Fredrick Douglass’s Narrative written by himself is one of the best books of the 19th century to shine light on the cruelty and injustice of slavery. Not only does he use his experience to portray the unfortunate life of a slave but also other slaves that he encountered and even later tried to escape with. He also expresses how slaves were looked down upon and why the slave owners thought the way they did about slaves. His experience growing up on a plantation is what exposed him to the extreme racism that occurred in the life of every slave. This treatment later resulted in his escape and freedom.
Frederick Douglass was a leader and a teacher among the slaves, but it wasn’t until later in his life that this became evident. He was separated from his mother at a young age and only got to see her a few times in secret during the night, before she later died when he was 7. The significance of the separation of child and mother at a young age was to sever that bond so that no level of affection was developed, or so Douglass thought. I believe that Douglass included this in his narrative to show how little the white people thought of the slaves that they considered it a privilege to even know the women who gave birth to them and in Douglass’s case father as well. Slaves weren’t deemed worthy enough to even know their own age …show more content…
After years went by and Douglass still was not free, he became discouraged and uninterested in freedom. But as he began to teach the other slaves how to read as well, his desire for freedom and escape grew even more because now it wasn’t just him escaping. He was bringing others along with him as well. The fact that the other slaves were looking up to him for a way out was motivation for him to perfect his plan of escape so that there would be no flaws and everyone would get out safely and
Frederick Douglass was a leader and a teacher among the slaves, but it wasn’t until later in his life that this became evident. He was separated from his mother at a young age and only got to see her a few times in secret during the night, before she later died when he was 7. The significance of the separation of child and mother at a young age was to sever that bond so that no level of affection was developed, or so Douglass thought. I believe that Douglass included this in his narrative to show how little the white people thought of the slaves that they considered it a privilege to even know the women who gave birth to them and in Douglass’s case father as well. Slaves weren’t deemed worthy enough to even know their own age …show more content…
After years went by and Douglass still was not free, he became discouraged and uninterested in freedom. But as he began to teach the other slaves how to read as well, his desire for freedom and escape grew even more because now it wasn’t just him escaping. He was bringing others along with him as well. The fact that the other slaves were looking up to him for a way out was motivation for him to perfect his plan of escape so that there would be no flaws and everyone would get out safely and