Slavery In Frederick Douglass Literary Analysis
The Complexion of Slavery The year is 1845; slavery prospers in southern America while southern America prospers through slavery. Thousands upon thousands, innocent people subjugated to slavery are forced to exhaustingly work through the unforgiving heat of the summer through the cold malevolent winds of the winter. All throughout, they face the unmerciful and unfair judgment of overseers and masters. Still, their most challenging and most terrible ordeal was the lack of knowledge and therefore bringing the eventual lack of hope. Through the writings of those few who were fortunate and brave enough to have the knowledge to read and write, we were able to see a narrow glimpse of their hopeless lives and tragic experiences in ante-bellum America.
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Douglass’s narrative shows how slavery and how the masters enjoy and thrive off of their power over their slaves have had a detrimental effect on their own convictions and moral health. In the narrative, Douglass uses his experience with his former mistress, Sophia Auld, in order to demonstrate the malicious corruption that slavery can have on oneself. At first, he describes her as “a woman of the kindest heart and the warmest feelings” (p.19 Douglass). Unfortunately, their friendly relationship was all but permanent for her “heart had but a short time to remain such. The fatal poison of irresponsible power was already in her hands, and soon commenced its infernal work” (p.19 Douglass). This shows how deep and great the penetration of slavery can have on ones soul and person, showing that even it can turn someone as idealistic and angelic as Sophia Auld, to a demonic tyrant that paradoxes her previous personality. Furthermore, not only has slavery corrupted the minds of the slave owners and masters, it has also deluded and perverted their sense of religion which has now given them justification in their narcissistic, racist views and cruel and masochistic actions towards the slaves. In the narrative, Douglass forms a distinction between what he believes is the true, original version Christianity, which he refers to as “the Christianity of Christ” and that of a false Christianity created from those, afflicted with the twisted morals of slavery, to which he refers to as “the Christianity of this land”. He applies this distinction in order to further display how the slave owners use their religion as a mere hypocritical illusion to reinforce and justify their brutal atrocities. As depicted in the narrative, Douglass had once “seen him tie up a lame young woman and whip her…and, in justification of the bloody deed,
Douglass’s narrative shows how slavery and how the masters enjoy and thrive off of their power over their slaves have had a detrimental effect on their own convictions and moral health. In the narrative, Douglass uses his experience with his former mistress, Sophia Auld, in order to demonstrate the malicious corruption that slavery can have on oneself. At first, he describes her as “a woman of the kindest heart and the warmest feelings” (p.19 Douglass). Unfortunately, their friendly relationship was all but permanent for her “heart had but a short time to remain such. The fatal poison of irresponsible power was already in her hands, and soon commenced its infernal work” (p.19 Douglass). This shows how deep and great the penetration of slavery can have on ones soul and person, showing that even it can turn someone as idealistic and angelic as Sophia Auld, to a demonic tyrant that paradoxes her previous personality. Furthermore, not only has slavery corrupted the minds of the slave owners and masters, it has also deluded and perverted their sense of religion which has now given them justification in their narcissistic, racist views and cruel and masochistic actions towards the slaves. In the narrative, Douglass forms a distinction between what he believes is the true, original version Christianity, which he refers to as “the Christianity of Christ” and that of a false Christianity created from those, afflicted with the twisted morals of slavery, to which he refers to as “the Christianity of this land”. He applies this distinction in order to further display how the slave owners use their religion as a mere hypocritical illusion to reinforce and justify their brutal atrocities. As depicted in the narrative, Douglass had once “seen him tie up a lame young woman and whip her…and, in justification of the bloody deed,