Fredrick Douglass Reader Response In the times of complete poverty faced by Fredrick Douglass, the humanity of society was degraded by both; the masters being the oppressors and the unwilling slaves being the oppressed. Douglass was an intelligent, courageous individual that had a strong principle of moral stability, which is well evident in his narrative. He bravely writes about his experiences which have had an expansive, powerful impact all the way from the abolitionist movement up until our era.
Fredrick Douglass was born into slavery which lead him to be a witness and victim of the dehumanization of colored individuals. He grew up observing how colored men and women were given a price, with little to no value. The slaves were degraded by having their rights stripped and seized from them by white slaveowners that treated them like animals. Knowingly they longed for freedom, the masters and overseers would still brutally punish any slave that would speak their mind. In …show more content…
He came across multiple near death experiences, the most sickening being when he was hit in the back of his head with a handspike, beaten up, and kicked in the eye by white construction workers who feared blacks with good work ethics. No matter the circumstance, Douglass never gave into the acceptance of a slave lifestyle. He learned how to read and write, and had an influential effect on those around him. Some of the high religious masters and mistresses were the most cruel in treating their slaves by starving them and lashing them out for pleasure. They believed that they were viewed highly by God for the authority they had over their slaves. Those that did not grow up in owning slaves, had a harder time being as cruel and were likely to treat their slaves in a “fair” manner. One of Douglass’ mistresses taught him how to read when he was young due to her lack of experience in slave