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The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, written by Frederick Douglass himself, is an autobiographical genre that travels through years of the oppressive institute of slavery. Douglass gives insight about the early stages of his life, all the way up until the time that he wrote the Narrative in an effort to show the ignorance, callousness, and cruelty that the white slave-holders had towards their black slaves. ... However, he still used his experiences and remembrances to create his Narrative and use it as a tool to help abolish slavery.
In the first section of the autobiography, Douglass notes instances of slave oppression that he experiences and witnesses in his life. The first of such experiences that Douglass discusses is the relationship that he had with his mother. ... However, his mother worked all day and would occasionally travel all night to spend time with Douglass until she passed away when he was seven.
Douglass later notes that the first brutality that he witnessed being done to another slave was when his Aunt Hester was beater by her slave master because she was visiting a young boy on another plantation. ... Douglass writes,
he then said to her, "now you d---d b---h, Ill learn you how to disobey my orders! ... I was so terrified and horrorstricken at the sight, that I hid myself in the closet, and dared not venture out till long after the bloody transaction was over (Douglass 26).
This instance, among many others, Douglass uses to show the brutality and cruelty of the institution of slavery.
There are seemingly two climaxes or points in the story where Douglass has phenomenal revelations about how to fight back against the oppressions of slavery. The first of which, is when Douglass uses a "magical root" given to him by his friend, Sandy Jenkins, to fight back against an oppressive overseer. After Douglass gains courage through this experience, he strengthens his appetite to stand up for his human rights in society.
Later on in the autobiography, Douglass has his second revelation at Captain Aulds plantation. ... At this point, Douglass sees the importance of education and tries to further educate himself by using alternate methods.
Douglass goes on to tell about how he tricks young white schoolboys to teach him how to read. ...
Douglass did not stop there, however, he goes on to take a job in a shipyard, and continues his education by reading the sides of the boxes and learning more letters and more knowledge to uses to free himself from the institute of slavery. ... Although his work has a scholarly appeal, it is a typical slave narrative for many reasons. But even though Douglass writes his Narrative in this particular genre, he also uses an epic and African folklore quality to show his appreciation for his American (associated with epic) and African (associated with African folklore) heritage.
In various ways, Douglass presents his writing in a manner that is typical of a slave narrative. Like many slaves who wrote works of this nature, Douglass did not know exactly when he was born because there were no records of his birth. ... Douglass then tells about the plight of going from slavery to freedom and becoming an abolitionist. ...
In an effort to further appeal to his readers, Douglass uses the American famed "heroic epic" quality in his work. Douglass displays this style when he tells a story about the physical abuse that he received his first time working as a field hand and how he overcame his torment. ... We were at it for nearly two hours" (Douglass 82). ...
Douglass also subtlety includes the aspect of African folklore in his writing to uphold his heritage without blatantly stating his pride. ... Douglass uses this style of writing when he tells of the "magical root" that his friend Sandy Jenkins gives him to help his find the courage to fight Mr. ... Douglass writes,
he told me, with great solemnity, I must go back to Covey; but that before I went, I must go with him in to another part of the woods, where there was a certain root, which if I would take some of it with me, carrying it always on my right side, would render it impossible for Mr. Covey, or any other white man, to whip me (Douglass 80).
Douglass later uses the root that he gets from Jenkins to empower him to fight off Mr. ... And although he makes a side note that, "this superstition is very common among the more ignorant slaves" (Douglass 89), he seems to state this as a disclaimer that they were not practicing "which craft" of any type of barbaric behavior that may be associated with African Tradition. ... )
Frederick Douglass
Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey was born in February 1917, in Tuckahoe, Talbot County, on the Eastern shore of Maryland. ... Later changing his name to Frederick Douglass (Douglass was a name that Mr. Johnson finds in the "Lady of the Lake" and he suggests that Douglass uses it), he became one of the most instrumental people to head the anti-slavery movement. Douglass fought to abolish the institution of slavery through educating slaves and writing works that spoke against the injustice treatment of the slaves.
Harriet Bailey
A slave woman who is Frederick Douglasss mother. She worked on a plantation that was twelve miles away from Douglass. ... She saw Douglass about four or five times until her shadowy relationship was terminated by her death. ...
Aunt Hester
Douglass claims that she is his aunt but they may not have been related by blood. ... She is the first person that Douglass actually sees being beaten. Her beating causes Douglass to want to fight against the brutality of slavery. ... Douglass notes him as being his first master and the first person he witnesses beating a slave (Note: He beats his Aunt Hester on his plantation). ... Douglass accuses him of forcing his grandmother out into the woods to die after all of the service that she gave him. ... She saved Douglass from starvation on the Lloyd plantation and nurtured his wounds after he had an altercation with another slave boy. She was the first person of the white race to express kindness to Douglass.
Hugh Auld
He was a Baltimore relative of Captain Aaron Anthony who saw over Douglass at the age of eight. He stopped his wife, Sophia Auld, from teaching Douglass how to read because he did not feel that slaves should be educated.
Approximate Word count = 5284
Approximate Pages = 21.1
(250 words per page double spaced)
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