Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass' autobiography, Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglas, manages to explain the hurdles African American slaves had to overcome during slavery. Douglass' manages to explain in great details the way of life for most slaves based of his experience and observations. These experiences seemed to be very traumatic leaving long lasting impressions.

As I begging reading the book from chapter once, I was not shocked but surprised on the amount of detail he explains to the reader of what he remembers. He starts by letting the reader know that he does not know how old he is, comparing the lack of information they as slave know about themselves. By the tone of his writings it seemed as if it bothered him that they did not have this information. I believe this is where he starts to question why they, as slaves, were limited on information. But, information about his mother was known.

He knew his mother very little, but new he was fathered by a white man. This information was only known to him by listening to his master speak. Why the lack of details for slaves as a whole? Although Douglas does not confirm this lack of information for all slaves, through his reading it seem like it was a trend for slaves owner to keep slaves ignorant so they can always have power over them. Another tactic he mentions, is why he belief they were separated from their mothers at a young age. Douglass feels this was done so no attachment can be created between child and mother. They are slave and the possibility of attachment can make them less slaves a possible more human. In my opinion it seems like the slaves owner new that if child and mother formed a bond, then the possibility of obedience may vanish in protection of each other. I believe the vivid experiences of Douglass's childhood drove him to want to learn how to read.

Before Douglass learned how to read he had gone through many exchanges through owners, were he experience seeing how they a function differently in cruelty. He mentions how he witnessed his Aunt Hester whipping from her master using the detail of the scene to depict the brutality of slave owners. But women were not the only ones brutally abused. Another vivid memory described by Douglas was the treatment of a slave named Demby. A slave how chose to defy his owner by running away from his calling in fear of a whipping which turn into the murder of Demby. As Douglas explains this scenario it is very apparent that there was no justice for the treatment of slaves. As his story progresses, it becomes more apparent that the White man did not what the slave to have any sort of education.

As Douglas went from one owner to the other, he came across a mistress that thought him his ABCs and fundamental reading. This was an action that was not welcomed by her husband. He explained that they are not