Douglass -- The Narrative Essay -- essays research papers fc

Debunking the Southern SecretSincerely and earnestly hoping that this gnomish book may do something toward throwing light on the the Statesn hard worker system, and hastening the glad day of deliverance to the millions of my brethren in bonds relying upon the power of truth, love, and justice, for success in my efforts and solemnly pledging myself anew to the sacred experience, I subscribe myself (Douglass 76). With these wrangling, Frederick Douglass (c. 1817-1895), an emancipated slave with no formal education, ends iodin of the greatest pieces of propaganda of the 19th century America that slavery is good for the slave. He writes his autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass An American Slave, as an abolishmentist tool to shape his blue listenings arrest of southern slaveholders. Through personal anecdotes, Douglass draws an accurate picture of slave life. Simultaneously, he chooses these events for how they will affect the northerly audiences opinio n of southern slaveholders (Quarles ii). By using the written word, Douglass rear ends educated northern whites because they were the only root word capable of changing the status quo. Illiterate northern whites and free northern blacks could not vote, while white Southerners would not vote because they did not motivation change. For that reason, Douglass employ his life story as an instrument to promote abolition among literate northern whites (vi).Douglass uses family relationships, starting with his own birth, to gain the compassion of his target audience. He never knew the identity of his father, but it was whispered (Douglass 2) that it was his get. Douglass mentions this to demonstrate how the master in many cases, sustains to his slaves the double relation of master and father (2). This was so public that it was by law established that the children of women shall in all cases follow the circumstance of their mother (2). This meant that these bastard children were slave s despite their paternal heritage because their mother was a slave. The effect of this revelation was to shock and offend the morals of the conservative northern whites. Northern society scorned people in adulterous and interracial relationships. By portraying these Southerners as meanspirited and adulterous, Douglass wanted to cultivate in his audience a damaging opinion of southern slaveholders (Quarles ix).Continuing with the ascendant o... ...streated and punished their slaves, and how they used religion as an excuse to legitimize their immoral actions. Slavery was a most painful piazza and, to understand it, one must experience it, or imagine himself in similar slew then, and not till then, will he fully appreciate the hardships of, and cognise how to sympathize with, the toil worn and whipped-scarred slave (64). Douglasss own words are meant as a plea for his readers to imagine themselves in his situation he and other slaves endured to better understand the hardships he and other slaves endured (Quarles xi).Frederick Douglass used family values, basic human rights, and religion to persuade the northern white audience toward the cause of abolition. He expects his readers will share his hate for the corrupt, slaveholding, woman whipping, cradle-plundering, uncomplete and hypocritical Christianity of southern slaveholders (Douglass 71). American slavery does not exist in right away due partly to Douglasss effort to help advance the cause of abolition.Works CitedQuarles, Benjamin, ed. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass An American Slave. By Frederick Douglass. Cambridge Harvard Press, 1988.