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In Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an
American Slave, Douglass presents the reader with a
world in which Christianity and slavery walk hand in
hand; A Christian community in which the word master
Help with essay on Hypocrisy of Southern Christianity in the Narative of Frederick Douglas
signifies the sole proprietary owner of another's
existence. A world in which it is deemed unchristian
for an oppressed man or woman to speak out on their
own behalf. A society in which God's gift of free will
is only enjoyed by the wealthy land owner who's
transgressions against his fellow man will not be
judged in the eyes of the Lord; in a land esteemed as
being the promise land of the hard working man.
Through this world, Douglass illustrates the hypocrisy
of the self proclaimed righteous Christian master and
opens the eyes of the reader to the true cost of
southern prosperity.
In his opening lines, Douglass addresses how the
institution of slavery narrows slaves opportunities
for self-knowledge. Slave owners withhold information
about slaves birth dates in order to keep them from
developing a unique sense of self. For what better way
to affirm ones authority than to deny another his
identity? How can slaves differentiate themselves as
being men when they "know how old they are no more
than horses do." Furthermore slaves were forbidden to
learn to read to gain what Douglass termed the "key to
freedom". This denying another of literacy is in fact
another hypocritical act on the part of the owners. It
was expected of the slaves to be Christian; but how
can one be a follower of the book, when one cannot
read the book. Those who could read the word, would
often manipulate it to their advantage and often cite
it while administering a beating or raping this
victims.
Likewise, Douglass explains how their masters do not
acknowledge family ties among slaves. Family
relationships would allow slaves to develop a unique
sense of self and would encourage alliances among
slaves, a serious threat to the slave owners hold on
power. Douglass also states that he believes his
father was his first master, Captain Anthony. Denying
slaves information about their parentage allows slave
owners to avoid taking parental responsibility for
their unchristian sexual exploitation of female
slaves. Masters often sold these children,
embarrassing evidence of adultery and fornication, two
sins harshly condemned by the Christian religion of
these supposedly pious slave owners. For those who
weren't sold, the masters made sure of their misery
through severe beatings, only adding to the evil. An
example of this is the horrific scene in which Andrew
crushes the head of Douglass' younger brother.
Although Douglass does not say so, it is possible that
Captain Anthony was also his brother's father. All of
this is done for no reason symbolizing the senseless
violence towards children of slavery. If children
weren't enough for the reader, Douglass also goes to
illustrate the sad death of his grandmother as she is
left alone in a shack in the depths of the forest even
after raising her master from infancy to the grave she
is left to die like an animal. The slaveholder's
attacks at family structure do not end there. Further
into the narrative, Douglass describes how he is sent
by the "reformed" Thomas Auld to Covey. Douglass uses
this to attack the hypocrisy of religious slave owners
in that both men are highly religious yet they are
unforgivably cruel. Covey, who is deeply religious,
had a married man impregnate his female slave. Besides
the obvious sin of treating another human being like a
piece of livestock, there is a greater sin of forcing
a man to violate his marriage vows.
Douglass includes a great example of how slavery is
the antithesis of Christianity as he portrays Sophia
Auld's transformation upon becoming a slave owner.
Sofia was a kind, affectionate woman and, at first,
treated Douglass like a human being, discouraging his
servility and educating him. When her husband informed
her that education would ruin Douglass as a slave, she
began to treat him like property. Consequently, she
loses her former kindness and generosity and is
reduced to being just another cruel owner. Through
this Douglass maintains that slavery corrupts the
slave owner's humanity just as it corrupts the
slave's.
For a society so preoccupied with Christian morals
and beliefs, one must ask how slave owners and their
sympathizers could allow such barbarity. Douglass
explains this by showing how slave owners must
constantly deny the humanity of their slaves in order
to justify their misdeeds. By "dealing with the
brutes" the owner himself is reduced to being the
brute, and as a result turns to becoming piously
religious in order to convince himself otherwise.
Because slaves were classified as inferior and not
quite human, the legal system judged them as less
credible than their masters. In the courts the
testimony of a black witness was never equal to that
of a white witness. The slave's law began and ended
with his oppressor. No beating was unfair or too
severe unless the master said so. No sexual activity
was rape unless the master said so. No killing was
murder unless the master said so. In the unlikely
event the ruling be in favor of the victim the crime
would be considered against property, not an equal
person. Such everyday affirmation of ones position in
society only goes to justify the means. Some slaves
were so brainwashed that they fight other masters
slaves over whose master is better. These absurdities
are a direct result of the slave owners control over
the slaves self-knowledge. Douglass narrative
testifies that no master is a good master, even if
some are less brutal than others. All of these are
attempts at separating the blacks while the white
oppressors, on the other hand, keep up a united front.
None of Douglass' white co-workers would testify on
his behalf after the white apprentices nearly beat him
to death. Even after such affirmations, sooner or
later the slaves would demand their freedom. For this
the masters use their evil to devise a genius idea in
which they grant slaves days off during religious
holidays only to drink and engage in nonchristian
disillusioning acts which in turn disgust the slaves
with the notion of freedom ultimately making them feel
better to return to work. It is this ungodly
manipulation and deception that the slave owners pride
themselves.
Chapter after chapter, Frederick Douglass' narrative
is a powerful testament to the barbarity and hypocrisy
of the supposedly Christian institution of slavery.
This narrative is beam of light in a dark time in
American history where two apparently contradictory
beliefs merge together to benefit the immoral profit
hungry band of thieves known as the upper class;
Twisted individuals who filter the word of God and
manipulate it in order to further their profits. For
there can be no justice when a society can use
Christianity to promote evil.
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