Slaveholders In Narrative The Life Of Slavery

Frederick Douglass was an American slave from the time he was born in Maryland to the time of his escape to the North. During his time as a free man, he became a public speaker and writer, committed to abolishing slavery. He wrote the autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, to give readers a first hand look at slavery, to help them understand why it must be abolished. To explain why, Douglass paints the character of a typical slaveholder in the south by making readers aware of their actions. Through the use of many rhetorical strategies, Douglass effectively argues that slaveholders are cruel and corrupt to display the dark side of “the land of the free” to end slavery. Douglass writes many examples of how slaveholders were …show more content…
Douglass refusing to spare a single detail causes readers to feel as if they were present during the event and witnessing all the savagery that was taking place. Douglass also plays on the theme of being ¨naked¨ (17). His aunt, being naked, was completely vulnerable to the will of her master, just as how all slaves are helpless to their masters. Being just a boy during the time, the reader can tell that this incident had a great impact in his life. Douglass admits he wishes he “could commit to paper the feelings with which [he] beheld” the matter (16). He wishes to convey the pain and misery he felt that day over to the reader of his time to convince them of the barbarity slaveholders practiced. Another example of how slaveholders were cruel towards their slaves was the circumstances of Douglass’s grandmother leading to the end of her life. Douglass points out to the reader how his grandmother “had served [his] old master faithfully from youth to old age, ...rocked him in infancy,