Throughout his narrative Douglass keeps telling the readers about the brutal conditions that female slaves were faced with. He illustrates the story of a slave named Henny, another horribly disfigured slave, who was unable to use her hands because she fell into a fire as a child. His master, unsure want to do with her decides that she should be released and go fend for herself. After Douglass’s mother is sold away his grandmother takes care of him. However suddenly his master Anthony dies and he had left no will. This is very important to Douglass and the other slaves that Anthony owned because slaves were considered property of their master. Each slave is assessed to deem how much they are worth and luckily Douglass sent back to the family
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It is clear to the readers that black females in general are not symbolic of suffering but the enslaved female that is afflicted by her inability to fight for freedom. Douglass was a strong believer that education is the key to freedom. This is the trend that most slave narratives followed. The problem with naming education as the key to freedom is how the level of access differed from male to female. Male slaves had more freedoms and were more likely to be literate. Though literacy was a goal for both male and female slaves it was not what allowed females to be free. However, it was important for slaves to “demythologize their social context” as Douglass said. This means understand what being a slave is and knowing that it is meant to be that way The demythologization of a slave’s social context happened in may different ways. This is the key to freedom because many slaves run away without being literate. Harriet Tubman directed the Underground Railroad without having the ability to read. There is proof that education is not the only way to get freedom. However, men were more likely to be educated and therefore more likely to runaway. Most runaways were men between the ages of 20 and 29. Male slaves pride themselves on being independent and a strong individual while female slaves created more relationships with one another will was a method that they used when running
It is clear to the readers that black females in general are not symbolic of suffering but the enslaved female that is afflicted by her inability to fight for freedom. Douglass was a strong believer that education is the key to freedom. This is the trend that most slave narratives followed. The problem with naming education as the key to freedom is how the level of access differed from male to female. Male slaves had more freedoms and were more likely to be literate. Though literacy was a goal for both male and female slaves it was not what allowed females to be free. However, it was important for slaves to “demythologize their social context” as Douglass said. This means understand what being a slave is and knowing that it is meant to be that way The demythologization of a slave’s social context happened in may different ways. This is the key to freedom because many slaves run away without being literate. Harriet Tubman directed the Underground Railroad without having the ability to read. There is proof that education is not the only way to get freedom. However, men were more likely to be educated and therefore more likely to runaway. Most runaways were men between the ages of 20 and 29. Male slaves pride themselves on being independent and a strong individual while female slaves created more relationships with one another will was a method that they used when running