From Bondage to Freedom (Fredrick Douglass)

From imprisonment to Freedom In the early days of buckle voltaic pilery, Frederick Douglass published a narrative that pass on be eer remembered in history. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is a recount of the harsh lifetime on the plantations before his bilk to New York. He describes the senseless acts of severeness on the part of the masters, as well as the dissipated lives of the strivers. This narrative provides a powerful description how ignorance was used as a tool for slavery, the damaging effectuate on slaves and slave owners, and the experience to the path of freedom for African Americans.Although the journey that Douglass suffered finished was hard and extensive, he made his mark in the world and it is still appreciated straight off. Frederick Douglass was born in a slave cabin, in February, 1818, close to the town of Easton, on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Frederick Douglass, whose full name is Frederick Augustus Washington Baily, was dispose by his mother when he was just a baby and then was raised by his grandparents. Douglass never knew his father and according to him and nearly everyone, opinion was in any case whispered that my master was my father his father figure out was a sinlessness man ( NLOFD, 1).When Douglass was around the progress of six, his grandmother took him to the plantation of his master and left him there. He stayed there with his master for to the highest degree two years then he was relocated around the get on with of eight where he was sent to Baltimore to live as a Page 2 houseboy with Hugh and Sophia Auld, relatives of his master. Not foresighted after his arrival his new mistress taught him the alphabet. The lessons soon came to a cease when Hugh said learning will spoil the best spade in the world (Chapter 6).When her husband forbade her to continue her instruction, because it was unlawful to teach slaves how to read, Frederick took it upon himself to learn. This tag the turning point when Frederick Douglass started to become a man. Frederick Douglass narrative was written to expose how ignorance was used as a tool for slavery. He shows how white slaveholders maintain slavery by keeping their slaves ignorant and oblivious to society. At the time Douglass was writing, many people believed that slavery was a natural state of be.They believed that blacks were incapable of participating in civil society and thus should be kept as workers for whites. Mr. Auld, Douglass master, makes this evident by stating A nigger should know nonhing only to obey his master-to do as he is told to do. Slave owners would keep slaves insensible of simple things such as birth names and birth dates. Douglass shares his grief of not knowing his age by stating A want of selective information c formerlyrning my own was a source of unhappiness to me even during childhood. The white children could tell their ages.I could not tell why I ought to be deprived of the same privilege. I was no t whollyowed to make any inquiries of my master concerning it. (Chapter 1) The master withheld this information because things like birthdays give a person self-identity. Self-identity leads to self-worth, and this was not a desirable quality to have in a slave if youre a slaveholder. They also controlled the verbiage of the slaves by annihilating the mother tongue. This limited the Page 3 communication between slaves and controlled interaction also kept uprising and revolt to a minimum.Literacy and formal education of slaves was not allowed . The more a slave knew about the language of another country the more he is able to move through all levels of that society. Slave owners believed that their captives would learn their secrets, and would be slaves no more. Slave owners could not fool a slave that knew their language, and being a fool is one of the basic ingredients to the conservation of the slavery system. Douglass reveals the damaging effects on slaves through various angle s. He describes Aunt Hesters brutal beating by Mr.Plummer most vividly stating He then said to her, Now, you dd b-h, Ill learn you how to disobey my orders and after rolling up his sleeves, he commenced to lay on the heavy cow skin, and soon the warm, red blood came dripping to the floor. The word of slaves as property is another subject the author focuses on. He highlights that slave owners believed that their captives were not human and were not treated as such. He also describes how slaves were often passed between owners, and how family separation severed bonds. Douglass describes his own pain sensation by expressing I eceived the tidings of my mothers death with much the same emotions I should have belike felt at the death of a stranger (Chapter 1). Slaveholding was destructive not only to slaves but to slave owners as well since the corrupt power that the slave owner enjoyed over their slaves had a libellous effect on the slave owners moral health. Before slavery corrupt s Sophia Aulds good nature, she is a kind, affectionate person. She is corrupted by slaveholding when her husband said to her if you teach Page 4 that nigger how to read, there would be no keeping him. It would forever unfit him to be a slave.He would at once become unmanageable, and of no value to his master (Chapter 6). This treatment of slave led the slave masters down a path to destructive moral health that would not be accepted in todays society. Just as slave owners deny slaves of knowledge and education, slaves must set about education and knowledge in order to chase freedom. Douglass gains this knowledge by reading a book called The Columbian Orator, which contains a philosophical discussion between a master and a slave. In the dialogue, the master lays out the account for slavery, and the slave disproves each point, eventually convincing the master to free him.After Frederick Douglass reads The Colombian Orator, he realizes the truth about ignorance, freedom, and knowledg e. Douglass writes, It was this everlasting thinking of my condition that tormented me. There was no getting rid of it. The silver go around of freedom had roused my soul to eternal wakefulness (Chapter 7). Douglass also describes his path to freedom. He clarifies, however, that this section of the book does not describe the exact means of his splinter. He does not want to give slave owners any information that would help them prevent other slaves from fleeing to the North.Though he does not give a physical description of how to escape from slavery, he does inspire slaves to gain the knowledge to one day seek the path to freedom. The Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass shows how white slaveholders perpetuate slavery by keeping their slaves ignorant, the damaging effect of slaves, and also how slaves must seek knowledge and education in order to pursue freedom. The novel lets the readers Page 5 feel the cruelty and hardship of Douglass life. Douglass writing reminds people of the harsh reality of slavery, and what it takes to overcome the circumstances.