Slavery in Douglass and Northup’s Novels

In the 1700s, African Americans were thought of as property of their owners and they had no control over their own life. They were victims of emotional and physical abuse. The stories about Frederick Douglass and Solomon Northup show loneliness, slavery and the lack of power African people had in such a racist society back in those days. African talents were absolutely wasted and they were considered to be less desirable to white individuals. The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass states that the white society was causing negative effects to itself and that slavery must be abolished in order to shape a better world. The detailed cruelty is told in both The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass and 12 Years a Slave. Frederick Douglass uses real names for the places that are used for slaveholding, which would provide information to detectives looking for witnesses. Nowadays, society has realized that stubbornness is a terrible enemy for all countries, and slavery would have created the world to be an even worse place to live. People have realized that education creates success and changes the morals that are important for family. This was not understood during the time of slavery. In The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Mrs. Sophia Hugh began teaching Frederick Douglass how to read. When Mr. Hugh found out, he told her that this could cause Frederick Douglass to start a rebellion against him. Frederick became curious about learning how to read, and learning other things. He thought that there was something the slave owners were hiding from them. Once he learns how to read, Frederick finds anti-slavery groups in the North of the United States. He never let the tough situations interrupt the idea of freedom and equality. Solomon Northup tells the story of his enslavement. This story is unlike others as Solomon was free when he was born. Solomonr's story shows how slavery was the most vile human feelings. He explains that some of the slave masters were both good and bad, and that some of the slaves strong and weak. Northup opens up about detailed ways that men and women, master and slave reacted to enslavement. 12 Years a Slave explains how men and women rejected the thought of becoming dehumanized by the dehumanizing circumstances. Some people made the most out of the difficult living situations, while the others were unable. Solomonr's slavery story tells stories about the harsh conditions. He never quit wanting to find his freedom. The narratives of Frederick Douglass and Solomon Northup showed how slavery dehumanized men and women. These men and women tried to resist the attempts that society was using to dehumanize them. Some slaves were born into slavery, while others were either taken or coaxed into an area where they could be taken. The people born into slavery never knew what it was like to be free, which caused them to become dehumanized faster and easier than people who had experienced being free.

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