The Narrative Of Frederick Douglass - 1132 Words

The narrative begins with Douglass being oblivious to the identity of his father. This theme of Frederick Douglass being young and naà ¯ve is continued throughout the beginning. The idea of slaves being young and naà ¯ve is seen in almost all slave narratives. One of the ways slave owners kept slaves captive is through keeping the slaves ignorant. It is nearly impossible for a slave to escape slavery if they cannot read and write. Slave owners knew how impossible this was so they kept them ignorant, they kept them from learning. Since ignorance is what seems to hold slaves captive, one could easily conclude that knowledge is the key to freedom. Douglass figured this out at a young age. He starts learning from Mrs. Auld but eventually ends up†¦show more content†¦The most electrifying moments in Douglass’s narrative was seen when Douglass decides to fight Mr. Covey back. Douglass gets the courage to fight Mr. Covey because he had the magical root in his hand. In the Narrative, there are many instances where violence is being depicted but in most scenarios it is seen when the slave owners discipline the slave. The roles were never reversed until this moment. After this fight, Douglass longed to be free more than ever. Though this act of violence is not what Douglass wanted, it did help him stay motivated. This act of violence can be seen as an act of resistance against slavery. In Douglass’s narrative he clearly displays that he is extremely respectful. Vince Brewton says, â€Å"The self-representation of the Narrative, however, reveals how Douglass adapts his master s ways in order to deny the master s power.† (Brewton 1) Douglass utilized respect as a way to resist slavery. This is extremely clever because most slave masters assume that slaves respecting them is a result of their power over the slave but in this scenario it serves a different purpose. Douglass was respectful only because he did not want his master to know his r eal motives. He did not want his master to know that he longed for freedom. Between Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs, you can see the many acts of resistance in their narratives. Some of the acts of resistance are different while some of them are very different. Frederick