Beloved Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass once said “A battle lost or won is easily described, understood, and appreciated, but the moral growth of a great nation requires reflection, as well as observation to appreciate it”. Douglass reflects on the aftermath of the civil war, and although the slaves were now freed, the nation as a whole needed to comprehend the damage that occurred. In both Beloved, by Toni Morrison, and The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave by Frederick Douglass, the excruciating pain inflicted upon the slaves appears in both fiction and nonfiction. The differences of the two most prominently appears in the detail of the stories, Douglass’s in less detail, and Morrison’s in explicit detail. Publishing Douglass’s autobiography
Slaves were sold for a specific number, some more valuable than others. Both Morrison and Douglass reflect on the value of slaves and how that inhumaneness plays effect on the identity confusion. Additionally, both authors emphasize the bill of sale names given to the slaves and the horrific separation of families. Furthermore, singing acts as a gateway for slaves to tell how they feel without moreover being abused by their slave owners. Lastly, slaves in both stories are restricted of education, causing the white owners to exert stronger power and treat the slaves as animals. When comparing Beloved, by Toni Morrison, and The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave by Frederick Douglass, the prices of slaves, the bill of sale name and separation of families, the singing of the slaves, and the restriction of schooling demonstrate foundations of
In Frederick Douglass he explains how slaves “would sing...to words which to many would seem unmeaning jargon, but...were full of meaning to themselves” (Douglass). The “unmeaning jargon” represents the slaves singing in a way that their master’s can’t understand so that they can express their emotions and heal the wounds caused by slavery. Before dying, Sixo begins to sing a song, one of which Paul D describes as “hatred so loose it was juba” (Morrison 227). “Juba”, a dance originating from the slaves in southern states with lively movements, intricately demonstrates the deep pain of slavery coming from the words of Sixo. The scene additionally represents how white only see slaves as animals, which is why Schoolteacher can not “understand” the words of Sixo before his death. “Rememory”, the recurring idea from Sethe, acts as a flaw surfacing from her horrific experiences of slavery. Sethe’s past haunts her, and she talks about bumping “into a rememory that belongs to somebody else” (Morrison 36). The idea of “rememory” relates to Sethe’s distrust in white people, specifically when Edward Bodwin comes to take Denver to work she has an “instinct” to react of of fear due to his skin color (Morrison 262). Sethe additionally sings to Beloved and Denver to try to hide her deep pain and explain to them why