Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass Dehumanization Essay

The time period I was born into is said to have the most accepting group of people in generations. We're able to reach this point of acceptance because we've learned from the mistakes of the generations that came before us. When the famous Abolitionist and former slave, Frederick Douglass, was alive people weren't so accepting. After Douglass was able to escape the hostile chains of slavery he went on to write an autobiography called Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. This novel's purpose was to create an argument to help with the abolishment of slavery through the dehumanization of slaves, the lack of loyalty from the masters, and the corrupt souls of slave owners.

The dehumanizing of slaves was accomplished through their treatment. Douglass accounts a time in which children eating were treated as pigs "like so many pigs they would come and devour the mush" (Douglass 43). This is not only an example of the dehumanization, but also an example of Pathos. By showing that children are being treated
Douglass spoke of the only kind mistress he had and how she was corrupted by the power of being a slave owner. He starts off saying she was "a woman of the kindest heart and the finest feelings" and that she "had never had a slave under her control previously to myself" (Douglass 46). Unfortunately, Douglass goes on to state "That cheerful eye, under the influence of slavery, soon became red with rage; that voice, made all of sweet accord, changed to one of harsh horrid discord; and that angelic face gave place to that of a demon" (Douglass 46-47). This passage is a way of Douglass establishing Ethos over the subject of slavery corrupting the souls of slave owners. By telling the readers of his kind mistress and how she was corrupted, the readers feel a sort of sympathy for the slave owners. This sympathy, perhaps, makes the readers want to end slavery to stop the corruption of slave owners and save their