Fredrick Douglass

Advik Singh Mrs. Daniel Period 3 4/1/24.

Language Techniques Used in the Narrative of Fredrick Douglass

“I was so terrified and horror-stricken at the sight, that I hid myself in a closet, and dared not venture out till long after the bloody transaction was over.” (Chapter 1, 9). This is a young Douglass, a slave, witnessing a bloody whipping at the early age. The author of this book is Fredrick Douglass, a former slave and abolitionist. During the dark years of 1501-1867, slaves, or people from Africa, were sent to the Americas. African tribes have traded these people for guns and weapons, as leaders were desperate to protect their tribes, and to rule. In the Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass, we get an insight into the many atrocities …show more content…
He describes how slaves were punished by their masters, going through immense pain. Slaves had a brutal life, they had nothing to live for, “by the most heart-rendering shrieks of an own aunt of mine, whom he used to tie up to a joist, and whip upon her naked back till she was literally covered with blood.” (Chapter 1, 7). This whipping connects to the Motif of brutalization because Douglass describes the brutal side of slavery. These actions taken by the slave masters are inhumane because the master is whipping the slave without any regret or remorse for the pain that a fellow human being may be feeling. Slave masters also whip the slaves and take joy in it (in some cases), showing that the masters think these slaves are animals for slaughter and work. This violates American ideals of Liberty and Equality because the slave is being whipped, showing an oppressive action by the master, violating the rights of living in a free society. Though this whipping may seem awful, the next one is a bloody deed, “Mr. Thomas Lanman, of St. Michael’s, killed two slaves, one of whom he killed with a hatchet, by knocking his brains out. He used to boast of the commission of the awful and bloody deed.” (Chapter 4, 6). This example shown is a notable example of the Motif of Brutalization because the man had murdered two people without regret. He boasted of the deed, as if he had

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