Frederick Douglass Examples Of Resistance

There were a number of ways that resistance was made against slavery. They were: intellectual, direct/physical, and cultural. Examples of these types of resistance are portrayed throughout the narrative of Fredrick Douglass. This essay will discuss the three types of resistance citing examples from the narrative of Fredrick Douglas. Such examples of resistances were effective and meaningful in different ways and ultimately contributed to the acknowledgment and recognition of the poor treatment of slaves. In the narrative these examples of resistance enabled Douglass and other slaves he talks about to resist their slave holders.
Intellectual resistance was one way in which Frederick Douglass resisted slavery. By becoming literate, he was resisting slavery as he was learning to read and write, which was not allowed among slaves. Reading allowed slaves to gain knowledge that their treatment
An example of this was when Douglass retaliated against Mr Covey by physically beating him8. This occurred after having endured six long months of hard labour and abuse at the hands of Mr Covey.9 The incident was also a turning point for Douglass, because it gave him a new found confidence and reawakened his desire to be free, and also his desire to continue reading and writing. Towards the end of the Narrative, Douglass runs away from Mr Auld. This can be seen as a direct/physical resistance because rather than stay and conform to the slave-master relation, his will to be free is stronger and he decides to outwardly resist by running away.10 Both of the incidents highlighted above are effective in that it demonstrates a point at which Douglass is making a stand for what he believes and resolves to work towards that. He desired to be free and to do so he needed to continue learning. His running away can be seen as his ultimate resistance and challenge of slavery and what it comes