Narrativ_Eof_the_Life_of_Frederick_Douglas

Karie Russell Professor McDougal Essay Four 23 November 2009 Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas While reading the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas I felt overwhelmed. I have read about slave pieces in high school but none that have touched me like this. He explains in detail the treatment he and his fellow slaves received and the punishments were unbearable. I do not understand how people came to treat others this way. It is incredible to me that he not only learned to read and write but escaped the harsh life to be able to tell about it. While reading the beginning of the story he states that he did not know his mother. “My mother and I were separated when I was but an infant- before I knew her as my mother” (Douglas 2072). To separate someone from their own mother is horrible, especially just so they won’t know her. When his mothered passed away he said he received her tidings but felt as though he was receiving things from a stranger. He had no emotion for the “tidings” as he called them. He goes on to tell about the white children being able to tell their age and know their parents and he is envious because he cannot. While reading further I came across the first whipping that he witnessed. He was hidden so he wouldn’t get in trouble for watching. His aunt had gone out at night and was not allowed to. When the master called for her she was not there and when she returned he started to whip her. “…I’ll learn you to disobey my orders! And after rolling up his sleeves, he commenced to lay on the heavy cowskin, and soon the warm red blood came dripping to the floor…” (Douglas 2075). This is not something that we ever witness and to be a common thing back then is just horrible. He remained hidden for the duration of the whipping because he had never seen anything like this before and he feared he would be next. The slave life was not easy and was made hard for a reason. The master’s felt if they made punishment and life hard enough that the slaves would not rebel. The clothes they received yearly were “two linen shirts, two pairs of trousers, one jacket, one pair of socks, one pair of shoes, an overcoat, and a wool hat” (Life as a Slave). This is not enough to keep warm during the winter or even last to the winter for that matter. If the clothes wore out before the next yearly giving, they went around naked. To me this is another way to embarrass a slave and make them feel under someone. This is wrong and unjust. I found the way that Douglas escaped and thought it was great. “In 1838, Douglass escaped slavery in an elaborate scheme where he wore a sailor’s uniform and borrowed papers from a free African-American seaman. In a journey that took less than twenty-four hours, he left Baltimore by train and travelled through Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and Philadelphia. He says, though, that he did not feel safe until he reached New York City” (Frederick Douglas). This was a wonderful idea and it worked. The fact that he didn’t feel safe until he got to New York was sad to me. There should have never been slavery. Nobody should have to feel unsafe because of the color of their skin. Frederick Douglas was a great man and very intelligent, which surprised people back then because he was black. In conclusion, reading this really opened my eyes to what it was like back then for slaves. I never knew that it was actually that hard, or maybe I did and just didn’t want to believe that people could actually be that mean. The fact that he does not know exactly when he was born is very sad. No human should have to undergo treatment like that and it almost makes me ashamed to be a white woman and to know how they were treated by the white race. This is a horrible thing to read about but it really opens the eyes to how people were and that not every life was always a valuable one. This should never be the case, every life should be took care of with great importance.   Works Cited Douglas, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas, An American Slave, Written by Himself. The Norton Anthology American Literature. New York: Robert S. Levine, Arnold Krupat, 2007. 2064-2129. Print. Frederick Douglas. ENotes, 2009. Web. 23 Nov. 2009. . "The Life as a Slave." Think Quest. Mrs. Hamilton, 23 Oct. 2003. Web. 23 Nov. 2009. .