Frederick Douglass Criticism
Narrative Criticism Frederick Douglass
The 1845 autobiography, The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass provides an elaborate examination of the hardships of slavery. Frederick Douglass' firsthand recounting of the whippings, beatings, and hangings he observed as a slave in the nineteenth century vividly illustrate the poor treatment African American slaves endured in the South. His words, thoughts, and feelings throughout his internment as a slave provides an in depth description of his explanation. Douglass' personal writings about his own survival served as crucial elements to adds momentum to the slavery era.
During the time period of 1818-1841 is approximately when majority of the events in Douglass' slave narrative take place. …show more content…
The corrupt and irresponsible power that slave owners enjoy over their slaves has a detrimental effect on the slave owners' own moral health. With this theme, Douglass completes his overarching depiction of slavery as unnatural for all involved. Douglass describes typical behavior patterns of slaveholders to depict the damaging effects of slavery. He recounts how many slave-owning men have been tempted to adultery and rape, fathering children with their female slaves. Such adultery threatens the unity of the slave owner's family, as the father is forced to either sell or perpetually punish his own child, while the slave owner's wife becomes resentful and cruel. Douglass's main illustration of the corruption of slave owners is Sophia Auld. The irresponsible power of slaveholding transforms Sophia from an idealistic woman to a demon. By showing the detrimental effects of slaveholding on Thomas Auld, Sophia Auld, and others, Douglass implies that slavery should be …show more content…
She changes from a kind, loving, and caring women into a typical mean slave master. It was not rare during the 1800's for women to have no choice, but to obey their husband. This left Sophia no choice; she had to cease teaching Douglass how to read. In the Narrative, another character that plays a very important role is Douglass. He acts as both the narrator and the protagonist, and he appears quite different in these two roles. As the narrator he seems to be very reliable and educated. When his role changes to the protagonist he conveys to the audience that during particular events his status and mentality changed accordingly, which goes back to making him a reliable narrator.
To further depict his battle against slavery, Douglass addresses a variety of people in his audience. The audience that I think he addressing is majority whites to inform them that slavery not only destroyed the mentality of blacks, but also whites. In reading his narrative he focuses on the harsh things whites did to blacks. Yet, he is also making blacks aware of the hardships their ancestors had to
The 1845 autobiography, The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass provides an elaborate examination of the hardships of slavery. Frederick Douglass' firsthand recounting of the whippings, beatings, and hangings he observed as a slave in the nineteenth century vividly illustrate the poor treatment African American slaves endured in the South. His words, thoughts, and feelings throughout his internment as a slave provides an in depth description of his explanation. Douglass' personal writings about his own survival served as crucial elements to adds momentum to the slavery era.
During the time period of 1818-1841 is approximately when majority of the events in Douglass' slave narrative take place. …show more content…
The corrupt and irresponsible power that slave owners enjoy over their slaves has a detrimental effect on the slave owners' own moral health. With this theme, Douglass completes his overarching depiction of slavery as unnatural for all involved. Douglass describes typical behavior patterns of slaveholders to depict the damaging effects of slavery. He recounts how many slave-owning men have been tempted to adultery and rape, fathering children with their female slaves. Such adultery threatens the unity of the slave owner's family, as the father is forced to either sell or perpetually punish his own child, while the slave owner's wife becomes resentful and cruel. Douglass's main illustration of the corruption of slave owners is Sophia Auld. The irresponsible power of slaveholding transforms Sophia from an idealistic woman to a demon. By showing the detrimental effects of slaveholding on Thomas Auld, Sophia Auld, and others, Douglass implies that slavery should be …show more content…
She changes from a kind, loving, and caring women into a typical mean slave master. It was not rare during the 1800's for women to have no choice, but to obey their husband. This left Sophia no choice; she had to cease teaching Douglass how to read. In the Narrative, another character that plays a very important role is Douglass. He acts as both the narrator and the protagonist, and he appears quite different in these two roles. As the narrator he seems to be very reliable and educated. When his role changes to the protagonist he conveys to the audience that during particular events his status and mentality changed accordingly, which goes back to making him a reliable narrator.
To further depict his battle against slavery, Douglass addresses a variety of people in his audience. The audience that I think he addressing is majority whites to inform them that slavery not only destroyed the mentality of blacks, but also whites. In reading his narrative he focuses on the harsh things whites did to blacks. Yet, he is also making blacks aware of the hardships their ancestors had to