In chapter 3 of Frederick Douglass, Douglass compares religion to the askew way slave masters mention the slave system. In this chapter, Douglass is seen retelling a horrific story of an encounter between a slave, and his slave master. Douglass retells, “This is the penalty of telling the truth, of telling the simple truth, in answer to a series of plain questions” (Douglass 35). As seen in this story, a slave makes a mistake of telling his master, whom he did not recognize, the truth about his poor treatment he has been enduring. As a result of this, the slave was severely punished; many readers may have the assumption that the slave was reprimanded for telling the truth, however, the slave was punished for not flattering his slave master.
