How Did Frederick Douglass Escape
Frederick Douglass was born into slavery in Maryland 1818, and he served as a slave throughout the entirety of his youth. However, through the events detailed in The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, he is depicted to have enjoyed relatively more freedom than slaves typically did in the South at that time. Luckily, for him and for audiences worldwide, Douglass was persistent in learning to read and write; thus, he became educated in the means of his escape. In the 1840s, the abolitionist movement was gaining momentum, and Douglass took action. He traveled the world, giving speeches and accounts of his life story. In 1845, Douglass wrote and published his narrative/autobiography with the purpose of debunking the mythology of slavery,
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Douglass points out that slaves would often times think of their master as better than other masters, with a sense of dignity, because “to be a poor man’s slave was deemed a disgrace indeed” (35). Slaves would often times give up their natural fellowship with other slaves for a miniscule amount of dignity. Slaves would additionally betray other slaves. In Douglass’ case, one of the slaves in his premature plan of escape betrayed him and he ended up in jail. Douglass was sure who testified against them, saying that he and his other friends “came to a unanimous decision [...] as to who their informant was” (95). This disloyalty among slaves was not due to the harshness of the masters, but simply due to the system of slavery itself. In fact, some slaves would take the side of their slaveholders rather than fellow slaves with the belief that their prospects were better as slaves, but this statement is among the many false mythologies of slavery.
The main purpose of Douglass’ narrative was to debunk the false beliefs of slavery, thus changing the worldwide view toward slavery. Not only was Douglass able to shed some light on a sensitive subject, but he also single-handedly changed the ideologies of many people. The resulting outcome from his narrative sparked a worldwide reconsideration of how humans treat humans. Douglass went on to debunk the falsified views towards slavery, almost like he was a mythbuster in
Douglass points out that slaves would often times think of their master as better than other masters, with a sense of dignity, because “to be a poor man’s slave was deemed a disgrace indeed” (35). Slaves would often times give up their natural fellowship with other slaves for a miniscule amount of dignity. Slaves would additionally betray other slaves. In Douglass’ case, one of the slaves in his premature plan of escape betrayed him and he ended up in jail. Douglass was sure who testified against them, saying that he and his other friends “came to a unanimous decision [...] as to who their informant was” (95). This disloyalty among slaves was not due to the harshness of the masters, but simply due to the system of slavery itself. In fact, some slaves would take the side of their slaveholders rather than fellow slaves with the belief that their prospects were better as slaves, but this statement is among the many false mythologies of slavery.
The main purpose of Douglass’ narrative was to debunk the false beliefs of slavery, thus changing the worldwide view toward slavery. Not only was Douglass able to shed some light on a sensitive subject, but he also single-handedly changed the ideologies of many people. The resulting outcome from his narrative sparked a worldwide reconsideration of how humans treat humans. Douglass went on to debunk the falsified views towards slavery, almost like he was a mythbuster in