Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass - Essay Example

Topic 2: A Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass an American Slave Thesis ment Frederick Douglass narrative isa powerful account of his own life as a slave and the triumph he went through in becoming a free man. The narrative offers shocking descriptions of the horror of slavery especially how slavery as an institution degrades both the slaves and slaveholders. Douglass seeks to create in his audience an enormous outrage regarding how slaves are treated and the infliction slavery has on both masters and slaves. In particular, he enables his audience to experience the pain inflicted on the slaves by demystifying its violence and unfairness, and he points out the undeserved whippings, extreme physical exertion, inconsistent punishments, killings, and the taking away of children from their mothers as incongruous brutality (Douglass ch 1). However, the narrative offers an interesting awareness of how to overcome adversity by revealing how knowledge especially through education can be a powerful tool in which people can free themselves from any form of mind control and oppression. Therefore, the aim of this response paper is to explain how Douglass narration is unique and effective in demonstrating the physical and mental outcome of slavery for a wide range of audiences, and how his use of several styles has enabled him to describe the sickness of abhorrence which can make human beings to treat their fellow humans as beasts of possessions. Target Audience The main target audience for Douglass work seems to be the then Northern audience who were mainly educated whites, and had a greater conviction for greater social freedom. This is evident in chapter 4, whereby he reveals how the northern cities allowed him to freely connect with diverse kinds of individuals with novel intellectual ideas (Douglass). Also, in the preface he elaborates this by asserting that the debate in the north regarding slavery focused on the masters, and such a biased perspective without providing the real accounts of the slaves themselves only sustained the Southern slavery through its real and contrived approaches of imprisoning blacks (Douglass ch 1). Secondly, he also wanted the southern slave owners to read his works and in his conclusion, he asserts that hopefully his works will make the slaveholders to be more frantic regarding any thoughts of hidden antagonists around them, who are set to take away their slaves or obstruct them in reclaiming their runaway slaves (Douglass ch 10). However, one gets a perception that he was also targeting the slaves themselves since he has come out very strongly regarding what he calls the ignorance from his fellow slaves. Thus, Douglass seeks to depict the slaves as people whose suppression has made them to choose to be ignorant and to hold back the truth, instead of seizing the consequences of communicating their plight. Hence, Douglass shows how they are contented with their masters’ inconsistent acts of kindness, and under the influence of such prejudice, they tend to think that their own masters are better compared to other slave owners (Douglass ch 4). Uniqueness and Effectiveness of Douglass work Douglass work is unique since it does not just elaborate on his personal account of slavery, but also acts as a source of public argument regarding slavery as an institution. This is more so regarding how he demonstrates the workings of slavery, as he seeks to show that the major outcome of slavery is the dehumanizing outcome , whereby the slaves are not just under a strong physical domination but they are also under a strong mental domination. For instance, Douglass points out that slave owner often whip their slaves even when they are not at fault and avoid whipping them when they are at fault, so that the slave can always be in a state of paranoid and with a constant perception that they will be castigated at any time despite their actions (ch 3). Secondly, Douglass seeks to make his readers appreciate why and how they can conquer adversity through knowledge by asserting that education is “the pathway from slavery to freedom” (Douglass ch 10). For instance, he has effectively explained why the slaves are often filled with prejudice and untruthfulness by explaining how they are under a mental darkness which is a natural reaction to the mind games played on them by their masters. This then makes the purpose of the work as an effective tool for demystifying slavery especially by revealing the mental darkness to be the most powerful tool of a slave master. Douglass has also been effective in trying to present a rationale as to why a human being would prefer to handle another human as a beast or chattel, by demonstrating that the slave-owners are themselves victims of the slavery institution. In particular, he point out the scene whereby Hugh educates Sophia on slavery tactics as a reflection of how they have become victims of the slave institution, and he argues that although Mrs. Sophia Auld initially treated him well, the disease and hypocrisy of slaveholding soon took effect and Mrs. Auld became cruel although not entirely distorted as a human being (Douglass ch 6). Techniques Used Douglass has consistently applied an authoritative narrative to describe how slavery has turned the slave owners into brutal beings who seeks to have complete power over others. In essence, Douglass uses an authoritative, firm and reflective tone to show how as a freed and knowledgeable man, he is different from other slaves both mentally and physically so that he could be an effective mediator between the northerners and the slaves. He seeks to show the difference between a knowledgeable person from those of a person in mental slavery, and nowhere is this more prominent than in chapter six, whereby he provides a background as to why Hugh Auld orders Mrs. Auld to stop teaching Douglass how to read and write, since by denying slaves education they are easy to manage, and are always contented with their lack of freedom (Douglass ch 6). Secondly, Douglass has focused so much on individual scenes since he wants to elaborate the effect of brutality on both the slave and the masters. Hence, Douglass applies scenes as a means of helping him to explain how slavery operates as a form of mental control and not just a means of physical dominance. For instance, he provides a detailed scene of how Captain Anthony whipped Aunt Hester until she died to show that as slaves, they do not just watch and do nothing but they are unable to halt such acts due to the fear instilled in them mentally (Douglass ch 1). Such scenes are also meant at highlighting the physically damaging outcomes of slavery especially in detailing the physical traumas and wounds. Furthermore, Douglass has applied numerous striking imageries and this enables his audience to relate the brutality the slaves go through. For instance, in chapter 4, he gives a detailed account of his childhood frostbite wounds an d elaborates the magnitude of the pain by revealing how the pen he wrote the narrative with could go inside his the cracks. Thirdly, using ironic tones, Douglass seeks to demonstrate how slavery has turned the slave owners into religious hypocrites who have supposed views regarding justice and fairness but in contrast practice injustice. For instance, he points outs Mr. Gore as a first overseer though he disregards justice by killing and mistreating his slaves (Douglass ch 6). Works Cited The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American SlaveDover Publications2006 Read More