncommon in the institution of slavery, Douglass

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, is a stunning and horrifying autobiography in which Frederick Douglass himself uses a wide array of rhetoric in his writing to portray how slavery not only destroys the human soul, but also degrades and dehumanizes both slaves and slaveholders alike. Slavery is “the keeping of slaves as a practice or institution.” To dehumanize is to “deprive of human qualities or attributes; divest of individuality.” Douglass’ argument is that both slaves and slaveholders are deprived of human qualities and attributes due to the effect that slavery has on them. Through rhetorical strategies such as appeals to ethos and pathos, parallelism, repetition, and imagery, Douglass persuasively instills his ideas in the reader in order to convey his argument.

African Americans came as a “new people” upon their arrival to America, and many of them were forcefully removed from their previous lives and traditions. African slave culture today is closely associated with voodoo rituals and bizarre dances, but there is much more to their fascinating culture compared to what many people believe. Since the African Americans arrived as newcomers in America, many attempted to resist the harsh reality of the New World as a cohesive unit. Even though the African Americans were dehumanized by their proprietors, this constant effort of dehumanizing the enslaved Africans failed, and as a matter of fact, the constant dehumanizing effects of their proprietors caused them to form a unique culture in slavery. African Americans created a distinct culture as slaves through their religion and music. This culture played a vital role in helping slaves survive the suffering and misery of life. Slaves did not renounce their African identities and did not give up their desire for freedom. Rather, they expressed their unique creativity and cultural heritage that brought hope into a society that persecuted and enslaved them.

In the autobiography Frederick Douglass presents a clear picture to me of a horrifying period of American history that far too few people understand. Douglass’s personal narrative as a slave lets you feel the fear of his past and allows us to experience the suffering and pain inflicted by underserved beatings and an unhealthy lifestyle with too much physical exertion. Douglass expresses very personal feelings about his history and helps us to understand the intense hatred and disgust the American slave had for his possessor, and the sickness of hate that allowed human beings to keep other human being as slaves.