Frederick Douglass Essay

He had it easy at his master Lloyd because his roles involved herding the milk cow in the evening and figuring out where his master’s shot birds were. Despite this, he witnessed brutal treatment of other slaves. He notes witnessing the brutal beatings administered to his aunt. At the age of seven years, Douglass was sent to work for his master Anthony son in law at Baltimore. This was hopeful to Douglass who felt that a city slave was an almost breakthrough to freedom. He was again moved to a different master, William Freeland who was lenient and kind to his slaves. Douglass taught his fellow slaves Sunday school and on how to write. His desire for freedom burnt more and he plotted an escape.

Unfortunately, it failed and he was arrested and taken to prison. He finally worked for his previous master, Auld, at Baltimore shipyard. The slaves were portrayed to be less human, unintelligent and primitive. Secondly the women were not secure as they were subjected to horrendous experiences including rape and sexual abuse. This culminated to slaves born mostly to enhance security of the continuity and increase of the number of slaves. The masters were worried that they could be a reduction of numbers of slaves in their plantation which would negatively impact their plantation and production. The born slaves were then separated from their mothers to make the slaves ignorant of their paternity. Their reserved jobs were menial and plantation or field job.

When Douglass gets a job at Baltimore to work at the shipyard he goes through horrendous experiences like whipping from the whites because they felt intimidated that the slaves would replace them. (Douglass, 107) The slaves lived a deplorable life. Apart from working long hour they also slept in awful environmental conditions. This was exemplified by all the slaves sleeping in one cold room, notwithstanding the age and gender. In the book the narrative of Frederick Douglass, he gives an example of a slave who was shot by the master because he had been spotted in a neighboring master’s plantation. Apparently the slaves had no rights because they could not seek justice. When Douglass seeks help owing to the terrible whipping he receives from his master, Mr.

Covey, no help comes through. This caused the slaves to live in psychological fear thus making them suffer psychologically. This is exemplified when Sophia Auld, a kind woman, is being influenced by his husband Mr. Hugh and she refrains from teaching Douglass. The masters notes that education to the slave would make him unfit for slavery that is it would emancipate him. Notably Mr. Auld also grows to be cruel to slaves, the humane her is replaced by brutality and cruelty for slaves. Fredrick explicitly relays and illustrates the torturous evil the slaves go through. The narrative of Fredrick Douglass was of essence as it steered the need for abolitionist movement that was long overdue. Douglass emancipates himself from slavery and chooses to lobby for the curtailed freedom of the slaves.