As we discussed in class on Thursday, one of the ways that Douglass presents his argument against slavery is in account of how slaveholders behave in order to fit the mold of a "great slaveholder." Since societal expectations are pressuring these men to treat their slaves in a rude, tortuous way, it makes sense why Douglass encounters all of the turmoil that he does. (Even though this makes such treatment in no way justifiable.)
At first an exception to the traditionally horrible slaveholder, Sophia treats Douglass kindly and strives to improve his life with literacy skills. As time goes on and her husband scolds her for how she interacts with Douglass, we see her transform on the page from a positive maternal figure to the stereotypical product of a person who is in power over another. Douglass uses Sophia's example to effectively illustrate how slavery is damaging to everyone in a society, not just to the slaves themselves. Sophia's transformation explicitly supports Douglass' theme that slavery corrupts slaveholders and (even more obviously) harms slaves.
No comments:
Post a Comment