Analysis of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (Essay Example)

Slavery; one of the most traumatic experiences for those who were captivated and bought from auctions to obey the rules of a master. These people were held hostage, bought and sold, abused, and punished for each and every move they did wrong. Each slave withheld their own battles, however each slave shared similar conflits. For instance the culture, they used music as a way to portray their feelings, for if they were heard it caused them no good at all. Next problem was the family situation. Many slaves were pulled apart from thier parents and siblings at a very young age or sometimes even at birth. Last includes their daily life, as they were given little pay, they had to manage their money and retrieve the most clothing that they could that would last them hopefully up to a year. Each of these conflicts held a great weight on these slaves shoulders. 

First, many slaves felt it was hard to express their feelings at a time like this and struggled with finding a healthy way to do so. They discovered the beautiful feeling after they began to sing. It was a way for them to feel sorry for themselves and let out the sorrow and rage they withheld within thmesleves, “To those songs I trace my first glimmering conception of the dehumanizing character of slavery. I can never get rid of that conception. Those songs still follow me, to deepen my hatred of slavery, and quicken my sympathies for my brethren in bonds” (Page 12). Fredrick explains the feelings that came along with singing on the plantation and the meaning behind what he would sing about, the thought of slavery being so sickening to him. This song gave him a way to express those beliefs in a way that was comfortable for himself.

When people began escaping and traveled to the North they soon began to learn that the north sings with joy however the South would sing in pain. In the narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass it prusumes, “I have often been utterly astonished, since I came to the north, to find persons who could speak of the singing, among slaves, as evidence of their contentment and happiness. It is impossible to conceive of a greater mistake. Slaves sing most when they are most unhappy. The songs of the slave represent the sorrows of his heart; and he is relieved by them, only as an aching heart is relieved by its tears” (Page 12). This shows the misconception of how he thought the whole world was, when he was living a terrible life somewhere he would never be ever again. He was wowed by the experience and only learned the real depression tht slavery had withehld as they use songs for thereapy. 

Next, was the unfortunate family situation. Many people including people like Fredrick were forced away from his mother as a young child/baby and never got to live with her. In the text it states, “My mother and I were separated when I was but an infant—before I knew her as my mother” (Page 2). He never got to experience the beauty of a mother and son relationship, and never got the feeling of family. His mother had to make many dangerous sacrifices to see him during the night, and valued time with her son rather than getting sleep and getting a change at a large and painful punishment. In the text it follows, “She made her journeys to see me in the night, traveling the whole distance on foot, after the performance of her day’s work. She was a field hand, and a whipping is the penalty of not being in the field at sunrise…” (Page 2). His mother passed when he was seven years old, and doesn't even know who his father is. There have been multiple rumors but he has no confirmation if that is true or not, “Called thus suddenly away, she left me without the slightest intimation of who my father was. The whisper that my master was my father, may or may not be true…” (Page 3).  It is a deep displeasure many people were at lost of family and had absolutely no one they knew or of that at least did not know who their family was, was horrendous way of living being one of the greatest conflicts amoung slavery. 

Last conflict was the cruel conditions that consistated in the slaves daily life. These slaves got little to no money which they had to use to buy themselves clothing. This clothing would have to prolong for each of the seasons, from when it got really hot to when it got really cold. This narrative provides, “Their yearly clothing consisted of two coarse linen shirts, one pair of linen trousers, like the shirts, one jacket, one pair of trousers for winter, made of coarse negro cloth, one pair of stockings, and one pair of shoes; the whole of which could not have cost more than seven dollars” (Page 8). And not only did you have to have enough clothing that costed under a total of seven dollars that was not made well, but it had to remain useable for up to a year or else you had to walk around that plantation, naked with no accomidations made for the slaves. Making sure you took the best care of your clothes was an absolute must, which was hard based on the location of their living. They also got very little time to themselves at all, with all the chores in order they would get home from picking, do the following chores, eat, and go off to bed if they were given a chance giving their day to day life and endless cycle of repetition. The narrative states, “Very many of their sleeping hours are consumed in preparing for the field the coming day; and when this is done, old and young, male and female, married and single, drop down side by side, on one common bed,—the cold, damp floor,—each covering himself or herself with their miserable blankets; and here they sleep till they are summoned to the field by the driver’s horn” (Page 9). These slaves slept with nothing, not even a bed. This shows the horrific conditions that became normalized for them, living like this is no way any human should have to experience. The food that was provided to them was scarce and had to be eaten consitaint, “The men and women slaves received, as their monthly allowance of food, eight pounds of pork, or its equivalent in fish, and one bushel of corn meal” (Page 8). As stated in the quote this food would have to last a month, depending on if your kids reamined with you or not you received no extra food, you had to think wisely and plan meals out. 

All and all, salvery was an absolute sickening situation that took place, as you come to relize just how bad these conditions were, you start to ponder on the heartache and anger that you may have felt that many slaves had faced. As every slaves experice was extrwlmly different, there was a variety of conflicts they all shared the same. This included the culture being shared upo one slave to another to express their feelings. The separation of family that occured to withhold from the distraction of the work of the slave. And finally, what a day to day life was for an average slave. Their routine, sleeping conditions, clothing, and food. These conflicts played a humungous role on the severity of the slaves experience on a plantation and an inside look on what it felt like with evidence that was provided from the Narrtive of the Life of Fredrick Douglas.