In the book Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass, the struggles of slave life are illustrated through Douglass struggles and want for freedom from his oppressors. Douglass recounts the horrors of the American slavery system on both the slaves and slaveholders. The system as a whole destroy the very soul of all involve. From its effects on the slaves, in turning them into that of less than man but mere property and in the case of the slaveholders, they cease to display humane affinities but that of fiendish affinities. This system of American slavery can only breed the worsts qualities in a human. At the core it is inherently wrong. This wrongness is apparent in its abilities to bring other the worst in humanity.
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Severe. On Douglass recount of him, he was a horrid man with passion for cruelty. “He seems to take pleasure in manifesting his fiendish barbarity” (Douglass, 347). Douglass has seen Mr. Severe “whip a woman, causing blood to run half an hour…in the mist of her crying children, pleading for their mother’s release” (Douglass, 347). The horrid traits of Mr. Severe seem to be amplify in the caustic surrounding of slavery. Another example of such horror embodies that of Edward Covey, but unlike Mr. Sever straight brute, Covey was of the cunning kind. He was known for having “a very high reputation for breaking young slaves” (Douglass, 383). Slaveholders would lend their problem slaves to Covey for a set amount of time. This is so that Covey can recondition them into one that will be obedient to his master. Covey archives this by working his slave “fully up to the point of endurance” (Douglass, 385), while not giving them enough time for meals. “We would often less than five minutes taking our meals” (Douglass, 385). The methods employ by Covey “consisted in his power to deceive” (Douglass, 386). Covey would not approach working slave in a direct fashion. “He seldom approached the spot where we were at work openly, if he could …show more content…
However, during the era of slavery, there exit pro-slavery advocates that argues that the American slavery system was not inherently wrong. It was only due to Douglass misfortune to have been in the hands of cruel and incompetent owners. That the majority of slaves are happy and appreciative of their master. However, I would argue that this is false, all slave owners no matter how nice and caring will eventually become demons that forget their humanity because the American slavery system corrodes the morality of all involve. This transformation is most apparent in Mrs. Auld, the wife of Mr. Auld master to Douglass at one point in his life. To hear Douglass describe her, she was “a woman of the kindness heart and finest feelings” (Douglass, 363) and “she was pious, warm, tender-hearted woman…she had bread for the hungry and clothes for the naked” (Douglass, 3670. Upon Douglass first interaction with Mrs. Auld, the costume of a slave and master relationship was not imprinted in Mrs. Auld, due to the fact that she didn’t own any slave pervious to Douglass. “She had been in a good degree preserved from the blighting and dehumanizing effects of slavery” (Douglass, 363). Douglass was “utterly astonished at her goodness” (Douglass, 363). From Douglass’s accounts of Mrs. Auld, she would count as one of the ‘nice’ and ‘caring’ slaveholders that
Severe. On Douglass recount of him, he was a horrid man with passion for cruelty. “He seems to take pleasure in manifesting his fiendish barbarity” (Douglass, 347). Douglass has seen Mr. Severe “whip a woman, causing blood to run half an hour…in the mist of her crying children, pleading for their mother’s release” (Douglass, 347). The horrid traits of Mr. Severe seem to be amplify in the caustic surrounding of slavery. Another example of such horror embodies that of Edward Covey, but unlike Mr. Sever straight brute, Covey was of the cunning kind. He was known for having “a very high reputation for breaking young slaves” (Douglass, 383). Slaveholders would lend their problem slaves to Covey for a set amount of time. This is so that Covey can recondition them into one that will be obedient to his master. Covey archives this by working his slave “fully up to the point of endurance” (Douglass, 385), while not giving them enough time for meals. “We would often less than five minutes taking our meals” (Douglass, 385). The methods employ by Covey “consisted in his power to deceive” (Douglass, 386). Covey would not approach working slave in a direct fashion. “He seldom approached the spot where we were at work openly, if he could …show more content…
However, during the era of slavery, there exit pro-slavery advocates that argues that the American slavery system was not inherently wrong. It was only due to Douglass misfortune to have been in the hands of cruel and incompetent owners. That the majority of slaves are happy and appreciative of their master. However, I would argue that this is false, all slave owners no matter how nice and caring will eventually become demons that forget their humanity because the American slavery system corrodes the morality of all involve. This transformation is most apparent in Mrs. Auld, the wife of Mr. Auld master to Douglass at one point in his life. To hear Douglass describe her, she was “a woman of the kindness heart and finest feelings” (Douglass, 363) and “she was pious, warm, tender-hearted woman…she had bread for the hungry and clothes for the naked” (Douglass, 3670. Upon Douglass first interaction with Mrs. Auld, the costume of a slave and master relationship was not imprinted in Mrs. Auld, due to the fact that she didn’t own any slave pervious to Douglass. “She had been in a good degree preserved from the blighting and dehumanizing effects of slavery” (Douglass, 363). Douglass was “utterly astonished at her goodness” (Douglass, 363). From Douglass’s accounts of Mrs. Auld, she would count as one of the ‘nice’ and ‘caring’ slaveholders that