Evolution Into Self: Frederick Douglass, Essay Example

In a very real sense, virtually every day of Frederick Douglass’ life as a slave was something of a turning point for him, because the acute awareness his story reveals demonstrates this. The young man’s entire existence was one of transition, if initially confined to his inner being, because everything he encountered as a slave was blatantly unjust to him. He manifests this awareness early on when, and seemingly unlike his fellow slaves, he cannot understand why white children know their birthdays, and slaves do not: “I could not tell why I ought to be deprived of the same privilege” (Douglass 16). That these thoughts were within a young boy born into slavery emphasizes how, even then, each moment of awareness was another phase in the turning point that was his life as a piece of property.

Then, Douglass’ sense of gross injustice permeates his every eyewitness account of the brutality exercised on slaves. What is critical in this is the man’s consciousness, not only of the rampant savagery, but of the societal inequity of it as well. For example, as outraged as Douglass is by the tales he relates, he nonetheless maintains an eye on the government, and he is equally appalled to relate that the killing of a slave in Talbot County, Maryland – as elsewhere – is not addressed as a crime (37). Getting older, his view of the condition of himself and his people is now seeking wider responsibility. There is a reason founded in law why slaves are slaves, and this is an understanding that must eventually empower him.

There are also tastes of individuality given him, and these are treasured. Being transferred at the request of his former owner to attend to Hugh Auld in Baltimore was a literal turning point. With joy, he recalls the kind face of his new mistress (41). She was relating to him as a person, not as a thing, and there can be no accounting of how this inspired the man. Then, with education came deeper unrest: “The more I read, the more I was led to abhor and detest my enslavers” (50). Finally, as he enters full manhood, all these histories coalesce, and there is no turning point more dramatic than his defiant battle with the vile Mr. Covey (77). The impossibly cruel master is intimidated by the force of Douglass, and Douglass can then see himself as a man, and one who can actually alter scenarios thought of as inflexible. In these few hours, Douglass finally comprehends that slavery will not be his state of being, no matter what befalls him.

Works Cited

Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. Forgotten Books, 2008. Web. Retrieved April 26, 2012, from http://books.google.com/booksid=k5c1THo4xpUC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false