The Powerful Slave
Frederick Douglass' account of his days as a slave, Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass, shows a clear contrast between the slaveholder's treatment of slaves as property, and the many slaves who fought against and refused objectification. Throughout his book, Douglass shows clear examples of the dehumanizing nature of slave treatment by slaveholders. He tells many stories of slaves being beaten and humiliated, so that they would be made to feel less than human. However, the slaveholders did not succeed in dehumanizing all slaves, and Douglass makes it a point to tell the stories of those slaves who fought against objectification, and risked their lives to do so. But perhaps the biggest example of a slave's affirmation that he too was a human being, was Douglass' own story of noncompliance, which ultimately led to his escape from the brutal grip of slavery. And so, Douglass's narrative is clear proof that not all slaves were powerless and resigned to their objectification. Throughout his narrative, Douglass gives many examples of the slaveholder's means of treating their slaves like objects, and making them feel powerless. He tells of the many unwarranted beating and whippings that he witnessed bei
Although Fredrick Douglass book is meant to show the cruelty and inhumane treatment of slavery, Douglass also makes a strong point of showing the times when slaves were not as submissive. Throughout the narrative, there are many stories of cruelty and inhumane treatment, but Douglass also makes note of all the times when slaves stood up to their masters and defied resisted humiliation and punishment. By doing this, Douglass challenges the common misconception that all salves were completely powerless and submissive and proves that even in their dreadful situation, they too were still human beings. ng inflicted on slaves simply for the purpose of humiliation. However, Douglass also describes many incidents in which the slaves refused to be objectified, refused unnecessary punishment, and risked their lives to affirm that they were not simply property or objects, but human beings. One such example comes when Douglass tells the story of a slave named Demby who refused orders, and the tragic consequence that brought about. After being severely whipped by his overseer Mr. Gore, Demby jumps into a creek to alleviate his pain and refuses to come out after being ordered to do so. With harsh clarity, Douglass details what happened next: "Mr. Gore then,.....raised his musket to his face, taking deadly aim at his standing victim, and in an instant poor Demby was no more. His mangled body sank out of sight, and blood and brains marked the water where he had stood"(14.1). Another subtler ex
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Approximate Word count = 1005
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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