Frederick Douglass An American Slave Narrative Essay
Humanities 212
March 9, 2012
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass an American Slave is an autobiography and a memoir written by Frederick Douglass, a famous orator, leading black abolitionist and an ex-slave. This is the most famous narratives written by former slave which was published in1845, less than seven years after he escaped from slavery. He is one of the most celebrated writers in the African American literature. In this autobiography, he highlights the common practice of white slave owners over black slaves. He describes every aspect of his life under slavery and explains how he educated himself and managed to be free. Douglass, however, omitted the details about his escape from slavery but his narrative became a major …show more content…
He brought up another dehumanized part of slavery relating to ethical issue where a child is taken away from the mother by breaking the bond as a normal norm. “I received the tidings of [my mother’s] death with much the same emotions I should have probably felt at the death of a stranger” (Douglass 273). In this quote, Douglass explains that the separation from his mother soon after his birth never helped him to develop familial feelings towards his mother. Though this custom was normal at that time but Douglass advocate it as cruelty of slavery. The processes of life begins with birth and after a birth a child is immediately take away from his own mother is a pathetic practice. It is like breaking a child support network and personal history by ending the bond of affection. He considers this breaking down of the family structure as a social injustice and emotional mistreatment. By mentioning that, the news of death of his mother brings him the feeling of nothing more than a death of a stranger and focusing on the breakdown of family structure in his narrative, he raised a question of inequality and ethical values the society hold in the name of
March 9, 2012
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass an American Slave is an autobiography and a memoir written by Frederick Douglass, a famous orator, leading black abolitionist and an ex-slave. This is the most famous narratives written by former slave which was published in1845, less than seven years after he escaped from slavery. He is one of the most celebrated writers in the African American literature. In this autobiography, he highlights the common practice of white slave owners over black slaves. He describes every aspect of his life under slavery and explains how he educated himself and managed to be free. Douglass, however, omitted the details about his escape from slavery but his narrative became a major …show more content…
He brought up another dehumanized part of slavery relating to ethical issue where a child is taken away from the mother by breaking the bond as a normal norm. “I received the tidings of [my mother’s] death with much the same emotions I should have probably felt at the death of a stranger” (Douglass 273). In this quote, Douglass explains that the separation from his mother soon after his birth never helped him to develop familial feelings towards his mother. Though this custom was normal at that time but Douglass advocate it as cruelty of slavery. The processes of life begins with birth and after a birth a child is immediately take away from his own mother is a pathetic practice. It is like breaking a child support network and personal history by ending the bond of affection. He considers this breaking down of the family structure as a social injustice and emotional mistreatment. By mentioning that, the news of death of his mother brings him the feeling of nothing more than a death of a stranger and focusing on the breakdown of family structure in his narrative, he raised a question of inequality and ethical values the society hold in the name of