Paper instructions:
Professor’s Instructions: “As his autobiography makes clear, in their efforts to extract labor and obedience from individuals like Frederick Douglass, American

slaveowners of the mid-nineteenth century frequently resorted to brutality and violence. Indeed, as Douglass has it, slavery’s ultimate aim was nothing less than the

complete dehumanization of the slave. Based on your reading of Douglass’ Narrative, to what extent would you say slaveowners’ succeeded in this endeavor? Does

Douglass’ autobiography read simply as a tale of unremitting woe, of black men and women transformed into “brutes” on account of their status as human property? Or

does the world this “American slave” describes suggest that slavery failed to completely accomplish its goals? And in a more general sense, what does the Narrative of

the Life of Frederick Douglass say about how we should understand slavery in antebellum America?”

IMPORTANT NOTE: Make emphasis on being an AGENT. Does Douglass has autonomy? Talk about slave culture, Black Christianity, resistance against (not just physical,

but also mental) the slave owners.

Are they (slaves) VICTIMS or do they exercise some sort of AGENCY?
Do they have choice of any kind, or are they completely DEHUMANIZED?
Show proofs from the book. Professor hinted that they weren’t completely dehumanized. Talk about that.