The Dehumanization Process in the Narrative of the Life...

The Dehumanization Process in the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave Throughout American history, minority groups were victims of American governmental policies, and these policies made them vulnerable to barbaric and inhumane treatment at the hands of white Americans. American slavery is a telling example of a government sanctioned institution that victimized and oppressed a race of people by indoctrinating and encouraging enslavement, racism and abuse. This institution is injurious to slaves and slave holders alike because American society, especially in the south, underwent a dehumanization process in order to implement the harsh and inhumane doctrine. In the episodic autobiography Narrative of the†¦show more content†¦Starting from a slave’s birth, this cruel process leads to a continuous cycle of abuse, neglect, and inhumane treatment. To some extent, slave holders succeed because they keep most slaves so concerned with survival that they have no time or energy to consider freedom. This is particularly true for plantation s laves where the conditions of slave life are the most difficult and challenging. However, slave holders fail to realize the damage they inadvertently inflict on themselves by upholding slavery and enforcing these austere laws and attitudes. To begin, Douglass uses imagery to describe the heart wrenching experience of a slave child on a plantation. Without adequate food or clothing, slave children begin the process of dehumanization. Denied blankets or beds, the children slept on the cold and damp floor and Douglass describes with horrid detail his â€Å"feet [being] so cracked with the frost, that the pen which [he is] writing might be laid in the gashes†(1836). This painful description creates empathy for a mistreated child whose only â€Å"crime† results from his birth to a black mother. In the most dehumanizing comparison, Douglass uses animal imagery to reveal the conditions and manner in which the children are fed. Douglass writes: Our food wasShow MoreRelatedThe Life Of Frederick Douglass s The Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick 1306 Words   |  6 PagesSouthern life going on for hundreds of years. Frederick Douglass, a slave who had escaped to the North, after years of abuse through slavery, knew that in order to stop slavery, he had to persuade all the people in the North to vehemently oppose it as much as he did himself. Through the â€Å"Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass†, which he published in 1845, Douglass focuses on the process of dehumanization he and thousands of others went through while being a slave to showcase the American peopleRead MoreAnalysis Of Frederick Douglass Narrative1597 Words   |  7 PagesFrederick Douglass’ Narrative serves as an influential text which provides detailed examples of how slavery allowed a country and a government to justify the brutal dehumanization and oppression of an entire race of people. Using personal experience, Douglass explains h ow the slave institution not only dehumanized himself, but also how the process affected other slaves and the slaveowners as well. Douglass relies on a strong imagery relating back to animals to show this dehumanization process, whichRead MoreDehumanization In Frederick Douglass1795 Words   |  8 Pagesback in Ancient Rome, people celebrated a festival called Saturnalia; in part of the festival, slaves and their masters had their roles reversed. Imagine if the United States (U.S.) adopted this festival—the slaveowners would dread being tortured to death. During the early 19th century, U.S. had its first industrial revolution; as a result, it further increased the usage and value of slaves. Slaves were life-time, unpaid laborers who usually worked and lived in unsafe condition. 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