The Dehumanization Process in the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Do

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 Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave, Frederick Douglass illustrates, through personal experience, the brutality and violence of slave life. As a young boy, Douglass is sent to Baltimore, an event that gives him temporary relief from the harsh conditions on the plantation. In Baltimore, he teaches himself to read and write and begins a jou rney to mental freedom that eventually paves the way to his successful escape to the North. Despite the hardships he endures, â€Å"most amazing is the indestructible total humanity of [Douglass] whom society called a thing, a chattel to be bought and sold† (Rexroth 134). Amazingly, Douglass realizes at a young age that the institution of slavery poisons people who might otherwise act in good and decent ways. His autobiography focuses primarily on the ill effects slavery has on slaves; however, he also acknowledges the damage that enforcing the laws of slavery has on slave holders. Through the use of imagery, Douglass masterfully illustrates the dehuman... ...oppression due to the lack of liberty, education, humanity, or justice. Works Cited Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave. The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Paul Lauter. Vol 1. 4th ed. Houghton Mifflin Company: New York, 2002. 1817-1880. Franklin, Bruce. â€Å"Animal Farm Unbound.† Frederick Douglass’s Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House, 1988. 29-43. Houston PBS Online. Resource Book: People and Events Frederick Douglass 1818-1895. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p1539.html Rexroth, Kenneth. â€Å"Frederick Douglass.† The Elastic Retort: Essays in Literature and Ideas. The Continuum, 1973: 108-11. Rpt. in Nineteenth Century Literature Criticism. Eds. Laura Lanzen Harris and Sheila Fitzgerald. Vol. 7. Detroit: Gale, 1984. 133-34.