Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave
- What is the significance of the information Douglass provides about the early years of his life?
- What does he mean, on p.238, when he describes the first whipping he witnessed as, “the blood-stained gate”?
- What have you learned from reading this narrative that you didn’t already know about slavery in America?
- Explain the significance of literacy for Douglass?
- How does Douglass feel about Southern Christianity? Why?
- Where does slavery persist in our own contemporary world? Give an example.
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What is the significance of the information Douglass provides about the early years of his life?
The information Douglass provides bout his early years stands in direct contrast to the usual structure of an autobiography in that instead of giving the most basic information about his life, he shows the glaring holes that are produced through its absence. For example, he does not know the date of his birthday or who his father is. These pieces of information provide us with our basic connections and sense of self when we are young, but Douglass is missing that. Further on, he is able to demonstrate that this is not only experience, but that of many slaves.
1. What is the significance of the information Douglass provides about the early years of his life?
the information that Douglass provided about the early years of his life is significant because it gives the reader a better understanding about slavery where he talks about that he never knew when his birthday was. This information is significant because it shows that slaves are deprived of the privileges that other people have, to the extents that their identity was being taken away.
1. There is great importance to Douglass’ description of the early years of his life as it defines his identity and how it’s full of voids. In his autobiography he explains that he has no sense of the date of his birth, who his father is and hardly got to spend time with his mother so much so that after her death he only felt as though a stranger had died. All these details of Douglass’ life show that he did not have a typical life. Not only does he not know his age but doesn’t even have a family, as his mother died as a slave when he was young and he hardly knows his father except that he is White and is likely his master.
2. Douglass says “It was the blood stained gate, the entrance to the hell of slavery” (Frederick Douglass, 1845 , page 238) I think Douglass is describing the gate to hell when he says “the blood stained gate” because in hell people are burned, tortured caused immense pain and during the whipping that Douglass witnessed the master whips the slave Hester so much that blood pour down and reminds Douglass of hell.
What is the significance of the information Douglass provides about the early years of his life?
Douglass’ description of the early years of his life are significant because they give readers an understanding of how slave children were treated. Douglass himself was a son of a white slave master, but was still a slave because his mother was a slave. He describes how he was not even allowed to know his own age, and slaves had no choice but to live in ignorance. As a result of this, Douglass doesn’t know his true age or birthday at the time of writing this narrative. He is missing key information that factors into his identity. He also had to learn to read and write almost completely on his own as a child, which shows how children who were slaves were controlled through their lack of knowledge. The information he provides about witnessing the horrific and violent whippings of his aunt give readers an idea of how traumatized slave children were.
What is the significance of the information Douglass provides about the early years of his life?
In the Fedrick Doglass “Narrative of the Life” the significant information about the early years of his life show the readers how disregarded the enslaved workers on the plantation. As Fedrick Douglass says “ I have no accurate knowledge of my age, never having seen any authentic record containing it. By the larger party of the slaves know as little as horses know of theirs.” (page 236) In this quote Douglass explains how they were given no acknowledgment of their indentity. This can be concerning to a persons upbringing and can be determental on how we grow up, “A want of information concerning my own was a source of unhapiness to me even during childhood.” (Page 236) Again this significant information can deprive someone to lose all self identity. This was the problem, the enslaved people working on the plantation as they were not considered to man which made it harder for any of them to think anything else than just workers. They grew up and died knowing nothing else but that.
What have you learned from reading this narrative that you didn’t already know about slavery in America?
I learned how slaves were actually treated, and what I mean by that is putting things into perspective. An example of this is none of them knowing their birthdays or how old they are. That is something so small that everybody takes for granted nowadays, but is something that is important. It gives yourself an identity, something that makes you different from the person sitting next to you. Another thing that I learned was them getting treated like animals when it comes to serving their food. They would put it on the floor and wouldn’t even give them any forks or spoons with it, and they did not separate anybody’s portions either. This is truly something you do to animals, as humans nowadays eat with utensils on a table with their loved ones.
Where does slavery persist in our own contemporary world? Give an example.
I would say slavery persist in our contemporary world by forcing labor into people. An example of this would be women being trafficked for sexual exploitation and in most cases, women are being sold into this modern slavery. By selling them they are completely dehumanizing them and treating them as an object that could be passed on from person to person without taking into consideration their consent. With being sex trafficked you also lose your identity in the process, you are given a new name, are taken to a place that is not familiar to you, and in most cases, they take everything you own so you are aware that you don’t own yourself anymore. The issue with this form of slavery is that these women are being exploited at the hands of other and are used to gain beneficial outcomes that only benefit their owners. Majority of the victims of sex trafficking experience inhumane conditions that results in transmitted diseases, constant pelvic pain, and traumatic experiences from these forced actions. Although the type of slavey described by Federick Douglass its different and no longer exists it doesn’t mean that slavery has disappear from our contemporary world.
What is the significance of the information Douglass provides about the early years of his life?
Frederick Douglass is known for his great writing abilities and he demonstrates this when he explains his early years of his life. He shares things that readers can then create important interpretations. For example when he said that many slaves including himself do not know their age just as horses do not know of theirs. He was trying to tell the reader that they were being treated like animals and they were just being used to work. He said this in an interesting way without telling the reader directly. But this goes to show the level of dehumanization people were living during those time that they did not even know their age because perhaps their mother was no longer with them or they were moved to another plantation. We all learn our birthday by our parents but he shares that most didn’t because perhaps they did not grow up with their parents.
What have you learned from reading this narrative that you didn’t already know about slavery in America?
Reading Frederick Douglass’s Narrative opened my eyes to the horrific standard of living the slaves experienced. The way slaves were dehumanized by not knowing their parents, birthdays, and even the way they were fed their meals. Slave owners didn’t want the slaves to have a sense of individualism, they wanted them to feel as if they were animals part of a farm”the slaves know as little of their ages as horses know theirs”(236). Furthermore, if a slave were to act out of place, owners had a”special place” to send them, there the slaves were broken apart physically and mentally. Through the narrative of Frederick Douglass, we were able to see from the perspective of a slave, what they had gone through firsthand, and how strong the slaves had to be mentally to survive.
What is the significance of the information Douglass provides about the early years of his life?
Frederick Douglass shows that in his early years of his life when he was a slave he had no knowledge of his age or who he was as a person. He wrote this to show how slaves were treated like animals without any knowledge of their parents, birthday, and identity. He shows the countless struggles that slave had to endure on the plantation and get punished brutally. This was to show the reader an imagery of what slaves did and explain how they were seen as worthless beings that was use to work until they die.
Slavery persists in American prisons today. Privately owned prisons exploit the loop hole in the 13th amendment where penal labor is allowed as a form of punishment for a crime. Due to this loophole prisoners are forced to work under the threat of punishments such as solitary and denial of visitation rights. Prisoners do not have the right to choose what labor they participate in and receive abysmal pay for their labor. They are paid up to 52 cents per hour which is subjected to wage deductions by the prison and the government. Prison labor can be found in industries such as janitors in the prisons, firefighters for wildfires and other public service jobs and privately owned manufacturing.
What have you learned from reading this narrative that you didn’t already know about slavery in America?
The narrative spoke about the large amounts of biracial kids living on the premises and still being treated as slaves despite them having a white father. They were often looked down on by the wife of the slavemaster as these were signs of infidelity being committed.
I was also unaware of slave masters keeping African-American slaves’ birthdays a secret. This would mentally torture the slaves in my opinion because it’s an essential fact to know since birthdays is a way to keep track of your age and identity as a person. It also took away their ability to celebrate their day of birth.
1.) What is the significance of the information Douglass provides about the early years of his life?
The significance of the information that Frederick Douglass provides about the early years of his life style is that it gives readers a clear understanding of why he doesn’t really know much about him self and the influence it had on him. In the beginning of the narrative the author states that his basic human rights were violated. The right to education, clothes , and parents were all violated to dehumanize him. As the story progresses forward a great example was shown to us when he lost his mother, he stated that he received the tidings of her death the same he should have felt for a stranger. subsequently this was to show the reader what he is capable of and the type of people and obstacles they were against.
Where does slavery persist in our own contemporary world? Give an example.
In our own contemporary world, slavery persists within our minds. We are trapped in our way of thinking to stick to one path. There are multiple obstacles to overcome this slavery. I currently work in food service. Th ejob entails catering to specific needs, disrespectful customers, and unhealthy food. As a slave would, you withstand the nonsense. Everyday may feel like what a slave may have done back in the house, but we all have a choice to be more. There are factors like racism, discrimination, and more that may lead to people enslaving others to work for them. Despite knowing they’re more valuable than their current position, managers wait until they tire out and get replaced.
What is the significance of the information Douglass provides about the early years of his life?
The information that Douglass provides about his early life gives the readers insight into how slavery actually is. Douglass knows nothing about when his birthday is and has no idea who his father is. These missing parts of his childhood are normal to all slave children. They are treated inhumanely and have the most essential parts/knowledge of themselves removed. This can be seen as a way to cut off the roots of independence or what makes a human a human. The children will grow up unable to think for themselves.