Booker T. Washington\'s Up From

¶ … Booker T. Washington's Up from Slavery and the Narratives of the Life of Frederick Douglass

The Lasting Impact of Slavery: Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington

The institution of slavery has always been a dark stain on the history of this great nation. Not only did it place millions of Americans under the thumb of subjugation for hundreds of years, after it was abolished it continued to reek havoc on the population of African-Americans in the form of extreme prejudice and oppression. Listening to the voices of those who experienced slavery lets us experience the tragedy with them. Although the writing styles of Frederick Douglas and Booker T. Washington are dissimilar, the two authors portray the dehumanizing affects of slavery and present experiences which were meant to cover the general slave experience. Yet, their primary messages were also dissimilar, Douglass was calling for a radical revolution to end slavery and oppression, while Washington was calling for a slow assimilation into white society.

The writing style of the two authors is far from alike. Frederick Douglas speaks to us in his narrative in an educated and articulate tone -- Douglass goes out of his way to show a complex understanding of the English language and a strong literacy, despite his origin as a slave. His tone is also extremely controlled, and rarely shows interjections of emotions. This literary device aims to appeal to his audience's intellectual nature, as well as to show his mastery of higher learning. There are many instances when Douglass uses logic and reason to discredit arguments for slavery's practice. Douglass uses language itself to blend his two selves together -- the human and the slave. With words, he can effectively understand his condition under slavery, as well as his desire to remove himself out of the inhumane practice. Through his developing knowledge, Douglass begins to understand his condition in slavery. This understanding then leads to the desire and commitment to break free from the institutions literal and figurative chains.

Yet, Washington was a little more subdued in his use of language. Although highly educated himself, his tone was much more conversational and simple. Writing style was simple, much different to Douglass' appeal to logic. According to Washington himself, "I have tried to tell a simple, straightforward story, with no attempt at embellishment," (Washington vii). Yet, Washington also associates his experience as a commonly shared one, and thus represents the generalized slave experience. Like Douglass, this then gives him a voice to speak for all those who were in his position. Additionally, Washing did not come right out with addressing provocative topics. Hotbed issues were not as clearly stated and direct as Douglass. However, Washington did speak his mind regarding the affects of inequality seen during the era of Reconstruction. One thing that is similar to Douglass, is that even generations after slaver, Washington still needed to be introduced by another white author, Walter H. Page. This shows that the prejudices against African-Americans were still running strong despite emancipation. Still, Washington was "determined to show his interest and faith in the race, not merely in words, but by acts," (Washington 305). He wanted to prove not only his own worth, but the worth of his race as to end the prejudice placed upon them for so many long years. However, unlike Douglass, who is strong in his convictions towards freedom, Washington proves a little soft in terms of demanding equality (Schulkin 105). Whereas, Douglass was directly clear in calling for radical revolution.

The general purpose of the two authors' works was also different. Douglass' narrative was still written while slavery was still an institutional practice -- to end slavery

Douglass' experiences are those of his own, but they are also representative of all slave experiences during the era. He presents his experiences in the narrative through a commonly shared lens of slave experiences. Despite the violence seen in the work itself, Douglass does take a strong non-violent approach against slavery. In fact, he only uses violence when absolutely necessary in defending his life and liberty. In his fight with Covey, he is not the instigator, but rather merely defending himself against an inhuman aggressor. Thus, Douglass is calling for a major step -- not only abolition of slavery, but for the slaves themselves to once again pull themselves out of slavery and back into manhood. This piece of his message he does share with Washington.

Washington did call for the black community to rise up, but he wanted them to do so in a much more quiet and controlled manner. He believed that the black community would do this by slowly assimilating into mainstream culture. "The Negro who was struggling upward," would need patience to find his position in a society without slavery (xiv). Washington made it apparent that he believed the Northern intervention to be of "artificial forcing," and that it was not fully followed through due to a lack of real conviction to help heal the wounds of slavery. He also states that the African-American who was aiming to pull himself up in the world faced a number of obstacles, including misunderstanding within his own community. Washington was asking his fellow African-Americans to educate themselves and to slowly assimilate themselves into the status quo, rather than revolutionizing the system itself to better accommodate their own needs. Patience, in this case would be a virtue. There is a consistent theme in Washington's work that concerns the ownership of material goods and property to the acquisition of power within the community. Slow evolution came through the implementation of public policy

Despite these differences, the two works share many things in common, including the primary intended audience. Douglass' narrative is written for a white, middle class audience. In fact, Douglass even reinforces the values and mores of his white audience. He upholds Christian values, and places himself as a Christian individual. Additionally, he calls upon the more modern values of capitalism. He claims that the institution of slavery is slanting the playing field, and taking away the slaves' right to make money within the context of a capitalistic society. Douglass' writing itself is introduced by a white author, which shows that he needed a white author to justify his narrative and Douglass' position as an educated black man to his prejudiced white audience.

Washington too, writes to a white audience. Written after the abolition of slavery during a time where there was still rampant inequality, despite the death of the institution of slavery. According to Washington, slavery was "a dark shadows that had oppressed every large-minded statesman from Jefferson to Lincoln," (xv). Both agrees with Douglass in his portrayal of it affecting all members of society, but it also appeals to the mores of the white audience who would have held Jefferson and Lincoln as heroes, despite Jefferson being a slave owner himself. African-Americans continued to be victims of slavery long after the institution was abolished. Washington also gives a heavy portrayal of African-Americans as being strong Christians, even in the days of slavery. Also like Douglass, he includes capitalistic values because he knows that they are so engrained in white popular culture. With no real father figure available in his own life, Washington focuses on the memories of his mother. Therefore, he learns industry through his mother. There is a scene where his mother is knitting him a hat, and he expands upon this by showing that his mother is who influenced his views on learning trades and making a living off of those trades. This is the physical embodiment of Douglass' concept that slavery hindered capitalism. With the abolition of slavery,

"he was permitted to labour where and for whom he pleased," (Washington 15). Thus he explains to his white audience that he is simply fulfilling the liberties of this country that they have believed in for so long.

The two also share similar views on the psychological impact of slavery. Douglass describes the horrible conditions of slavery; one of which is the rape and forced sexual relationships between slaves and their masters. As a male, he cannot express this through his own personal internal experience, like the rest of the work. Instead he uses explicit images seen in the world around him, through images like his aunt who was brutally victimized in front of him as a child (Douglass 51). In fact, Douglass uses women often to show the evils of slavery. There are numerous occasions where he emphasizes the brutality of violence against women and sexual exploitation. This extreme violence aims to shock his audience and show how good Christian women have their innocence and integrity ripped away from them through an inhumane practice. This not only exposes the increased victimization they face, but it also separates himself slightly from the role of the slave being completely victimized and dehumanized. He must maintain a certain composure of himself as a human in order to be taken as so by the white community. During a time where an individual slaves were legally considered only three fifths of a person, Douglass is careful to not go too deeply into his personal connection to the horrors of slavery that would degrade his higher state of humanity.

With this, Douglass can securely make the claim that slaves are, in fact, human. He does so with conviction, and aims to persuade his predominately white audience that they are capable of harboring reason and complex emotions, like the readers themselves.

"The white children could tell their ages. I could not tell why I ought to be deprived of the same privilege," (Douglass 47). Slavery psychologically impacted individuals -- it completely stripped them of their innate identity, which is a difficult thing to understand in a context of a country so dead-set on individualism within its very foundations.

"the dark night of slavery closed in upon me; and behold a man transformed into a brute," (Douglass 105). Douglass claims the end of slavery and freedom is the climax. When he realizes he is a man, and refuses to obey Covey, that was his freedom; "It was a glorious resurrection, from the tomb of slavery, to the heaven of freedom," (Douglass 113). Slave owners, in many cases, purposely kept their slaves uneducated and ignorant, so that they could not develop the tools of independent men and women, thus keeping them in a position of subservience. Keeping knowledge out of slave hands was white owner's key to power within the context of the institution itself. This was psychological warfare. By keeping their slaves ignorant of the world around them slave owners ensured subjugation and bent the slaves will to become a mere receptacle of service. Without education and knowledge, there is little one can ever do to improve one's own state.

Washington also shows the psychological horrors of slavery. Washington shows that it was only the beginning of a mess of problems dealing with prejudice and inequality. He agrees with Douglass in that education is necessary to once again reclaim the independent status of man after spending so much time allocated to the role of ignorant slave. Washington was born a slave, and represents the ignorance of which was his position in that role; "I am not quite sure of the exact place or exact date of my birth, but at any rate I suspect I must have been born somewhere and at some time," (Washington 1). Yet, his account is much less graphic account of his time spent as a slave. Washington himself is a product of the victimization of women that occurred during slavery. He did not know his father, but states that "I have heard reports to the effect that he was a white man who lived on one of the near-by plantations," (Washington 2). He expresses the joy of emancipation, and the ominous feelings ahead. Washington also portrays slaves as more intelligent than their white masters would have assumed. In the midst of strong stereotypes and prejudices against the black community claiming their inferiority, Washington makes it clear that the slave owners did not entirely win in keeping their slaves completely ignorant. He also shows the incredible will and strength of the slave community to gain knowledge despite what might have been grave and dire consequences. In this, he is very similar to Douglass, who taught himself most of what he knew at the time he wrote his narrative. In regards to discussions he heard as a boy about coming freedom, "These discussions showed that they understood the situation, and that they kept themselves informed of events by what was termed the 'grape-vine' telegraph," (Washington 8). He portrays the institution of slavery as evil. Yet, also justifies the love that slaves thought they felt for their masters, "This tenderness and sympathy on the part of those held in bondage was a result of their kindly and generous nature," (Washington 13). Reconstruction was a failure because the slaves had no idea what to do with their freedom "it was very much like suddenly turning a youth of ten or twelve years out into the world to provide for himself," (Washington 21). Most former slaves had no way to care for themselves, and in their ignorance, would suffer while the majority of a nation would use this to still claim the inferiority of African-Americans. Freedom was only the first step; unlike Douglass who portrays it as the last. According to Washing himself, "Freedom was a more serious thing than they had expected to find it," (Washington 22). This attests to the horrible psychological impact slavery had, and would continue to have on its victims.

The institution of slavery not only affected slaves, but the entire society around them. Douglass makes a point to show how slavery affected people not directly involved in it. That slavery's shadow extended to affect those within society who were not directly involved within it. Slavery is not only physical control, but mental as well. For Douglass, the final step to becoming a free man was standing up to Covey, the slave master, both physically and physically. Being a slave degrades a man, and they must pull themselves out of that condition to regain the status of a man. It turned him into a brute. This then completely stripped Douglass of all the elements and characteristics of being a man. An independent and free man could not live his life in subservience. Douglass showed that slavery was a destructive force to the society as a whole, and that even those not directly involved within its practice held some power in ending it. Slavery morally corrupts all parties involved. This went for slave owners, friends of slave owners, and southerners. But it also went to include northerners, and those who had no direct part in promoting the institution. Douglass claimed it still affected them in a negative light just through their association and citizenship with a nation that had condoned such an evil institution for so long. For example, Mrs. Auld was a good woman who was tainted by her participation in slavery. Sophia Auld is portrayed as a type of fallen woman. Her once sweet and just nature is disintegrated through her participation in the slave system as a slave owner. Thomas Auld, and all of his religious zealous, is also seen to be affected by slavery. Although he is a religious man, he condones and owns slaves. Thus, Douglass portrays him to represent a sort of false Christianity, where Christian ideals and morals are exploited for image, rather than truly followed in life.