In the narratives of Fredrick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs we see a point of view of two slaves in the 1800s, one being a man and the other being a woman. In Fredrick’s narrative we see that he was a born slave. As he grew up he desired to learn how to read, believing that this was the key to him being a free man. He became a leader for many other slaves and quarreled with his masters. He bought his time and eventually fled to the north where he ended up working with wages. In Harriet’s narrative we see her a born slave as well. As a woman slave she was doing house work such as modern day chores. She was under the master named Mr. Flint that raped her when she was in her later teenage years. She had children in her young years but they were …show more content…
She also disobeyed some of the masters orders but she was treated much better than Fredrick as far as physical abuse. In both narratives we see how religion was in the slave culture as well as the white southerners. Religion was somewhat a lie in some cases and was used to try and guide the slaves into being thankful for their masters and according to the two narrators, religion made their masters worse than they were. In Harriets narrative, she describes what she sees when her peer slaves start going to church. They came out of the church not wanting to escape to the north and for being thankful to their masters. Their masters in church were spoken of as to be a figure that must be respected much like you would god. “‘Hearken, ye servants! Give strict heed unto my words. You are rebellious sinners. Your hearts are filled with all manner of evil. 'Tis the devil who tempts you….’”(Jacobs, 106). Clearly, the evil is not within the slaves but rather their masters. These lies that came from the church worked on unknowledgeable people such as the people who could not read. Harriet seemed unchanged by the church about her decision to leave and coincidentally she is one of few that can read. However, god was a source of hope for Harriet. We see Harriet ask god for help many times …show more content…
Slaves that showed up to the school were liable up to 39 lashes. (Douglass, 160) This school being broken up for learning to read and learn about the word of god and being punished for doing so was unfair. It is like the masters are hiding something from the slaves to break up something so innocent. This leads to the thoughts of whether they have been lied to about the word of god much like in Harriets narrative. Fredrick sarcastically and angrily calls the masters “humble followers of the Lord Jesus Christ!”. (Douglass, 159) It must have been frustrating to be as knowledgable as Fredrick because he more than other slaves knew how corrupt the masters and the whole system of slavery was. Furthermore, it is ridiculous to think that Dr. Flint was anywhere near to being correctly religious. A religious man does not rape another woman, nor does he cheat on his wife that he swore to be loyal to. Dr. Flint did treat Harriet better than most slaves, but Dr. Flint had what seemed like an obsession with Harriet. He wanted her to stay in the house and he would never sell her. Harriet was not given the same opportunity has her grandmother where she was given her own time. Her grandmother attempted to buy her time and Dr. Flint said no every time to anyone who asked to purchase Harriet. This was cruel of Dr. Flint, Harriet was not a necessity, it was a decision
In Fredrick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs narrative they show how the institution of slavery dehumanizes an individual both physically and emotionally. In Jacobs narrative she talks about how women had it worse than men did in slavery. While men suffered, women had it worse due to sexual abuse. The emotional, physical, and sexual abuse was dehumanizing for anyone.
She becomes open to God while she is in England, discovering that Christianity was only prejudiced in the states. By the end of the novel, the Fugitive Slave Law was passed, which caused widespread panic among runaway slaves in the north, but Dr. Flint passed away, and Mrs. Bruce, the lady that Harriet was working for, was able to
She carried scars from this abuse for the rest of her life. Harriet was a Christian. When she was younger, she was told bible stories by her mother. She rejected the New Testament and always followed the Old Testament. She claims to have had visions and vivid dreams from god.
Christianity was observed in the narrative of Fredrick Douglass. Christianity was used to emphasize the spiritual beliefs of slavery. Douglass expressed the physical pain, that was caused by the hands of his master. He reflects on a time when his master whipped a young woman, but once the master finished he justified his abuse with a passage from the bible. In the words of Douglass: “I have seen him tie up a young woman whip her and then quote this passage; He that knoweth his master will, doeth it not, shall be beaten with many stripes” (see item 7 on p. 970).
1. Fredrick Douglass witnessed harsh and violent actions throughout his slave life, as slave owners utilized Christianity as a justification for these actions and for the system of slavery. Douglass experienced this religious abuse throughout his life as a slave. However, in 1832, when he began working for Captain Auld, he witnessed the misuse of religion in the setting of a violent action. After Auld whipped a young woman, he justified his actions by quoting the Bible: “He that knoweth his master’s will, and doeth it not, shall be beaten with many strips” (33).
Religion was not clearly stressed throughout the story, but it is important to every individual, including Harriet Jacobs. Harriet uses her religion, Christianity to guide her in the correct path and protect her from those who cause violence and danger. Throughout difficult times, slaves depended on religion as a time of peace and relaxation to help them go through many challenges in their lives. In the text of the, “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl”, before she embarked her journey to escape, on page 576, it states that, “I prayed that God would not forsake me in this hour of utmost need.” This shows that her feelings and prayers affect her life and every critical move that she makes.
“Sinned against or dangerous sinner?” In the book A Gathering of Days, Catherine struggles to decide if the slave is worth her sacrifice. Everyone agrees that Catherine did help the slave. Some people, however, believe she should help the phantom. While others believe she should not. Catherine should help the stranger in the forest for three reasons: Catherine would save his life, she thought slavery was cruel, harsh, and maleficent, and he had become her responsibility.
Her mother’s name was Delilah and was the slave of Margaret Horniblow, while her father’s name was Daniel Jacobs and was the slave of Andrew Knox. Harriet was unaware that she was owned property until she was six years old. Although this was her life situation, she would make the best out of it. Harriet’s mother died when she was only six years old. This caused her
Religion and its relationship to slavery is a contradictive subject, whether it was forced upon slaves or was a form of hope and freedom is still commonly debated about to this day. However, these individuals were devoted Christians in the abolitionist movement who all
Douglass has shown how religious slaveholders are the worst especially when entertainment comes into play. The first being from one of his slaveholders Master Thomas, he whipped a young woman while reading a quote from the scripture to explain his reason for whipping her. The next example was with his other Master Mr.Covey, he would go to church and preach the word but come back beating slaves and going against the almighty God. The last example that is shown is again shown with Mr.Covey, he was guilty of compelling his woman slave to commit the sin of adultery. All of the examples illustrate that religious slaveholders are worst than non-religious slaveholders.
One of the reasons slavery was worse for women was the sexual exploitation that they were put through. Men saw slaves as their own property and they took great advantage of their power over them. They believed that they had both power over her actions and her body. Starting at very young ages some women were harassed by their masters for sex, and obeyed because of the terrible consequences of denying them. Masters were allowed to rape their slaves and didn’t get into any trouble for doing so.
Douglass’s Message to Women Frederick Douglass gives many examples of the treatment of women like the following passage: “this is done too obviously to administer to their own lusts, and made a gratification of their wicked desires profitable as well as pleasurable; for by this cunning arrangement, the slaveholder, in cases not a few, sustains to his slaves the double relation of master and father.” (Douglass 1183) Through this passage, Douglass brings to light that enslaved women are raped by their masters because of the master’s lust and the master’s desire to produce more slaves. By looking at the passage in the context of the rest of Narrative of Life, Douglass makes it clear that women who are raped by their masters and birth a child from the rape have it worse than others because of the excess brutality they receive from the master’s wife.
Douglass tells us this by saying that he believes anyone who is a slave owner cannot be a Christian. In his view, he believes being a slave owner violates the very principles of being a Christian. Auld quote he believes that the Christianity practiced by the Slave owners and the Christianity practiced by non-slave owners are two
The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is Frederick Douglass’s autobiography in which Douglass goes into detail about growing up as a slave and then escaping for a better life. During the early-to-mid 1800s, the period that this book was written, African-American slaves were no more than workers for their masters. Frederick Douglass recounts not only his personal life experiences but also the experiences of his fellow slaves during the period. This book was aimed at abolitionists, so he makes a point to portray the slaves as actual living people, not the inhuman beings that they are treated as. In Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, slaves are inhumanly represented by their owners and Frederick Douglass shines a positive light
Education is the light at the end of the tunnel, when Frederick uses it he discovers hope. In the story the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Frederick goes through many struggles on his path to freedom, showing us the road from slavery to freedom. At the beginning of the book, Douglass is a slave in both body and mind. When the book ends, he gets both his legal freedom and frees his mind. The path to freedom was not easy, but it got clearer when he got an education.