Fredrick Douglass Narrative Essay

The Narrative of Fredrick Douglass brings light to the tragic and barbaric ways that his fellow slaves were treated. Douglass gives us glimpses into the daily struggle that slaves have endured just to survive. Although, the slaves went through a lot, no matter how broken, they might seem, they are never truly broken. Until the last breath of air escapes their lungs, they will never accept that this is all life has to offer them. All they wanted is to finally be free and to be treated as human beings. Douglass does an excellent job in showing the powerful struggle that slaves in his time went through, just to live another day, but still not giving up hope that one day they would be free.
From the day they are born slaves knew they were going …show more content…
Douglass is rare for the fact that he was taught how to read and write. Most slaves didn’t know their own ages. Douglass specifically mentioned his own frustration on not knowing such a simple piece of information about his own life. A want of information concerning my own was a source of unhappiness to me even during childhood. (Douglass 41). For a master to have the ultimate control over his slaves, he needs them to know as little about everything as possible, especially when it comes to factual things about the slave. When a person knows little about themselves, it makes them question their existence and their purpose. It makes them feel like their master is holding something over their heads, like Douglass said it is something that has bothered him since he was a …show more content…
When Colonel Lloyd’s slaves met Jacob Jysons, they seldom parted without a quarrel about their master. (Douglass 55). Although, they disagreed on who’s master is better, there is one thing that all slaves could agree on, the fact that all they wanted was to be free. Slaves encoded directions to freedom in their songs. Fallow the Drinking Gourd was a tune used to find the way to the north, no matter what season it was. (http://www.followthedrinkinggourd.org/What_The_Lyrics_Mean.htm ). As a whole one slave could count on another slave to help, no matter what the cost if necessary they would put their own life on the line to help other slaves reach freedom. Douglass is right when he said, we owe something to the slaves south of the line as well as those north of it; and siding the latter on their way to freedom. (Douglass 107). Even though they were given nothing but the clothes on their back and barely enough food to survive, it was enough to give them hope of freedom and when word got back that a slave crossed the line, it encouraged them as a whole that they would have a chance to gain their own