My reading and understanding of slavery in America was strongly impacted by the following passage from Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: “A want of information concerning my own was a source of unhappiness to me even during childhood. The white children could tell their ages. I could not tell why I ought to be deprived the same privileges.”
In this passage, Frederick Douglas evinces a major problem that all slaves in America were facing at the time. That is, being deprived the ability to know anything about themselves and the world around them. To Frederick Douglass, the mere fact of not being able to know his own age had a great impact on him. Slaves were prevented from understanding anything more than the harsh routines they went through each day. Their minds were controlled by their slave masters, who did not care to provide slaves with even the slightest information about their family or where they were from. As Frederick Douglass explains, this problem began at childhood, and knowledge was considered a “privilege” that only the whites were given.
From his words, I learned just how confined slaves were, not only physically but also mentally. Frederick Douglass’ diction reveals that he is upset and frustrated by this unfair treatment he and other slaves were subject to. His words help us to understand the harsh mental component of slavery, and the inhumane treatment of the slaves. Knowledge, as Douglass describes, was withheld from slaves. From this passage and some of his later explanations, I learned that many slaves did not know where they came from, who their family members were, or how old they were.
Before reading this passage, I knew little about this lack of knowledge. When I thought of slavery, the first thing that would come to mind was the physical component. That is, the lashing, beating, and so on that is more commonly mentioned when referring to this awful time. This passage given by Frederick Douglass has helped me to understand the mental impact slavery had on those subject to it. After reading I am still curious about how common reconnections were between family members, and how many slaves were ever able to learn who their birth parents were.
Bridget,
I agree with you that the fact that Douglass begins his narrative by letting us know that he does not know his own birthdate is striking, and it alerts us to the psychological and emotional damage of slavery. Why do you think Douglass begins his story with this? What does it mean to be denied even this most basic information about himself? And remember, not only does Douglass not know his birthdate, but he doesn’t know who his father is either.