Discipline In Frederick Douglass

Fredrick Douglass, a man who revealed the terror behind slavery by sharing his personal experiences. Douglass was born into slavery and had no way to opt out due to his mother being a slave even though his father was said to be a white man. His Narrative describes quite a few horrific experiences he had to endure throughout his life as a slave. Fredrick Douglass mainly discusses the poor treatment of slaves by exposing his previous masters and their discipline methods as well as their willingness to take care of their slaves. Ever since the creation of slavery there has been controversy to whether it was formed to benefit everyone taking part in it or whether it was made to benefit certain people.
Fredrick Douglass was an abolitionist who …show more content…
In Mrs. James Steward’s narrative, she describes punishments her master had given her and some family members, she wrote, “I was beaten at one time over the head by master, until blood ran from my mouth and nose: then he tied me up in the garret, with my hands over my head-then he brought me down and put me in a little cupboard, […] without any food.” Then she goes on to describe the punishment of her brother, in which she stated that, “My brother was whipped on one occasion until his back was as raw as a piece of beef, and before it got well, master whipped him again.” This shows the cruelty of only one master, but all slave owners practiced similar disciplinary methods, the severity of the punishment is what differed. In the narrative of Mrs. Nancy Howard, she spoke of one punishment she was given, she stated, “My idea of slavery is, that it is one of the blackest, the wickedest things everywhere in the world. When you tell them the truth, they whip you to make you lie. I have taken more lashes for this, than for any other thing, because I would not lie” This only shows how even the smallest act can be punishable if their master sees it as punishable act. These were only a few of the problems that came with slavery, but they were some of the major …show more content…
The Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass, is a revelation of what slavery truly was back when he was a slave, that’s why his narrative was so important. It is also the reason it caused such a strong reaction from the North and the South. There were many negative experiences that Douglass had to witness and there were some that he himself had to go through. Southerners see his narrative as propaganda constructed to humiliate them because describing these experiences to his readers gives them a negative image of Southerners. The reason Northerners cared about what Douglass had to say because it gave them a glimpse of how Southerners lived. It also opened a window of opportunity to state that they were better when it came to caring for other people. Fredrick’s narrative talked about issues involving lack of food, clothing, and sleep, plus the severity of some punishments. Lastly, this narrative can be seen as a divisive because it contained only one side of the story and it targeted