F.D.

1 Pages 270 Words

In Frederick Douglass’s words, “He then told her to cross her hands; he tied them with a strong rope, and led her to a stool under a large hook in the joist, put in for the purpose. He made her get upon the stool, and tied her hands to he hook.” He remembered the cries of his Aunt for mercy. “I remember the first time I ever witnessed this horrible exhibition. I was quite a child, but I well remember it. I never shall forget it whilst I remember anything.” Douglass’s long termed memory can be considered as both a gift and a curse; for to remember such acts must be disturbing and yet to remember also never lets one forget. Douglass had witnessed some unthinkable acts of cruelty, during his life span but managed to use these negativities in a positive way.
He uses these memories of his past, of truth, as motivation to become a free man, to escape the making of future dehumanizing memories. He believes in truth, that the truth will set him free from this pain; it will speak for itself. It was a combination of his personal traits: observation, faith in truth, perseverance, self-education and brawn that brought him to seek, attempt, and eventually succeed in finding freedom. His momentum for freedom came from internal instinct. These traits and his exposure to both human and inhuman environments inspired him to resist the dehumanizing character of slavery. His self-sophistication and success as a pre-eminent crusader against slavery, as a speaker and a writer is amazing to me....