chapters 3 to 8

In chapters three through eight, Douglass does a great job at speaking to the several popular beliefs amongst the people of the time. He speaks to the stereotype of happy slave singing, Christian slaveholders treating their slaves well, mulatto slaves, urban vs. rural, and many other facets of slave life.
I think a very interesting part of the book is Douglass’ differentiation between overseers. I find the varying degrees of cruelty and violence used between the overseers and how they use it is a very interesting statement. I figure it like this, overseers probably refrained from allowing individual identity to flourish amongst slaves. This is why I find it so intriguing that Douglass refrains from using this perspective on overseers. Why shouldn’t he just lump together all overseers as cruel, disgusting monsters? Instead he differentiates between Gore, Severe, Covey and the others. It takes a lot of strength to speak both highly and poorly of the person that has been holding you in a violent captivity your entire life.
Chapter 8 was an incredibly powerful chapter. I was utterly appalled by the treatment of Douglass’s grandmother. It is in this chapter that Douglass reveals how far whites are willing to go for their own benefit. After having his grandmother raise the master for his entire life, they kick his grandmother to the curb in her dying days to fend for herself in a small cabin in the woods. I can do no justice to what Douglass says, but I have never felt as much anger and disgust as reading the descriptions that Douglass puts forth in that chapter.

Kayla's Blog Post 4: Chapter 11-Appendix

Douglass has finally acquired his freedom. In the final chapter and then more so in the Appendix, he makes a very interesting and poignant point to the narrative; which, interestingly enough, protects his freedom when it once denied him his freedom. I am speaking of ignorance. As outlined in chapter one of the narrative, ignorance is a main factor to the "creation" of a slave. If a slave is ignorant of freedom, then they will be compliant and not strive to obtain freedom. This is one way in which slaveholders suppressed their slaves. However, through Douglass himself, we see that when an individual collects an education, realizes the many natural freedoms endowed to all human beings, then to remain a slave is nearly impossible. In the narrative, Douglass never lets the reader know details concerning his escape. The purpose of this is rather obvious: if slaveholders knew how slaves escaped, then they would ensure that it would never happened. So, of course, Douglass cannot share that information with the general public. However, his reasoning goes beyond the obvious. Douglass also wishes to keep the slaveholders in the dark because then it is the slaveholder who is the ignorant one. If the slaveholder doesn't know how to control their slaves, then they quite simply can't. It's also interesting to notice that the narrative itself is almost payback. It is vindictive in the sense that it is a narrative explaining how he overcame the master's power and even escaped right beneath their nose. And he won't even explain how. It would be frustrating to any slaveholder. So, ignorance, the ignorance of the slaveholder, now protects Douglass; whereas before, ignorance was the tool with which the slaveholder oppressed Douglass.

Kayla's Blog Post 3: Chapters 3-8

I refer to slavery as a mystery, for I can't seem to properly understand how slavery as an ideal, as an accepted social structure, and in a sense, as a sickness, could have harnassed people so strongly. In reading Douglass' narrative, I am constantly in awe of the dehumanizing effects of slavery upon the masters. Of course, I don't mean to set the plights of the slaves in the background, I am merely interested in understanding how anyone could treat another human being the way masters would treat their slaves. I want to take this opportunity to comment on the narrative by means of examining the master mentaltiy.

Douglass enters into detail when explaing the overseer Gore. Gore is presented as a heartless individual, and it is no doubt true. Douglass writes that, "...he was just the man for such a place, and it was just the place for such a man..." (32). The plantation provided Gore with the perfect environment in which to exercise his powers. He showed no mercy, thrived in his supposed superiority, and found confounding contentment when inflicting harm upon the slaves. And, he did all of this with a calm demeanor. The following words of Douglass are tragically definitive: "[Gore's] savage barbarity was equalled only by the consummate coolness with which he committed the grossest and most savage deeds upon the slaves under his charge," (33). But I need to know why. How is it that compassion can be completely void? Am I lost in this mystery due to my own ignorance? I have never suffered oppression; I do not personally know severe physical or mental pain stemming from injustice.

Douglass goes on to account the story of Demby, a slave murdered by Gore. After suffering a whipping by Gore, Dempy fled to a creek to ease the pain. When Gore summoned Dempy from the creek, and Dempy did not respond or adhere to his demand, Gore shot Dempy. Gore was never investigated for his actions and in fact, Douglass' master, Lloyd, seemed not to care. Importantly, Douglass points out that Gore is celebrated for his talents as an overseer. It is interesting how barbarious acts were not accounted for when they are centered towards slaves, again supporting the idea that slaves were not regarded as completely human. The masters dehumanized slaves, and simultaneously dehumanized themselves.

Antoher example that centers on the master mentality which I found interesting was the case of Sophia Auld. She beings as a kind mistress, and even cofuses Douglass with her kindness. Douglass is her first slave and so she begins their relationship as a caring master, but she slowly turns hard and cruel. It is through Sophia Auld that we as readers can see the evolution of hatred for slaves by their masters. Hugh Auld, her husband, finds her teaching Douglass the alphabet one day and stops the lesson immediatly. He tells her that by teaching Douglass, she is providing him with knowledge that will one day cause him to be unhappy and restless in his socail position (of course, Auld's predictions prove true, and this very moment is the first time that education as a means of freedom is instilled in Douglass' head).

Over time, Douglass can no longer look Sophia in the eyes. She acquired a hatred for him. How did this occur? I think that power is an addiction, in a sense. Once a person learns that they can have power over another, it is hard for them to ignore, for them to sustain the urge. Slowly, Sohpia began to see Douglass as an object of use, as opposed to an equal subject. This different perception occured because she was constantly using him as such. If we practice a foreign language often enough, it will soon become second-nature. If we abuse the freedom of others enough, it will also become second-nature. Sadly, humans can brain wash themselves. If everyone else is doing it, it must be okay.

How is it that masters could lack so mcuh humanity? It is a mystery, and at the same time, completely explainable. Slavery is like a sickness. Once caught, it is absorbed into the blood stream and flows into the heart. Over time, if not cured right away, it will kill the sense of compassion, and empathy withers away into bitterness.

Blog Post 2, response to Frederick Douglass, Chapter 1

Frederick Douglass reveals three important elements required to turn a human into a slave. 1) On the very first page, Douglass begins by stating “A want of information concerning my own was a source of unhappiness to me even during childhood.” He further reveals that he nor most slaves, to his knowledge, know their exact age. These confessions begin to form a clear picture of a human being who has been stripped of an identity. Frederick Douglass describes a man who could barely say he had a mother, whose father is the same man that enslaves him, a man who has no history and no future. Douglass’ situation is not peculiar, slaveholders created these situations in order to keep slaves social networks in disarray. These tactics not only made it harder for slaves to organize, but as Douglass point out, cause one to feel unhappy.

Frederick Douglass makes another strong statement revealing the second key element into creating a slave. 2) Law. “Slaveholders have ordained, and by law established, that the children of slave women shall in all cases follow the condition of their mothers.” This quote reveals exactly how crucial the law is in determining an individual as a slave. With slaves gaining lighter complexions from their sexually deviant masters, we can clearly see that people didn’t need Christianity’s Curse of Ham or a dark skin pigmentation to be labeled a slave. The law of the people deems a slave so.

The third and most despicable of the elements described by Douglass is violence. 3) There is almost nothing as catastrophic to the growth of an individual, a child in specific, as the presence of violence. In Douglass’s and millions of others case, violence was used as a way to both punish those thought to deserve it and create an atmosphere of fear among slaves. “I expected it to be my turn next.” This is the reality that Douglass faced, and as a result he was forced to live life with the fear of a beating or whipping lurking in the distant future. Nobody wants violence to be inflicted upon themselves or the ones you love. Violence was used as a way to show that nobody was safe and that the consequence of breaking the “rules” was severe pain. This and the other two elements laid out build a strong idea of how white people in the United States turned human beings into slaves.

Kayla: Response to Preface-19 Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

When reading the first chapter of the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, as American Slave, three elements, or methods, to “making” a slave are highlighted within the words and expressive accounts provided by the voice of Douglass himself. They are a sense of ambiguity, inferiority, and fear.

First and perhaps foremost, to “make” a slave, a person’s identity is to remain ambiguous or non-existent. If a human being feels that they lack personal self, it is, in a sense, an injury to their spirit. Douglass writes, “A want of information concerning my own was a source of unhappiness to me even during childhood. The white children could tell their ages…I was not allowed to make inquiries of my master concerning it…” (17). Even as a young child, the thought of discovering his identity was disheartening to him for he observed the freedom the white children had in knowing their day of birth and he could not fathom why he was not allowed to know his own. It is discouraging. Intimidating to the soul. Also, at a young age, as was custom, his mother was taken from him at a very young age. He was left to fend for himself, instilling a sense of harsh abandonment and loneliness. He never knew the tenderness of a mother or the guidance and protection of a father. With the absence of these quintessential figures, he was never able to identify with a family, or a background.

Second, Douglas goes on to explicate upon a sense of feeling of inferiority. It was a rumor that his master was his father, though this would never be admitted. It was common for a master to impregnate a female slave, and then disclaim connection to the infant. In fact, the master would seldom keep the child or the women, for then he “…must not only whip themselves, but must stand by and see one white son tie up the brother, of but a few shades darker and a complexion than himself and ply the gory lash to his naked back…” (19). These motives to sell his children are entirely selfish and it is examples such as this that signifies the white person’s perception of the black person: a thing, an inferior object, rather than a human being, an equal subject. This points leads into the final “method” presented by Douglas in chapter one.

To “make” a slave, and then “keep” the slave, there must be a sense of fear and threatening consequences. From a very early age, Douglass was subject to horrifying and immeasurable displays of cruelty and violence. Basically, his young mind was taught to perceive that he was under the control of another and that if he stepped out of line, violence would befall him. Douglass recounts, “It struck me with awful force. It was the blood-stained gate, the entrance to the hell of slavery…I wish I could commit to paper the feelings with which I beheld it” (20). The “blood stained gate” locked in the African American slaves, imprisoning them in a world from which they were fearful to escape.

Ultimately, Douglass highlights three main elements that “make” a slave, that force a human being to feel ambiguous, inferior, and fearful. Douglass has never really known his own age, nor his family. His supposed father was ashamed of him, reluctant to ever admit to the fact that he conceived Douglass. And since Douglass can remember, he has witnessed frightfully severe events of brutality. Douglass, from the beginning of his life, was taught to disregard his personal identity and background, acknowledge a sense of inferiority, and live in an environment where fear and violence was utilized to contain order.

Kayla's First Post

My name is Kayla Eason, and I am a junior, Creative Writing major, at the University of Redlands, in Southern California. The purpose of this blog is to explore the facets of injustice and the quarrels of freedom by examining history and literature through texts written by African American authors. I wish to inspect the aspects of human nature that strives to control, and inversely, strives to over-come control for the betterment of the individual soul. I want to understand how inferiority dehumanizes the "lesser" as well as the "superior,"and perhaps attepmt to fathom how or why the idea of inferiority between whites and blacks became an obsessive and rigid notion in society. Also, as a writer, I am always eager to study the craft of literature. This blog project was created as an assignment for the class African American Literature 233-01, Fall 2010.

Johnny's First Post

My name is Johnny Bristol. I was born in Morganton, North Carolina where I grew up most of my life. After some years I moved to California and I loved everything about it. When I moved back to North Carolina I knew I wanted to come back to California for college. Now I attend the University of Redlands and I am also a member of the Redlands Bulldog football team. I am a Business major and i hope to use this blog to have a better understanding in class and help me maintain a good GPA

Bergen's First Post

My name is Bergen Milam and I am a University of Redlands student. It is currently my third year at school, and I am working towards a bachelor’s degree in Race and Ethnic Studies. I emphasize my studies on the intersection of race and the U.S. justice system. I am creating this blog for my African American Literature (ENG 233) course. I hope to use it as a tool to record my thoughts and reflections on the books we are assigned to read. My blog can also be used to post the questions that come to me as I read, which can hopefully become a way to better analyze the texts. I hope that this blog can be used as a tool to help me get a better understanding of what I am reading.