Your homework for Tuesday, August 17th is to contemplate what you've been reading so far in Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (remember, the text needs to be completely read by next Monday, August 23rd!). Post your initial response to the book here and reflect on slavery in the American South and something that has impressed itself upon your mind, from the text, at this point. Aim to write between 250 - 350 words and I look forward to reading your posts.
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI've nearly finished reading the book so I've learnt about most of the details Frederick Douglass gives about slavery in the American South. Slavery seemed to vary greatly across the American South. The slaves of slave handlers who owned huge farms in the deeper south were treated very differently from the slaves of the slave handlers who lived in the city. This is shown by Douglass when he explains how each of his masters treated him. He described the farm owners as being cowards who would whip a slave for the smallest reason. In contrast, he described his city masters as kinder. They didn't whip him and the other slaves as much in the city as they did on the farms. Another major difference noticed by Douglass was the amount of food given by his masters. Farm masters gave hardly enough food to survive. City masters gave plenty of food, even if it wasn't necessarily good.
However, I think that the slavery in general was horrible. The different encounters described by Douglass explaining certain moments or events that showed the true cruelty of the slave handlers were very shocking. I noticed that the main reason slaves remained as slaves and why white men were able to keep control of slaves was the lack of education. Since slaves were not allowed to learn how to read and write, they were never able to learn something. As a result, they became ignorant and did as they were told because they knew of nothing else.
This is something that has strongly impressed itself upon my mind. The main reason why slaves stayed slaves is excellently described by Frederick Douglass in the following phrase:
"I have found that, to make a contented slave, it is necessary to make a thoughtless one. It is necessary to darken his moral and mental vision, and, as far as possible, to annihilate the power of reason. He must be able to detect no inconsistencies in slavery; he must be made to feel that slavery is right; and he can be brought to that only when he ceases to be a man (pg. 135)."
Here he clearly explains what slavery does to a man, it causes him to cease to be a man. That is what slave handlers did. That is why slaves stayed slaves. Because they are thoughtless. They no longer have the power of reason.
Arno Tuts
8/18/2010
ReplyDeleteThe Life of Frederick Douglass Reflection John Haynes
Frederick Douglass’ narrative can be best described as a fantastic work, in both senses of the word fantastic. On one hand it is involving, unsettling, and simply well written as Douglass truly expresses the painful life of slave, especially the depraved cruelty of his various masters. On the other, the narrative reads almost like fiction, what with the outrageous and perturbing caricatures of the various characters that Douglass has constructed and his delightful use of hyperbole.
That’s right, I said it was delightful. I disagree with some arguments made in the introduction (as does the author) that question whether Douglass’ story is bona-fide or otherwise. Make no mistake; I am not saying I believe that the narrative entirely accurate. However, the validity of the work is of no consequence, because the ends justified the means. Douglass inspired people to fight against the oppression of slavery with his story, and therefore the book achieved a greater purpose than many other books ever do. I also believe that authors should be allowed a certain freedom of expression and not be harangued for their techniques or style. I understand that historians may be frustrated by Douglass’ lack of facts but they can rely on other (more reliable) historians’ work from that time.
Douglass’ narrative stirs up many emotions about the horrors of slave trade. The fact that there was a career known as slave-breaker in those times was utterly appalling to me and I had to put the book down for a while. After reading as far as I have, I am quite ashamed of my Southern heritage. I personally think slavery is one of the worst things a man can do to another, because it’s a form torture, but constant, everyday torture that not only wears away the body and mind, but grates on the soul.
Im on my way to finish the book and I now understand the information that Frederick Douglass gives about slavery in the American South. In this time, there were two different kinds of slaves. The slave handlers who normally owned huge farms in the deeper south were treated completely different to the slave handlers who lived in the city center. His description just thrilled me. The amounts of food that they got were very thrilling. Then, the owners would just do anything to the slaves for the smallest reason.
ReplyDeleteWhen I think about this book, I just don’t want to read it because I think that slavery is such a bad topic. Frederick Douglass explains many things about slavery in such a way that its scary. The thing that most scars me is how slavery stayed on for so long. The white men took over them since they was a decay in the people’s education. Since they needed to survive, they would just follow orders. The white men would order them to do whatever they would want and since they didn’t have education and needed a way to survive, they would do as told. There are many passages in this book that demonstrate all of this.
Alberto Rossi
All I can think right now is, wow. The book is deeply tragic and extremely graphic. Frederick Douglass describes the whipping bits in excruciating detail that kind of made me want to put the book and scream. The things that slaves experienced were inhumane. I cannot stand the thought of slaves being whipped after all their hard work day after day just because they made a small mistake. These slaves were sold. They had no choice in this. They were sold to slavery because of their skin color and where they were. These are two factors that the slaves cannot control; yet because of this, they are forced into the hardest and cruelest type of labor. And their ‘reward’? Few pieces of clothing a year, and some meat and wheat. Children have to go naked most of the year because of lack of clothing. It just shocks me that mankind can be so cruel. Does the guilt not eat them alive? The worst part is, it seems as if there were no softhearted masters. The type of masters that were considered kind was the ones who merely whipped without getting pleasure from it. However, it is still harming an innocent person by slashing into their flesh and watching the blood pour out of their living body. And to think that some people actually took pleasure out of whipping the fresh and soul out of a person. My strongest reaction is, why is it that it took so long to end slavery? Was there no one that had the courage to stand up for these tortured slaves? Yet now we look back at a slave’s memoir and realize what they had to go through and feel the frustration and injustice. What good it is now? Just imagining the physical state the slaves were in fires a line of frustration through me.
ReplyDeleteI'm not that far in yet so i can't say much. I think that the other overuses adjectives and descriptions too much. in the very beginning of the book it is a good way to show the depth of the situation and it helped me get a sense of how strongly the other felt about anti-slavery and Frederick Douglas's story. However, after a few pages where most of the words were adjectives (followed by a few more) all i could start to think about was when the writer would finish with the adjectives and get the book would get to the actual narrative of Frederick's life as a slavery and his escape.
ReplyDeleteI have read up to chapter 6 of the Narrative of Fredrick Douglass, an American slave. In the first chapter of the book it is clear how slavery and not seeing family affects Fredrick’s life. I feel as if it just extremely cruel to do such a thing to a family and, most definitely breaking apart a family. When I read the part where Fredrick’s mom died and how he was hardly affected by this news, shocked me. How is it possible for one not to have any feelings for slaves and their families? It just shocks me. When Fredrick was watching his aunt being whipped he felt as if he was participant and also a witness. When I figured out that he said he felt like a participant I was truly shocked at how he could think this. I feel as if these slaves have been mistreated their whole lives and how their brains have been brain washed to the point where Fredrick is watching his aunt, family get beaten and even think that his is a participant of this. In chapter four I was amazed those masters just kill their slaves if they don’t listen. This truly tortured me inside because to take one’s life away for not listening. This truly frustrates me knowing that these slaves may have some family left but instead of thinking a rich white person just goes ahead and shoots some. This book is very frustrating to read and sad, but it is giving me a great perception of how the life in the 1800’s were.
ReplyDeleteMatthew Vanhoutte
As we read throughout the book we see that Fredrick has had some hard times when he was a small kid. In the early age of Fredrick Douglas he is unable to work in the field but has free time on his hands while he is not working. When he was young he witnessed many beating to his Aunt Hestor and is frightened that he will be next in line to get whipped. As time goes by his life does not change until the day he goes to Covey and admits to him that he does not want to be treated like this anymore and since then he has never gotten a beating.
ReplyDeleteThis is a type of book where you can compare it to the Apartheid in South Africa where the blacks could only do certain thing and the white had the better privilege of doing more like learning how to read and write. This a fantastic book to read. Everyone will have a different opinion to each other about slavery. I think that slavery should be abolished because it is unfair that the black communities that slave must be black. If it were a back man he would think that he would think to himself that you never see white slaves around the world.
Although Fredrick does not see his family he still lives a very good live in New York with his wife. Like many people will say that slavery is a very big topic and may be expanded into smaller more precise topics.
Stephan Zeller
I'm not very far, or even off the preface yet. But i can say with confidence that I hope that the author stops filling in page after page with adjectives like he does in the preface. The first couple of times and the time when he is describing the anti-slavery convention where he met Frederick Douglas were very well described with lots of adjectives that really pulled me into a sense where i could tell how strongly the writer of the preface and everyone at the rally felt. However, after that the adjectives started to slide by and by and the only mark they left on me was one of annoyance. It was just irritating and i began reading just to get past the preface as apposed to really reading and being a part of the story.
ReplyDeleteThis is Hunter by the way, don't know what's up with it saying anonymous.
The book, Narrative of the life of Fredrick Douglas is definitely an amazing work of literature.Although I haven't read the whole book but I like the way it is written. While I was reading the book I was so engrossed that I could relate everything to it.
ReplyDeleteThe Book depicts many tragic incidents in a slave's life which were so barbaric that I was quite disturbed after reading them. The whippings that the slaves had to bear was so inhumane that it is literally impossible to imagine. There are several questions that come in to my mind after reading about slavery. Why is this discrimination based on skin color? Was there nobody who could revolt? Were there no humane feelings in the slave owners?
I feel that slavery is a brutal crime and am strongly against it. It was not just about harshness against them but the slaves were also deprived of their fundamental rights or just "human" rights. They were deprived of education, peaceful life, security, family life and what not! I think the main reason behind such brutal acts against slaves was the feeling of superiority amongst the white population.
But the best part about the book is the way Fredrick Douglas has presented his feelings and the way he has expounded what he did.
The book is , among other things, a testament to the power of literacy. Frederick Douglass says he was so determined to learn how to read exactly because his masters were so determined not to let him – and once he did, the very thing they feared happened. The world opened up to him; he had access to ideas and thoughts that confirmed every suspicion he ever had about the unfairness of the system that imprisoned him. It’s interesting to think that the very prohibition of literacy among slaves back then was an acknowledgement of how powerful the written word can be.
Ayushi.
Since I have attended American Public Schools, had American History classes, learned about slavery in America, I didn’t have high hopes for this book. I thought I knew all there was to know on the topic. I couldn’t have been more wrong. In history classes, the topic of slavery is fed to students through textbook descriptions and is considered an important part of American History. However, before I started this book, I had no idea the extent of the brutality the slaves were put through, the disrespect they were shown, or the lack of appreciation the owners had for their slaves. This book struck a nerve I didn’t think it would. As I read, I felt myself feeling angry at every turn of a page. From the first chapter I knew this book would get me riled up especially with quotes like: “…he would take great pleasure in whipping a slave.” Even though this book upset me, I appreciate the lessons we have learned from slavery and that this experience has helped us to learn. I am about three quarters of the way through the book, right after Douglass fought with Covey. My anger rose throughout the chapter when Fredrick moved in with Covey. All the progress he had made living in Auld, learning how to read, having a better life for himself, planning to move up north, was all about to be ruined by Covey. Nevertheless the fight scene is my favorite part of the book so far. After all the things Fredrick had seen and been through, I’m so glad he didn’t stand for it anymore and fought back. He fought back for not only himself but for every other slave that was too afraid to. Fredrick Douglass is a great role model and has an extraordinary life story. I can’t wait to finish the book to hopefully see the happy ending.
ReplyDeleteEmily Simpkins
Slavery has existed for nearly a thousand years all the way back to the ancient Egyptians up until the early 20th century. The narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass , an American slave is one of thousand of examples of slavery's harsh and cruel nature is exposed.
ReplyDeleteReading this book reminds me of a similar story written by another slave in the 18th century called Olaudah Equiano. He, much like Frederick Douglass, escaped from his master and decided to publicize his accounts and personal experience of slavery.
In both books, the authors portray the harsh conditions which slaves unfortunately experienced during their time at the numerous plantations they worked at. However what interest me the most is the fact that the author of 'The narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass , an American slave' details the real truth behind slavery. It is therefore not an exaggeration nor is it an attempt to manufacture false conditions of slavery to making the scene look much more severe than it was. This statement can be supported by the fact that the life of Fredrick Douglas as a slave was not a harsh one but a very fair account of treatment.
This book brings about a sense of novelty to me. It is the first book i have read where slavery is given a fair chance to speak for it self, not that i support it, to illustrate the true nature of the conditions people experienced. What an idea!
Sahan Weliwita.
I find this book really captivating, it really makes me despise everything and anything to do with slavery. I don't understand how the human race could be so creul just because of a simple difference. I mean, I know the human race is actually quite violent but at the same time the human race as a whole all want to just be accepted for who they are. So why do people reject others so much if they themselves only want to be accepted with their faults ? The book for me is a bit of an eye opener to slavery. I mean being in this generation we know about past slavery but we don't know that much, I suppose no one could really understand the trauma, pain and pure brutality of it unless they physically went through it, but with it being placed into front of us, like in this book, we can't really ignore it. Reading about Frederick Douglass is kind of depressing with his childhood being so secluded and him becoming too mature too early into life. Well not really mature, but cold and closed from everything. The fact that when he heard his mother died and he felt the same as he would have felt if it was a strangers death really got to me. I suppose it shows that a child isn't as attached to his mother as we would usually presume, and that if he doesn't know his mother well enough that it wouldn't affect him at all if she died. It gets me questioning how we as a society just assume people will act one way or another, it's almost like a psychological experiment. I honestly don't know how he could stand it, it must be really horrible to be so alone and to not know who your father is and to hear and watch your aunt get whipped every second week or so. What I don't understand is why Colonel Lloyd keeps switching his overseers. From what I've read so far I think the book gives a somewhat too vivid description of life growing up as a slave in a plantation. I'm still sort of horrified by the horrible descriptions of beatings Frederick Douglass witnessed as a child. It gives me a relatively good idea of how growing up on a plantation is like but of course I would never know for sure unless I lived through the same sort of situations. The book is interesting that way because it sort of drags you into the story. It shows the story from Frederick Douglass' perspective, it describes a little kid with too much adult whipped into him.
ReplyDeleteAllanah Osborn
I haven't read very far into the book yet. But so far I am getting a sense of his writing, he is using a lot of adjectives. Towards the beginning of the book I found it to be a little slow but at the same time it was detailed. I agree with what Allanah has said, why is the human race so evil?? Why do we as humans degrade one another, why do we have to do that. Is there a reason why they picked on the blacks, no, I believe that they felt inferior and didn't want the other continents and countries develop any further. I also agree with her on how she goes on to say, that people do treat some children who have a less fortunate childhood like the ones in the slums differently to where if they were in a house in Runda. The children in the slums are growing up to fast because they have to mature to defend themselves and they have to mature to protect those they love like little brothers and sisters. Whereas if they were in a house in Runda they probably would have many meals a day and have hot water and clean sheets they would grow up with a normal childhood they wouldn't be expected to grow up to fast.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this book, I not only feel like I now know quite a lot about slavery than before, but also like I can figuratively feel and understand the pain they have gone through. It was very touching and sickening to see the inhuman way they treated slaves! How their Freedom was taken from them and they were treated with no respect! Like at the beginning of chapter one he said that his mother wasn’t allowed to visit him and that he received the tidings of his mother’s death with the same emotions he should probably felt at the death of a stranger. I am also very glad that Frederick wrote this narrative with a straight forward tone because when people read this book they will have an honest and straight forward opinion of slavery.
ReplyDeleteFlagot Tsige
In my old school, I had the opportunity to read an excerpt from this book – the part where he gets into a fight with Covey. It was a powerful excerpt and did affect me, but reading the whole book leaves me absolutely appalled. To read through his life makes me feel as if it were all happening right in front me, which then makes me feel incompetent even if it happened a long time ago. That’s how real he writes, in my opinion. It really is unbelievable that we humans are able to be so cruel. Sometimes, when I think about it, I feel ashamed for being human. What also leaves me feeling really sad is the tremendous impact slavery has psychologically on those held by its chains. The way it causes a deep self-hate is horrendous and it gets me mad. This story most definitely reaches every person’s heart. Rhetoric wise, he uses a lot of pathos, but all in hope to open people’s eyes to the reality of the time. I think the publishing and publicity of his book definitely impacted society in general because, as an ambassador to the slaves, he proved himself and his people equal in emotion, strength, and intelligence. He shattered the image the white people had on them being “brutes” as he puts it, which I’m sure is a great factor in the abolition of slavery in the United States 20 years later. Frederick Douglass is a humble writer, but absolutely sincere. The story itself flows smoothly and hits important points of his life quickly without lingering too much on transitions like other authors tend to do. He seems to just want to state the facts of slavery as they are rather than accuse those who mistreated him. Whether every thing really happened to him or in front of him is absolutely true, I’m not sure. One has to remember that he said that his life as a slave was actually not as harsh as it usually was for others, so he might have added stories to make his cause more convincing. However, I do not doubt that every thing he said happened to one person or another. I have also had the opportunity to read an excerpt from the autobiography of Olaudah Equiano, a slave kidnapped from Africa at 10 years old, and I think it’d be interesting to compare their lives and writing styles. I’ll be done with the book soon, but I can definitely say that the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave is not a book to be easily forgotten. It definitely impacts us forever one way or another. I deeply respect Frederick Douglass for his strength, perseverance, loyalty, and what he did for his people.
ReplyDeleteThis story takes on the life of Fredrick Douglass in only one hundred and fifty pages. From what I read, it is very easy to picture the traumatic events that left this man scarred for the rest of his life. The book is a fairly easy read in the sense that the reader can very easily picture what Fredrick Douglass went through, to get where he is today. This author spared the readers no details of each devastating account he experienced. There were countless scenes in which Fredrick Douglass watched his mother or friends get beaten and whipped. These scenes were difficult to read because when watching, Fredrick Douglass knew that there was nothing that he could do to stop the whipping. My initial response to this reading was that it made me mad. That such cruelty against a child as young as my little brother happened less than two hundred years ago! The novel speaks deeply on the theme of oppression and how something as simple as an education which we take for granted was desired by so many slaves. And that the only people holding it back from them was their slaveholders. This novel was written and published a long time ago, this can be seen in the witting style that the author has. His sentences are short and to the point, yet send the reader very strong messages about slavery. He colored the sentences with great word choice that opened my eyes about slavery in the south of America during these times.
ReplyDeleteBersabel Behonegne
The author portrays slavery in the book to a lesser extreme than I had expected. He talks about the mistreatment of African Americans, and tells stories of abuse in great detail. The text is moving; however Douglass’s distant narration doesn’t enable a reader to feel remorse. The content is such that should make someone cry or feel depressed, but Douglass’s detachment is so matter of factly that we take the stories as information more than a sad story. The book is more like an article, showing people the depth of American Slavery. People are unaware of how disgustingly unjust African Americans were treated before they had rights. This book gives multiple examples of how extreme American slavery was and in turn broadens people’s knowledge and perspective on American slavery. Personally the book has changed my perspective of home. The setting of the story takes place in Maryland, about 40 minutes away from where I live. The book makes it difficult to compare Maryland now, to how it was many years ago. The Chesapeake Bay then and now seem to be entirely different. Maryland seems emancipated now that segregation has become obsolete. People of all color now live together in peace, however all are living ignorantly. It would seem- because of the behavior of Americans- that no one remembers or acknowledges how Maryland use to be. Their emancipation is not appreciated because the importance of it has been forgotten. Douglass’s book reminds us of hardship which makes the people grateful for what Maryland and the rest of the states are like now.
ReplyDeleteFrederick Douglass’s story allows readers to feel the pain and emotion he went through personally. The several examples of injustice Douglass uses in the book shows slavery as what it truly was, a terrible act of injustice towards an undeserving nation of victims. Prior to reading the book my outlook on American slavery was that it was a terrible period of time in history. Having read the book enabled me to better understand the horror behind American slavery. The way the slaves were treated was morally wrong, appalling, unfair and unjust. Never could I imagine myself ever treating another individual similarly no matter how different we may appear to be. Frederick Douglass shows racism in the book as normal, because in the giving time of the story it was. It was the culture to believe white Americans were better than black Americans. The African Americans had no rights and were inferior. Wrong as this may be, Douglass’s writing proves that white Americans being superior was just a fact of life and was not seen as right or wrong. If a slave opposed the way society worked he was either beaten or killed and therefore learnt to accept that things are just the way they are. Douglass’s description of the way slaves were treated allows readers to feel grateful for how things have changed. He enables us to feel his pain which further enforces that treating someone how slaves were treated, today would render incredibly difficult. It would be impossible to commit such a disgusting crime without feeling as if your actions were wrong, unlike back then when mistreating others was normal. As Douglass said on page 69 “it was worth half a cent to kill a nigger and half a cent to burry one.” We can only be thankful that is not the case in our society today.
ReplyDelete- Chris Deal
In short terms this narrative is deeply impacting. A main reason is its being an actual narrative, a retelling of events. The fact that all of the scenes in the book, as gruesome as they may seem, are real life occurrences really connected me to the story. When I read the various and reoccurring shocking incidents, such as the whippings, the killings, and numerous other barbarities, I understood that this wasn’t merely a fictional work, that it was all very real, and that’s what made me sympathize with the writer and keep on reading the book. I think that the way in which Frederick Douglass has displayed his work, as a very simply stated narrative of his lifetime as a slave is extremely effective. He uses simple language, and simple sentence structures, making the work a relatively easy read, only that he demonstrates his ability as a writer through the various effective uses of imagery, diction, word choice, and his application of word choice for creating an overall mood. All in all, the entire story managed to stir up strong emotions in relation to slavery. I concluded that it’s a terrible concept, and that through time, hopefully, most humans should be thinking the same way. It’s simply not viable to put other people under submission, because it goes against human nature, and it can be very harmful to future relations.
ReplyDeleteSpecifically in the American South, slavery was practiced with equal barbarity as in any other slave containing country. Except, there was an idea which bothered me greatly, the fact that laws were introduced to protect these slaves was disturbing, as I view it as being extremely hypocritical. How would a society which viewed their human workforce as mere beasts of labor, protect them? What has impressed me from this text to this point is the deep emotions which Frederick Douglass manages to toy with through his excellent and appropriate usage of imagery and other writing tools. For example the gory descriptions of the whippings leave little space for a hard heart. Therefore his ability to connect with the reader and convey his previous hardships are truly exceptional.
-David N.V.