Letter From Frederick Douglass

Letters of an Ex-Slave

Freedom is a very loose term which is interpreted differently by people of diverse heritage and culture. In the 1800's and earlier it was believed by some that it was their "freedom" to be able to buy and sell fellow mankind on an open market, to be used as property for the betterment of the slaveholder's own fortune. In this essay I will look at a letter from Frederick Douglass, an ex-slave, to Thomas Auld, his former master. The correspondence was in the form of an open public letter to Auld on the tenth anniversary of Douglass' abolition. The letter could be considered an "autoethnographic text" which Mary Louise Pratt defines in her essay, Arts of the Contact Zone, "a text in which people undertake to describe themselves in ways that engage with representations others have made of them" (519). I will analyze the different points that make this unique piece of literature an art of the contact zone.

Douglass begins his letter by describing the duos' relationship as "long and intimate, though by no means friendly." He goes on to point out that even after he had run away and emancipated himself from the torturous life of slavery, Auld continued to express his "ownership" of Douglass by posting fliers offering a sum for his arrest (Douglass 1). Douglass then agrees with Auld that "a man guilty of theft, robbery, or murder has forfeited the right to concealment." This statement builds a solid foundation for when Douglass begins to explain his beliefs on equality, morality, and manhood.

"The very first mental effort that I now remember on my part was an attempt to solve the mystery--why am I a slave?" Douglass uses this question as a very strong introduction to his explanation and justification of why he ran away. He goes on to describe the way he felt each time he heard the cries of the slave-women as they were whipped and beaten. He describes how he ran to the corner of the fence and would weep in fear. This makes a strong point and serves as a reality check for Auld, showing that the slaves were no less human than he; they also possess feelings, emotions, and morality. After painting such a strong picture of slavery through the eyes of the enslaved, Douglass explains that he planned his escape since the age of 6, and does a very good job in emphasizing just how hard of a decision it was to follow through with (Douglass 2).

One of the unique points of this letter that makes it an autoethnographic text is the way Douglass explains his belief of God and how it differs from the white man's belief of God. "I ... got some idea of God, the Creator of all mankind ... and that he had made the blacks to serve the whites as slaves." This shows how Douglass didn't have the perception that blacks and whites were both mankind with equal rights because of the way he was brought up; his socialization process was by no means fair, it was degrading to blacks. He continues to explain that he didn't know of his own African heritage until he heard stories from the old slaves about their parents being stolen from Africa "by white men," (Douglass 2). It is sad to see that man can treat a fellow man with such disregard and treat them as though they are property to be used only for their service.

Douglass didn't learn of the difference between Free states and slave states until his aunt and uncle ran away. It was through the commotion that was made by their slave owner's that Douglass discovered the freedom which was also offered to blacks in the North (Douglass 3). This was a life-changing event for Douglass.

Douglass justifies his escape by saying "in leaving you, I took nothing but what belonged to me, and in no way lessened your means for obtaining and honest living." He explains that God created man as separate beings; each must depend upon only oneself. After justifying his escape, he goes on to explain his experiences in life as a free man. This is the part of the letter where Douglass changes his tone from an outspoken servant with no personal agenda to a very determined free man with the intention to spread the gift of freedom to all of his enslaved brethren.

"Since I left you, I have had a rich experience." Douglass speaks with respect to his former master, which I consider to be an example of how humans should treat other humans. He continues in describing the jobs he has held since being freed from slavery. He describes his first dollar as "a precious dollar" to him. Throughout the letter Douglass continues to describe