In the year 1619 through 1865 slavery was allowed in America. The southern states are pro slavery. Frederick Douglass was a slave during this time. He wrote an autobiography called, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. He was treated poorly as a slave. He overheard his master talking to his wife about slaves needing to be illiterate and taught himself how to read and write in secret. Once he becomes educated he will try to escape. Eventually he overcame many obstacles and became a free man. It is clear in Douglass’s autobiography and the research conducted that his portrayal of 19th century America is accurate because slaves are mistreated badly, illiterate, and are given little resources to survive. An indication that Douglass’s portrayal of 19th century America is accurate due to his …show more content…
For example, if a little mistake was made by the slave the master would pound the slave harshly. Douglass is recalling a memory about his first master beating his aunt, “I have often been awakened at the dawn of day by the most heartrending shrieks of an own aunt of mine, whom he used to tie up to a joist, and whip upon her naked back till she was literally covered with blood. No words, no tears, no prayers, from his gory victim, seemed to move his iron heart from its bloody purpose” (Douglass pg. 7). In this quote one can see that masters treat slaves inhumane. The author uses parallelism to the phrase “No words, no tears, no prayers” to emphasize how cruel the master is. The master does not know what sympathy is. He also uses a metaphor to compare “iron heart” to his dehumanized nature. He does not see anything wrong with hitting a slave because he does not see them as