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Course

Professor

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Frederick Douglass

Notably, the effects of slavery have often been described as having much affected the blacks

regarding how they view life and their perceptions towards solving day to day challenges. It is,

however, important to note that in any case, the effects of slavery have not only affected the

blacks but also whites who have been influenced negatively in no small extent.

Douglass reveals the sense of paranoia and ambiguity that exists on both ends that is the

blacks and the whites. When telling a story about how a slave is punished for telling his master

the truth (Douglass 11), Douglass is fostering this notion. Such drastic punishments were

dehumanizing as the whites not only inhibited the ability of their black slaves to judge between

right and wrong but also in a way brutalized their minds into being close-ended such that they

were hidden from the harsh realities of life.

Contrary to the expectations of human beings, brutalizing another person may harm the

perpetrator than the victim (Holmen, 340). Frederick Douglass reveals this concept in a unique

way as he insists that although the white men and women think that they are making life hard for

their black slaves, their lives are even harder. For instance, when he is moved to another mistress

in Baltimore who is kind, Douglass says, "Her angelic face gave place to that of a demon”
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(Douglass 19). Admittedly, this is enough evidence of the darkness that engulfed the white men

and women in the slavery era.

In the end, Douglass is bringing out the notion that human beings must do good and notably,

treat each other in a humane way irrespective of their social class. Just as is it is illustrated in his

narrative, doing evil will only turn the perpetrator’s angelic face into a demonic countenance.

Works Cited

Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. Dover Publications, 1995.

Holmen, Heine, A. “Action and the Problem Of Evil.” International Journal of Philosophy and

Theology, vol. 76, no. 4, 2015, pp. 335-351