Slavery and the Narrative of Frederick DouglassIn 1845, Frederick Douglass told his fascinating story of his life as a slave and a free man. Through the words of someone who endured slavery, we can only get a taste of what it was like, as we will never truly know the feeling of harsh physical punishment and cruelty endured by the slaves. Whippings, beatings, and lynchings were all too common during the era of slavery. However, not only were their bodies treated so harshly, but their minds and souls were as well. These slaves suffered enormous mental and physical violence. Slaves were deprived of what the common man took for granted. They were forbidden to educate themselves. They were separated from their families. They were not allowed to reason for themselves. They were in fact not treated as human beings, but as objects devoid of feelings. Using the narrative of Frederick Douglass, I will discuss the oppression and survival of slave life and show how analysis of American history supported Dougalss's interpretation of slave society. The life story of Frederick Douglass is a first-hand account of what slavery was like. It depicts real events from history based on one man's experience. This man is Frederick Douglass. He was born a slave and was a slave for much of his life. His accounts of what happened to him show that slavery in the old South was an evil institution that turned humans into animals and an institution that dehumanized people to keep them ignorant. African Americans suffered greatly during the terrible years of slavery. They were beaten, overworked and mistreated by their oppressors. In many cases, slaves would have preferred to die rather than be used in such...... middle of paper ...... They enjoyed whipping people for two main reasons. The first reason was to punish a slave, and the second reason was to use the whipped slave as an example for other slaves. Whipping them and making other slaves watch them was a way for slave owners to attempt to control their slaves. They would set an example with these lashes. It was important that slaves were afraid of their masters, otherwise they would rebel. That's exactly what they did. “Resisting the innovations of gang labor and forced separations...by plotting mass uprisings and murders” (America's History p. 298). Bibliography: Douglass, Frederick, Account of the Life of Frederick Douglass. New York: WW Norton & Company, 1997. Henretta, James A., Brody, David, Ware, Susan, Johnson, Marilyn S., America's History Volume 1: To 1877. Boston: Bedford St. Martin's, 2000