October 8, 2014
In the narrative, Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass, Douglass informs the reader of his life as a slave and of the trials and tribulations slaves have as they are forced to live on a master’s plantation, work for no pay, and receive no respect as a fellow human. Throughout his narrative, Douglass depicts the slaves’ painful experiences through physical punishment, emotional hardships, and existential isolation which dehumanizes and destroys their souls.
Douglass emphasizes a slave’s day-to-day existence is characterized by physical cruelty that forces them into an almost dumb-like submission. For example, in the scene at Captain Anthony’s plantation, Douglass depicts the brutality slaves are subjuggulated to,” … he [Captain Anthony] commenced to lay on the heavy cowskin, and soon the warm, red blood came dripping to the floor.”(Pg.24). Slaveholders are ruthless when dealing with slaves. They will beat them until they bleed, showing no signs of mercy. Slaves are nothing but tools- to be used and then thrown away. In fact, if a slave is deficient, “… Him (Captain Auld) tie up a lame young women, and whip her with a heavy cows kin upon her naked shoulders…”(pg 67-68) they are not spared the rod of pain; it is only a question of when it will strike. This only further proves the indifference and harshness of a slaveholder. The physical pain leaves everlasting marks in the slaves spirit. Douglass was not spared the pain,”…and lashed me till he had worn out his switches, cutting me so savagely as to leave the marks visible for a long time.”(pg. 71) at the hands of a believed holier-than-thou slaveholder. Mr. Covey physically damaged Douglass to the point of his contusions lasting a long time, however, even after the markings of his physical suffering fades away, it left a permanent scar on his spirit; later proving detrimental to Douglass’s will to live.
Although slaveholder a dehumanized slaves,the slaves still experience strong emotions that they cannot express but through unique means. A slave’s emotional state is usually one of sadness it of great discontentment. For example, the slaves sing songs on their way to the Great House Farm to express their bottled up or repressed emotions,” The song of the slave represent the sorrow of his heart, and he is relieved by them…”, although these songs are usually misinterpreted- their songs are mistaken for joyous and blithe, when in fact they are despondent and heart-wrenching. However, emotional suffering is it just the emotions a person,but the motions that they aren’t feeling that perhaps they should.” I relieved tidings of her [his mother] death with much the same emotions I should have probably felt at the death of a stranger.”(pg. 21) Douglass conveys that he is lacking emotions that a person should probably feel at the death of a family member. This causes a lack familial relationship that most humans thrive off of. For example, Douglass blatantly states he feels no specific affections towards his mother- a bond slavery stole from him and countless other slaves when they are snatched from their mothers at a very young age, preventing them from developing a bond. As such, Douglass was taken from his mother as a babe,”My mother and I were seperated when I was but an infant- before I knew her as my mother.”(pg. 20) Slaveholders stole the one relationship almost every human is born with, further dehumanizing Douglass and the slaves, and causes the slaves to be missing a part of life that they deserve.
After being put through brutalizing conditions, slaves struggle with their worth as a human and with their thoughts on the situation they find themselves unwillingly in. For example, Douglass constantly battles with his will to live,” I often found myself regretting my own existence and wishing myself dead…” (Pg.55) A life full of slavery has worn Douglass down- to the point he wants to die at times. Slavery has left invisible scars on Douglass, marking him. Similarly, Douglass, after being put in the care of Mr.Covey, was animalized and “broken”-” Mr. Covey succeeded in breaking me. I was broken in body, mind, and spirit…”(pg.74) Douglass was torn piece-by-piece into tiny shreds of the human he once was- a being full of life and hope. He is destroyed completely,yet the possibility of freedom rebuilt Douglass to almost hi previous state,” …and but for the hope of being free, I should have no doubt but that I should have killed myself, or done something for which I should have been killed.”(pg.55) Douglass would rather perish than be kept in such atrocious conditions. He’s willing to risk his life to escape the debasing life of a slave. He despises his situation, in which he had no choice but to be placed in. Later, when Douglass is finally on his own, life crushes his morale,spirit, and hopes into grains of sand,”… and in total darkness as to what to do, where to go, or where to stay- perfectly helpless both as to the means of defense and means of escape… whose greediness to swallow up the trembling, half-famished fugitive.”(pg.113) By living a life filled with suffering, daunting tasks, and apparent hopeless situations, Douglass is in pain; this pain makes him stronger; makes him see the darker side of life- making him more experienced with handling the cruelties of life and of the heartlessness of humans.
Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass, is a recalling of Douglass’s first-hand experience with the pain of being a slave. With his emotions and thoughts, he reconstructs and relives the almost torturous suffering slaves experience. Further more, Douglass conveys the amount and effect of suffering one person can cause another- making ones life full of sorrow and misery.