Frederic Douglass "Narrative Of The Life"

The status or condition of a person over whom any or all of the powers attaching to the right of ownership are exercised" and slave as "a person in such condition or status"

   

Young African Slavery and the Slave Trade

 

Frederic Douglass, the author of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass,  is one of the most prominent figures in African-American history and United States history. An important message in Douglass’ narrative is that slave owners believed that reading and writing would make slaves unhappy about the oppressive and wrong nature of slavery.  To make this point, he uses a variety of rhetorical appeals. He uses narration, explanation and compare and contrast.

Douglass employs logos, pathos compare and contrast effectively to show the   differences of slavery. He compares himself to the white neighbors’ boys. He states that boys will be free by the age of 21 but he is a slave for life. Douglass recalls the boys sympathetically agreeing that he no more deserved to be a slave than they did themselves. Douglass lives in Hugh Auld’s household for about seven years. During this time, he is able to learn how to read and write even though Mrs. Auld was no longer able teach him. She was forbidden from her husband, Mr. Auld, to teach Douglass how to read.  Douglass applies logos in his narrative to explain that slavery hurts Mrs. Auld as much as it hurts Douglass himself. The mentality of slavery strips her of her inherent piety and sympathy for others, making her hardened and cruel.

 

The author explains his kindness turns to cruelty, and she is utterly changed as a person. I believe that this line shows how the author is internalized; the white person in self is not bad but it is the diseases of slaveholding make them bad. The author makes a good comparison by expressing his emotional experiences since his audience might be a slave master too. The good news is Douglass overhears Mr. Auld and experiences a sudden revelation of the strategy white men use to enslave blacks. He now understands what he must do to win his freedom. Douglass is thankful to Hugh Auld for this enlightenment. Douglass elaborates the idea that education brings enlightenment—specifically, enlightenment about the oppressive and wrong nature of slavery.  This enlightenment gives him a sense of being a free slave to encourage his readers and understanding the social injustice of slavery.

 

He   express his need of education by  giving bread to poor local boys in exchange for reading lessons even though he acknowledges that  they would suffer for it , as teaching blacks still constitutes an offense. These boys not only provide the means of Douglass’s education, but also support his growing political convictions.