Frederick Douglass’ Narrative surface level message is that the black man/woman (henceforth referred to as man) should be freed from their shackles. However, there is also a deeper, underlying message: there is a greater freedom than civil freedom. Douglass insinuates that this greater freedom (Freedom) is the freedom from the dogma that surrounds slavery. This Freedom is a much richer and more profound kind of freedom because the disassociation of the dogma from somebody’s life provides the opportunity for one to grow as a human (the reverse also holds true).
Douglass’ belief in the existence of the dogma’s effects on the black man is exemplified from the onset: “By far the larger part of the slaves know as little of their ages as horses …show more content…
To be more precise: the more perverted a version of Christianity followed, the more attached one is to the dogma (and thus further away from growth). The extreme can be seen through slaveholders: “religious slaveholders are the worst” (D, 46). Douglass clarifies: the religion slaveholders follow is “Christianity of the land” (D, 71). These “Christianity of the land” (the perverted version of Christianity) worshippers display a complete lack of human characteristics: most notably Mr. Hopkins, who “[whipped] slaves in advance of deserving it” (D, 46) but concurrently was one of the most religious men around: “And yet there was not…reverend slave driver, Rigby Hopkins” (D, 47). On the reverse is Douglass a man who follows unchanged Christianity, or in his words, “the Christianity of Christ” (Douglass, 71). Unsurprisingly, by the end of the book, Douglass has, to the best of his ability, escaped the dogma, and grown as much as possible: transforming into a champion for civil liberties and rights.
Frederick Douglass’ Narrative does a great job of hiding a much greater message for its readers between the lines, that there is a much greater freedom lying in wait, not only for blacks but also whites. However, there is another message as well: if racism exists, which is directly associated with the dogma of slavery, there will always be an opportunity for growth for all humans, or from a more somber perspective, humans will never truly reach their full
Douglass’ belief in the existence of the dogma’s effects on the black man is exemplified from the onset: “By far the larger part of the slaves know as little of their ages as horses …show more content…
To be more precise: the more perverted a version of Christianity followed, the more attached one is to the dogma (and thus further away from growth). The extreme can be seen through slaveholders: “religious slaveholders are the worst” (D, 46). Douglass clarifies: the religion slaveholders follow is “Christianity of the land” (D, 71). These “Christianity of the land” (the perverted version of Christianity) worshippers display a complete lack of human characteristics: most notably Mr. Hopkins, who “[whipped] slaves in advance of deserving it” (D, 46) but concurrently was one of the most religious men around: “And yet there was not…reverend slave driver, Rigby Hopkins” (D, 47). On the reverse is Douglass a man who follows unchanged Christianity, or in his words, “the Christianity of Christ” (Douglass, 71). Unsurprisingly, by the end of the book, Douglass has, to the best of his ability, escaped the dogma, and grown as much as possible: transforming into a champion for civil liberties and rights.
Frederick Douglass’ Narrative does a great job of hiding a much greater message for its readers between the lines, that there is a much greater freedom lying in wait, not only for blacks but also whites. However, there is another message as well: if racism exists, which is directly associated with the dogma of slavery, there will always be an opportunity for growth for all humans, or from a more somber perspective, humans will never truly reach their full