Emergence of Man

            Frederick Douglass narrative is aptly summed up in a single quote: “You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man” (Douglass 107). The dual, negative effects of slavery upon both master and servant is a major subject in Douglass’ A Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave.   However, the importance of religion alongside running motifs of humanization and dehumanization of people based on their actions are actually set up an interesting set of parallels within the story however: the more learned Douglass becomes and the closer he comes to achieving his desired freedom, the more the corrupting effects of slavery upon the master are made known to the reader.  Simply put, the more Douglass grows closer to becoming a man, his masters seem to become increasingly less monstrous.

            The further entrenched Douglass becomes in the slavery the more inhuman the owners appear to become.  Initially, Douglass is faced with the cruelties of Captain Anthony and is exposed to the dreadful natures of slavery.  The key moment occurs when Douglass witnesses the whipping of his Aunt Hester at the hands of Anthony, a horrid occurrence that is viscerally described by Douglass; and terms like “gory” “iron” and even the very tone of the passage serve as violent imagery for Anthony’s vile actions.  And while Douglass observes that Captain Anthony has a sick enjoyment of whipping slaves, he notes that Anthony’s heart had been “hardened by a long life of slaveholding” (51).  Douglass’ metaphor establishes the first of many instances in which good men and women are made cruel and those already wicked are made even more so.

            The first step into breaking away from the notion of slavery is the attaining of knowledge and the ability to think freely.  When Douglass first begins to learn to read under the tutelage of Mrs. Auld, his lessons mark the first step away from enslavement. During this brief period in which Douglass pulls away from slavery his mistress is, for the most part, kindhearted and eager to help the young boy learn.  However, as Douglass observes: “the fatal poison of irresponsible power was already in her hands, and soon commenced its infernal work.”  Douglass’ metaphor proves to be accurate foreshadowing of his friendship with Sophia Auld, as the mistress adopts the notions and ideals of her husband regarding teaching slaves.  Eventually, Mrs. Auld developed a penchant for restricting Douglass’ access to reading material, although this did very little to stop the now curious slave.  During this brief timeframe in which Douglass learned to read, Sophia Auld gradually learned the ways of slavery, another reinforcement of this interesting parallel.

            Ownership of Douglass is eventually passed onto the cruel slave-breaker Mr. Covey.  Douglass had been rebellious during his time as a slave: continuing to learn how to read and write and refusing orders of his current master.  However, Mr. Covey would prove to be an excruciatingly cruel master, and his introduction symbolically occurs alongside Douglass’ complete breaking as a slave.  When this occurs, his intellectual thinking is momentarily lost, as Douglass describes his leisure time being spent in “a beast-like stupor between sleep and wake”.  The reappearance of the word “beast” is an excellent choice of diction, and functions as a metaphor of Douglass’ temporarily lost intellect and broken soul.  Once again, it is under the hand of the cruelest slave owner that Douglass’ will is broken, and only through the ignition of his burning desire for freedom does his situation improve.

            It is during this state of rebellion that Douglass’ ownership once again changes hands, this time to Mr. Freeland.  Douglass also begins to instruct his fellow slaves in reading and writing, and eventually conspires to lead an escape attempt.  Douglass comes to relish the experience, but remarks with discontent his Sunday School’s treatment by the hands of religious owners.  In an interesting twist of irony, Douglass and the slaves attempt to educate themselves as grown men would, while the slave owners “rushed upon us [Douglass and the slaves] with sticks and stones and broke up our virtuous little Sabbath School at St. Michael’s–all calling themselves Christians!”  Douglass’ diction and tone help to bring the irony of the situation to light, and his exclamation and emphasis upon the word Christian is a prime highlight of his emotional protests.  Overall, Douglass’ rebelliousness and willingness to combat slavery seems to correlate with the condition of his master, culminating in achieving the greatest master of all: himself.