Preview

We See How A Man Was Made A Slave By Frederick Douglass Analysis

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1408 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
We See How A Man Was Made A Slave By Frederick Douglass Analysis
The most important statement by Douglass is probably “You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man” (15:3). This is the climax of the story; yet, it is not only a turning point in the narrative, but also in Douglass’ life. The moment he asserts this, he is drawing a line between what he had lived up until that point, and the way he intended to live after –or at least change.
Before Douglass realised he was willing to change, he had suffered from unconceivable cruelty in many occasions, which marked him and made him a slave. Slavery stole his humanity from the very first moment he was born. As it has been exposed before, he was separated from his mother at a very early age, causing Douglass to lose the familiar affection and closeness. Moreover, he was also a witness of the brutal abuse his aunt Hester suffered from their master. In addition, not only did he witness all the whippings, but he also suffered from countless whippings himself. The act of whipping was used both to punish the slaves and to show that the …show more content…
However, this transition from man to slave was not completed in the case of the author, and this is thanks to all the events or moments previous to his realisation that he was no longer going to be part of that business. Those moments are illustrated in the narrative, and they show the way they have affected and the influence they have had on the outcome of Douglass’ life. As these events or moments encouraged the author, he managed to make a step forward towards the status that all men should have on the United States: to be a free man. This work allowed Frederick Douglass to exhibit and condemn the situation to the whole nation. In addition, it was a clear example that the transformation was both possible and needed, since slaves were not the only ones affected by the situation, but masters as
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Analysis Of Incidents In The Life Of A Slave Girl By Harriet Jacobs
    • 295 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Analysis Of Incidents In The Life Of A Slave Girl By Harriet Jacobs

    In his narrative he shows how slavery was when he says "Upon this he rushed at me with the fierceness of a tiger, tore off my clothes, and lashed me till he had worn out his switches. " These actions were common and frequent for Douglas as this happen to everyone. Women slaves also commonly experienced abuse. In Douglass's narrative he says "I have often been awakened at the dawn of day by the most…

    • 295 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Value of Education and a Lesson in Determi9Nation in "The Narrative of Frederick Douglass an American Slave"
    • 734 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Value of Education and a Lesson in Determi9Nation in "The Narrative of Frederick Douglass an American Slave"

    Douglass begins by telling us he was born into slavery in Maryland, his mother’s name was Harriet Bailey, and he was separated from her at birth. He reveals he is not sure how old he is and that his father was a white man rumored to be his first master. He was later sent to Baltimore where his new master’s wife began to teach him to read. His Master Hugh found out and put a stop to it insisting Douglass would become unmanageable and unhappy. When Douglass heard this he realized that the lock on the bonds of slavery was ignorance, and education was his key to freedom. Eventually he succeeded in teaching himself to read and write with help from his white friends. After educating himself he developed a better understanding of slavery and began to regard his enslavers as wicked. When he is sent to be broken by Mr. Covey he is whipped on a regular basis and almost loses hope, but he ends up fighting back regaining confidence in himself. Douglas marks this as a turning point and vows never to be whipped again. Later, Douglass learns the trade of caulking, has a disagreement with his master over wages, attempts another escape and succeeds in reaching New York…

    • 734 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Introduction Into African American Studies: Frederick Douglas And Harriet Jacobs
    • 1078 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Introduction Into African American Studies: Frederick Douglas And Harriet Jacobs

    As a slave himself, he understands from first-hand experience how badly slaves were treated. He mentions emotional and physical abuse he received from his slaveholder. He talked about how the slaves were not allowed to know how old they were or information that might expose them to more about their families. Douglass mentioned the fact that slaveholders would whip the slaves until bloody while making other slaves watch. Slaveholders would shoot and kill their slaves if they did not follow orders, Douglass…

    • 1078 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Themes In "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass"
    • 1379 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Themes In "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass"

    The book Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, by Frederick Douglass, is a story about Frederick Douglass’s life as a slave and how he goes on his quest to achieve freedom. Douglass was born into slavery and goes from master to master, and he finally sees the power of education when he reaches Baltimore to work for some new people. Here Douglass begins to learn how to read and write and he uses this to his advantage in hopes of becoming free one day. He manages to teach himself how to read in secret and then helps the other slaves become more literate. Eventually Douglass does manage to escape but he doesn’t stop there, he becomes an activist himself in hopes of ending all slavery one day. Through this book, Douglass reveals that learning is essential in order to achieve freedom, friends can help you to achieve your goals, and that slavery can have a very negative effect on a slave’s mind.…

    • 1379 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Rhetorical Analysis of Frederick Douglass
    • 1321 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Rhetorical Analysis of Frederick Douglass

    Slavery, the dark beast that consumes, devours, and pillages the souls of those who are forced to within its bounds and those who think they are the powerful controllers of this filth they call business. This act is the pinnacle of human ignorance, they use it as the building blocks for their “trade,” and treat these people no more than replaceable property that can be bought, sold, and beaten on a whim. The narrative of Frederick Douglass is a tale about a boy who is coming of age in a world that does not accept him for who he is and it is also told as a horror that depicts what we can only imagine as the tragedies placed on these people in these institutions of slavery. It is understood as a chronicle of his life telling us his story from childhood to manhood and all that is in between, whilst all this is going on he vividly mixes pathological appeals to make us feel for him and all his brethren that share his burden. His narrative is a map from slavery to freedom where he, in the beginning, was a slave of both body and mind. But as the story progresses we see his transformation to becoming a free man both of the law and of the mind. He focuses on emotion and the building up of his character to show us what he over time has become. This primarily serves to make the reader want to follow his cause all the more because of his elegant and intelligent style of mixing appeals. Through his effective use of anecdotes and vivid imagery he shows us his different epiphanies over time, and creates appeals to his character by showing us how he as a person has matured, and his reader’s emotion giving us the ability to feel for his situation in a more real sense. This helps argue that the institution of slavery is a parasitic bug that infects the slave holder with a false sense of power and weakens the slave in both body and spirit.…

    • 1321 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Frederick Douglass And Lord Of The Flies Comparison Essay
    • 927 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Frederick Douglass And Lord Of The Flies Comparison Essay

    In the opening of the novel Douglass makes it clear to the reader that he is not sure of which the exact year he was born, because shortly after birth slaves are torn from their mothers, and given a blank life at a new location. Douglass was never allowed the nurturing and playfulness that most children receive in their early stages of life. "Never having enjoyed, to any considerable extent, her soothing presence, her tender and watchful care, 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). The separation from his mother that Douglass describes was done purposely ensure that Douglass did not develop familial feelings toward his mother. He shows the reader through vivid imagery of his experiences, how his innocence was stripped from him due to the cruelty of his several different masters. Douglass devotes large parts of his Narrative to explanations of how slaves are not born but rather made, and molded by their masters. He explains that slaves never get the chance to grow up on their on will, and become who they want to be, but they are rather a reflection of who their master wants them to be. If their master…

    • 927 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Search For Identity In Frederick Douglas's Slave Narrative
    • 193 Words
    • 1 Page

    The Search For Identity In Frederick Douglas's Slave Narrative

    Douglass's slave narrative reflects a search for his identity. Douglass did not know his origins, and age. He was a slave, and considered a piece of property that lack understanding, but with his narrative he proves the contrary. His narrative proves that he was a human being that have many capacities to succeed and demonstrated that African-Americans were capable to learn just like anybody else. Since, Douglass taught himself to read and write he acquired an identity and he found the way to break slavery because by then he knew that he was a human being and not an object. Douglass was trying to find a reason for the abuse he received on the hands of his master and he could not find any justification and he reflects it on his narration. Douglass…

    • 193 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    How Is Frederick Douglass Successful
    • 1991 Words
    • 8 Pages

    How Is Frederick Douglass Successful

    There was very little shielding in the torture that slave received if they displeased their owner in any way. Multiple times in the Narrative, Douglass speaks of fears of pain and punishment if one were to try to escape, or simply to displease their owners. Early on in the Narrative, Douglass described a scene in which his aunt, Helen, was beaten. As he saw her horrified, for the first time, he mentioned “…bloody scenes that often occurred on the plantation.” (Douglass, 21) Equally, to prove that Aunt Hester was not the sole woman to bear this kind of punishment, “I have known him [Mr. Plummer] to cut and slash the women’s heads so horribly…]’ (Douglass, 20). This statement underlines the fact that the slashing and beating of women he had been an eyewitness of with Aunt Hester was a common…

    • 1991 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Fredrick Douglass: Poem Analysis
    • 753 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Fredrick Douglass: Poem Analysis

    The most explicit theme of the reading that stood out to me was racism in the form of slavery in the southern United States. Throughout the narrative, Douglass included excellent examples of how slaves are dehumanized, mentally and physically, by the slave system. In many ways, slavery and segregation were the main obstacles in his personality growth. One of the most powerful lines in the narrative was in chapter ten, when Douglass directly addresses the relationship between slavery and the denial of manhood when he says, ''You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man.’’ Because slavery was bound up in denying full selfhood to both men and women, many slaves were denied the ability to perceive themselves as full human beings. Not only by the people but also by the science. The introduction of psychological thinking into the Jim Crow South produced neither a clear victory for racial equality nor a single-minded defense of traditional…

    • 753 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Examples Of Mental Illness In Frederick Douglass
    • 203 Words
    • 1 Page

    Examples Of Mental Illness In Frederick Douglass

    Not only were the enslaved affected physically, but also emotionally and psychologically. In order to fully be freed from slavery, Douglass believed that they must have not only a physical but also a mental emancipation. Although slave owners made a great effort to keep the slaves in high spirits, the trauma that they experienced often led to mental illnesses such as depression. At the beginning of his novel, Frederick Douglass recalls early in his life when he was taken away from his mother, leaving him emotionally unattached. He also recalls witnessing slaveholders victimizing their slaves, especially women. His Aunt Hester once disobeyed the master’s order about leaving without permission and as a punishment, he beat her with cow skin after…

    • 203 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Frederick Douglass Figurative Language Analysis
    • 831 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Frederick Douglass Figurative Language Analysis

    | “I was broken in body, soul, and spirit. My natural elasticity was crushed, my intellect languished, the disposition to read departed, the cheerful spark that lingered about my eye died; the dark night of slavery close in upon me…” (Douglass 63).“A representative could not be prouder of his election to a seat in the American Congress than a slave on one of the out-farms would be of his election to do errands at the Great House Farm” (Douglass 25).…

    • 831 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Frederick Douglass Heroic Slave Analysis
    • 254 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Frederick Douglass Heroic Slave Analysis

    The State of Virginia embodies the Founding Fathers, the American Revolution and the nation by symbolically demonstrating the beauty of the union. But similarly to the State of Virginia, the sense of American Nationality is flawed because of the institution of slavery. Using Jeffersonian rhetoric, abolitionist Fredrick Douglass’ “Heroic Slave” transforms white attitudes through his promotion for solidarity, activism and resistance.…

    • 254 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Frederick Douglass Argumentative Essay
    • 641 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Frederick Douglass Argumentative Essay

    ‘His speeches were so well delivered, in fact, some of his opponents began questioning whether Douglass had actually been a slave’ (Bodden 16). After Douglass published his Autobiography ‘Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave’ he had to escape to Great Britain, leaving his family behind in fear of being recaptured until 1847 when he became a free man with help from British supporters (Bodden 16-17). If he wouldn’t have sailed to Britain and gained support from British followers, he would have risked being captured by white men and put back into slavery, so he had to leave everything behind. Despite all of this his sacrifice helped us learn more about slavery and what they went…

    • 641 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Slavery Frederick Douglass Analysis
    • 115 Words
    • 1 Page

    Slavery Frederick Douglass Analysis

    This narrative begins with the childhood of Frederick Douglass and ends with his adventures as an abolitionist. He gives insight into his personal recollections of his first awareness of what it meant to be a slave, from his own experiences and his experience as a witness to the brutality of one human being upon another human being. He allows readers through his words to have a front row seat to the world of slavery and the main objective of slavery supporters to dehumanize and oppress another race and culture. The goal of his prose is to raise awareness of the cruelty of man upon the backs of blacks, which subsequently he hoped would end…

    • 115 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Slavery And Its Impact On Both Blacks And Whites
    • 1481 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Slavery And Its Impact On Both Blacks And Whites

    "[Master] was a cruel man, hardened by a long life of slave holding. He would at times seem to take great pleasure in whipping a slave. I had often been awakened at the dawn of day by the most heart-rending shrieks of an own aunt of mine, was whipped upon her naked back till she was to move his iron heart from its bloody purpose. The louder she screamed, the harder he whipped; and where the blood ran fastest, there he whipped longest. He would whip her to make her scream, and whip her to make her hush..."� (Douglass, 3-4).…

    • 1481 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics