Dehumanization In Frederick Douglass - 1795 Words

Today I learned that back in Ancient Rome, people celebrated a festival called Saturnalia; in part of the festival, slaves and their masters had their roles reversed. Imagine if the United States (U.S.) adopted this festival—the slaveowners would dread being tortured to death. During the early 19th century, U.S. had its first industrial revolution; as a result, it further increased the usage and value of slaves. Slaves were life-time, unpaid laborers who usually worked and lived in unsafe condition. In the early 19th century, the Northern states had already abolished slavery and were considered â€Å"free† states whereas the Southern states beginning from Maryland were considered â€Å"slave† states. In A Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass,†¦show more content†¦Not only were slaves not allowed to know their age, but they were separated from their family at as an infant because slaveowners wanted to â€Å"destroy the natural affection† bet ween families (Douglass 20). Not only were slaves deprived of their human qualities, they were also treated inferior as if they were animals. When the slave children were fed, they were fed cornmeal mush. The children were treated as â€Å"like so many pigs†¦they would come and devour the mush†¦some with naked hands, and none with spoons† (Douglass 42). Slaveholders dehumanized these slave children by treating, feeding, and sheltering them like pigs and savages—they were not humans anymore. This relates to an account by Olaudah Equiano in his narrative, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, where he was being sold at a slave market and described, â€Å"We were conducted immediately to the merchants yard, where we were all pent up together, like so many sheep in a fold, without regard to sex or age†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Equiano 55). In his account, he, as a slave, was also being dehumanized by being herded like sheep and was bought and sold—like livestock. Douglass als o mentioned an instance where after his old master died, he was sent back for valuation where â€Å"men and women, old and young, married and single, were ranked with horses, sheep, and swine. There were horses and men, cattle and women, pigs and children, all holding the same rank in the scale of being†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Douglass 57).Show MoreRelatedDehumanization Of Frederick Douglass1419 Words   |  6 PagesThe Dehumanization of Slaves and the Black Race of People in America, as Portrayed in the Autobiography Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass and the Television Show Roots   Ã‚  Ã‚   Since the beginning of American history, the black race has been the inferior race during times of slavery and times of freedom for black people. They have had to fight to be seen as legitimate first-class citizens, whether that be through slave uprisings in the pre-civil war era, the civil rights movement in the mid-1900’sRead More Dehumanization and Freedom in Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass1748 Words   |  7 PagesDehumanization and Freedom in Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass    The issue of slavery in antebellum America was not black and white. Generally people in the North opposed slavery, while inhabitants of the South promoted it. However, many people were indifferent. Citizens in the North may have seen slavery as neither good nor bad, but just a fact of Southern life. Frederick Douglass, knowing the North was home to many abolitionists, wrote his narrative in order to persuade theseRead More The Dehumanization Process in the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave2204 Words   |  9 PagesThe Dehumanization Process in the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave Throughout American history, minority groups were victims of American governmental policies, and these policies made them vulnerable to barbaric and inhumane treatment at the hands of white Americans. American slavery is a telling example of a government sanctioned institution that victimized and oppressed a race of people by indoctrinating and encouraging enslavement, racism and abuse. This institutionRead MoreThe Life Of Frederick Douglass s The Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick 1306 Words   |  6 Pagesbad, but just part of Southern life going on for hundreds of years. Frederick Douglass, a slave who had escaped to the North, after years of abuse through slavery, knew that in order to stop slavery, he had to persuade all the people in the North to vehemently oppose it as much as he did himself. Through the â€Å"Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass†, which he published in 1845, Douglass focuses on the process of dehumanization he and thousands of others went t hrough while being a slave to showcaseRead MoreFrederick Douglass s Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglas1674 Words   |  7 Pageslegal and popular in the southern states, among these slaves, one slave in particular impacted the 19th century was Frederick Douglass. Although he was a slave for most of his life, Douglass eventually became a freeman, a social reform, writer, and an abolitionist for slavery. However, before he became a freeman, Douglass experienced a brutal life as a slave. He faced dehumanization in his early life, but accomplished what most slaves we not allowed to do; which is getting educated, by self-educatingRead MoreAnalysis Of Frederick Douglass Narrative1597 Words   |  7 PagesFrederick Douglass’ Narrative serves as an influential text which provides detailed examples of how slavery allowed a country and a government to justify the brutal dehumanization and oppression of an entire race of people. Using personal experience, Douglass explains h ow the slave institution not only dehumanized himself, but also how the process affected other slaves and the slaveowners as well. Douglass relies on a strong imagery relating back to animals to show this dehumanization process, whichRead MoreEssay on Frederick Douglas1606 Words   |  7 PagesPaper on Frederick Douglass In the 1800s, slavery was a predominant issue in the United States, one that most Americans in the South dealt with daily. The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass reveals much about American history during the time of slavery as well as expounds arguments for the abolition of slavery. As a historical document, it conveys information about the slave family, work, the master-slave relationship, and the treatment and living conditions of slaves. As an antislaveryRead MoreThe Life Of Frederick Douglass And The Cry Of The Children1103 Words   |  5 PagesThe Comparison of Fredrick Douglass and Elizabeth Browning: Slavery and Child Labor The two works Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass and The Cry of the Children by Elizabeth Browning is different in several ways but also have some similarities. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is an autobiography created in hopes of ending slavery. Douglass writes about several events that reveal the awfulness of slavery and the effects it has on people. The Cry of ChildrenRead MoreDehumanization Of Slavery In Frederick Douglasss Narrative Of Life1354 Words   |  6 PagesSouthern life. Frederick Douglass, knowing the North was home to lots of abolitionists, wrote his narrative â€Å"Narrative of Life† in order to show indifferent people in the north to see slavery as the shameful practice that it is. Douglass focuses on dehumanization of slaves, existence of slavery, and freedom in order to get his point across. Frederick Douglass highlights the dehumanization aspect of slavery throughout his narrative. As is the general practice of slavery, Douglass is separated fromRead MoreNarrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass : An American Slave1386 Words   |  6 Pagespsychological abuse, this â€Å"tumor† tortured every struggling people from day to night. As the insight of a dark history, Frederick Douglass’s â€Å"Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave† demonstrates the dehumanization of an inhuman society and how slavery could make a man be a salve and make another man be an enslaver and how he resisted this dehumanization. In eighteen and nineteen centuries, the physical abuse which commonly were whipping, shackling, beating, mutilation, branding