The Narrative Of Frederick Do Essay, Research Paper
The narration of Frederick Douglass illustrates the life of a slave. He was non an ordinary slave.
Indeed he dreamed of freedom, merely as all slaves did, but there was something about Frederick
Douglass that made him different. He dreamed of an instruction. It was this instruction that made
him to be different. It was the cognition that gave him self consciousness that he was a adult male merely as
a white adult male was. It gave him the will to run off and live on his ain. He no longer wanted to
topic himself to the penalty of the superintendent. This cognition brought him the strength to
stand up to those who thought themselves superior to him. It changed his personality and the
impression of his ain ego. In this paper I will discourse the altering ego image, the personality, the
cases that reflect these alterations and the point of the autobiography of Frederick Douglass.
Frederick Douglass s impression of ego in the fresh revolve around the life that he lived. If it
weren T for certain facets of his life, he wouldn Ts have thought approximately himself as he did. Bondage
scarred him merely as other slaves. He was treated as belongings so he felt himself as belongings. In him
lied no combustion desire for something better at an early age. He ne’er fought or protested. He
simply went along with his work hoping that he would non be subjected to the superintendents whip.
His impression of ego at this clip, as I said, was that of a normal slave & # 8211 ; belongings. All he knew was
the slave universe. He did non even know the love of a true household. He quotes, I ne’er saw my
female parent, to cognize her as such, more than four or five times in my life His male parent was a white
adult male, so of course he ne’er saw him, since he had African blood in him.
Frederick Douglass ne’er had the upbringing of a loved kid. He was ne’er taught that
he was particular or alone in the universe. He merely knew that if he didn t work hard plenty or make
what maestro said, the whip would check. This all reflected on his impression of ego. Which at the
beginning of the narrative was really low. Assorted incidences occurred in Frederick s life that
reflected the position of himself. One incident mirrors impression of ego at the beginning of the narrative.
This was the first tanning that he of all time saw. The first tanning was that of his Aunt Hester. At a
immature age he stood at the gory gate, the entryway to the snake pit of bondage. He watched as
she was stripped, tied up, and shredded by the arm of the maestro. He watched her blood trickle to
the floor and heard her heart-rending scream. This event struck me with atrocious force and gave
added to his ain ego impression. Slaves obeyed the regulations or faced the effects. As different
events occurred in his life, his attitude and impression changed. He was given to a different maestro. It
was here that things dramatically changed. The 2nd important event in Frederick s life came
at the immature age of seven or eight, when he was given to Master Hugh and his married woman, a distant
relation of Captain Anthony his former maestro. Here he was treated otherwise by his new
& # 8220 ; family. & # 8221 ; No longer did he hold to fear the whip from incorrect behaviors or non working hard plenty.
His primary duty was to take attention of their lone kid, Thomas. Besides, Master Hugh s
married woman was sort adequate to learn Frederick to read. Her lessons would be ephemeral, nevertheless, due
to Master Hugh s house belief that it would be unsafe to learn a slave to read or compose. He said,
If you give a nigger an inch, he will take an ell. A nigga should cognize nil but to obey his
maestro. Those words motivated Frederick to foster his instruction and go on to larn
nevertheless he could. He felt as if some secret ballad behind cognition. So he read everything he
could. Finally, newspapers and publications such as The Columbian Orator opened his eyes
to the emancipationist motions in the North. It was so that his self-image changed, and he
became cognizant of himself as more than merely black belongings. His self-perspective changed when he
tasted his first spot of cognition. It was so that his head opened up and he began to believe. He
found out that there was more out at that place & # 8230 ; that there was chance out at that place for himself and his
people. He looked at his ain state of affairs and became angry. He became angry with the life he was
topic to. He became huffy at the thought of bondage. He besides gained pride. This was pride of a
human being. He realized that he himself was a human being, and that his black brothers and
sisters besides were human existences. It besides gave him torment, because it had given him a position of his,
deplorable status, without the redress. This depressed him to the extent that he wanted to kill
himself. But, the realisation that he was something in the universe, kept him life, and combat.
After this instruction, his self impression changed so much that he would really contend back if a white
adult male came after him. He would no longer be treated as he had been treated his whole life. The
personality of Frederick Douglass is one that changes throughout the narrative. At the beginning
of the narrative, he had the personality of an unfortunate kid born into the immoralities of bondage. He
depicted everything seen through the eyes of a kid during the early phases of the narrative.
Everything remained this manner until he became educated. It was so that the personality
began to alter, merely as his impression of ego changed at that point. He began to alter inside.
His personality seemed to morph into something different from what it had been. He began to
believe more maturely and in a more educated manner. He seethed from the interior and internally
emitted hatred as a reaction to the immoralities of bondage. All the while he thought. He thought about his
status, the status of others slaves, and of get awaying. His regard was uplifted from the
instruction, as said antecedently, and hence his personality reflected that. He held himself higher
and because of that he changed throughout the narrative. He no longer was like a kid looking at
everything, non able to make anything, and naif to the universe. Now he was similar fire, firing hotter
and hotter, steeping everything, ready to detonate.
The tone changed after this point as he expressed his hate of his knowledgeably
being. He suppressed much of it, but his personality changed. It stayed this manner throughout
the remainder of the narrative. At times his personality seemed patient. These were the times where he
had to wait for the clip to come, when he could so allow the fire come out & # 8230 ; where he could allow his
true personality come out and get away to freedom. With his relationship to bondage and his
personality he related to the reader. He had the prejudices of slaves. He depicted everything as he saw
or idea. This is non a mistake, but simply the reaction of anyone who would travel through such
events in his life. Even if Frederick Douglass tried to compose an indifferent narration, it still is one
sided.
He relates to the reader as one who is stating a narrative about himself. It does non look that
he is seeking to rock anyone, but merely stating it as it was for him. He includes the feelings, the
inside informations, the horrors of his life. He writes about how he was treated and the immoralities of bondage. It
describes the tanning in item. He tells us of the scream of hurting and the blood. Besides he tells of
the fright of the white adult male and of penalty. Whenever he tells of a white individual he does non
speak really kindly. Even when describes Master Hugh s married woman as, a adult female of the kindest bosom
and finest feelings he so turns about and says how she changed to a adult female of, harsh and
horrid strife. Of class non all white work forces are evil. It seems that he relates by seeking to demo
how in every manner bondage is corrupt as exemplified through the life that he lived and what he
experienced. It seems that nil good was of all time achieved through it. It is when he escapes and
is free that he speaks of good things such as life, work, and abolishment. In talking like this he
tells the reader that there is nil good in bondage & # 8211 ; that merely when there is no bondage good
things happen. It is non difficult to see such things in his Hagiographas. The message is obvious and
because of that people relate.
In my position the autobiography is a word picture of the immoralities of bondage. That is its point. It
was written by a former slave and therefore contains the position of the slave. When the
personality alteration and the passage of ego regard is seen in the novel, one can reason that
there are underlying significances throughout the narrative. Such significances are the importance of
instruction, and the clich of ignorance is bliss. That does non concern me at all. Of class they
are really comparative in the narrative and are linked to really relevant incidents in the narrative, but they are
non indispensable to the chief significance of the autobiography. Which is bondage is evil. We did non necessitate
this narrative to cognize that bondage was a really dark grade in the history of the United States. We did
non necessitate this autobiography to cognize that morally, bondage is incorrect. What this narrative did make was
do us see firsthand what went on in the head of a slave and how they depicted themselves, and
bondage. The autobiography expressed many assorted feelings from Frederick Douglass s life, and
told his narrative. The lone thing that fusss me is that it was told in great item up to his flight
and after he escapes the narrative trails off and so ends. In my sentiment Frederick wanted people
to read his narrative and be sympathetic with him and be outraged by bondage at that clip. I think in
this sense he did a good occupation. On the other manus I think his autobiography is merely another narrative of
bondage merely as other former slaves narratives are ( for this clip period ) . We know what happened,
and we know the narratives. I personally do non keep his autobiography as any great work. To me it
is merely another unfortunate slave narrative. Indeed it moved me but what can I do about it? There
isn T any bondage in the United States any longer.
In decision the impression of Frederick Douglass s ego alterations throughout the narrative. In
such a manner his personality alterations excessively. When looked at both one can reason that they are
intertwined into the incidences that occurred in his life. The first incident being born into bondage
and treated as a slave, as exemplified with the tanning of his aunt. The other incident was his
instruction. That is when things changed. That is when the esteem changed as did the personality.
These are all really relevant to the narrative as Douglass tries to plunge the reader into the universe,
head, and life of a slave. To me though, the point is the full superimposed issue of the narrative. It is
true that these incidences and passages make up the autobiography of Frederick Douglass, but
to me the autobiography merely holds one chief point that was made really clear & # 8230 ; bondage is evil.
Bibliography
Douglass, Frederick. ( 1962 ) Life and Times of Frederick Douglass. New York: Collier Books, 1
The Life and Writings of Frederick Douglass: Early Old ages 1817-1849. New York: International
Publishers
Foner, Philip S. ( 1955 ) The Life and Writings of Frederick Douglass: Reconstruction and After.
New York: International Publishers
Huggins, Nathan Irvin. ( 1980 ) Slave and Citizen: The Life of Frederick Douglass. Boston: Little,
Brown
Quarles, Benjamin. ( 1948 ) Frederick Douglass. Washington, D.C. : The Associated Publishers,
Inc.
