Discussing The Narrative of the Life of Frederick...

Frederick Douglass In the preface of The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, written by himself, William Lloyd Garrison, Abolitionist and member of the Anti-Slavery Society, said of Frederick Douglass, after hearing him speak, â€Å"Patrick Henry, of revolutionary fame, never made a speech more eloquent in the cause of liberty than the one I had just listened to from the lips of that hunted fugitive.† Garrison and other abolitionist convinced Fredrick Douglass to continue to tell his story of slavery, but Douglass was not a free man and warily told, â€Å"only fragments of his life story, guarding always the details of names, places and means of escape which might have identified him to his master and exposed friends and accomplices who†¦show more content†¦It was the opinion of the slaves on Colonel Lloyd’s plantation that Frederick’s father was his master. This practice of slave owners, fathering slave children was very popular in the South as, for the slave owner, its benefits were twofold. Not only did it satisfy the master’s sinful lusts, but it added to his wealth because slaves had considerable value. When Frederick was about seven or eight years old he was taken to the main house to be worked as a slave. It was at the main house that Frederick saw for the first time a slave being beaten. In a short time Frederick came to understand that the beating of slaves was a way of life and that no slave could avoid this fate. Frederick quickly learned to avoid the offenses that brought the punishment of a beating, but he also came to understand, that beatings were often not punishments at all, but were given because the masters and overseers got much pleasure out of beating their slaves. The first person Frederick witnessed being beaten was his Aunt Hester, a servant at the main house. Frederick describes in his narrative what he saw looking through a crack in the kitchen door. The master tied a strong rope around Aunt Hesterâ €™s wrists and then tied the rope to a joist in the ceiling, so she was hanging with her arms stretched above her. Then he rolled up his sleeves, calling her a â€Å"damned bitch† and began whipping her naked back with a heavy cowskin until she was covered in blood and bloodShow MoreRelatedNarrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave1552 Words   |  7 Pages04/23/2015 Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written by Himself Theme: False versus True Christianity In this theme, Fredrick Douglass contrasts the both forms of Christianity to show the underlying hypocrisy in slavery. The results show that slavery is not religious as it exposes the evils in human bondage. These ideals however can be distorted so as to fit in the society. 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