Explain why the incident with Aunt Hester so impacted young Douglass.
Young Douglass was not aware of his status as a slave until he witnessed the cruel beating of his aunt Hester; “It was all new to me.” (934). He gives a detailed description of the incident; “Before he commenced whipping Aunt Hester, he took her into the kitchen, and stripped her from neck to waist, leaving her neck, shoulders, and back, entirely naked,” and, “he commenced to lay on the heavy cowskin, and soon the warm, red blood (amid heart-rending shrieks from her, and horrid oaths from him) came dripping to the floor.” (934). It means the horrific scene was vividly retained in his memory. Then Douglass might have identified himself with his aunt and despaired of his future; “I expected it would be my turn next.” (934). Young children are easily traumatized by events that are out of their control; they are much more vulnerable than adults. Therefore, the bloody violence must have been a tremendous shock to young Douglass, who went on to hide in a closet in fear. The effect of the whipping on Douglass is further shown when he goes on to write that after he hid in the closet he, “dared not venture out till long after the bloody transaction was over.” (934). Throughout this ordeal he often mentions the word blood. The graphic nature of the incident hits him hard, this probably being the first time he’s seen so much blood. The gut-wrenching sight of his aunt being whipped was his first experience with the violent side of slavery. Douglass writes that, “I had always lived with my grandmother on the outskirts of the plantation, where she was put to raise the children of the younger women.” (934). The reason this had such a major impact on him was because he had never experienced anything like it. It was his personal introduction or initiation to the horrors of slavery.
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I agree with you that this was a traumatizing event. Not only was it the first whipping he witnessed but it was his aunt which probably added to the traumatization of the event. I agree that this event opened his eyes to what slavery was really like. It sounds like the life with his grandma was an easy life for a slave compared to what many slaves went through. I think the amount of detail he used when explaining this event shows how the horror of slavery was engraved onto his mind. After seeing something like this I don't know how anyone could ever forget it. Great post.
ReplyDeleteGreat post you guys, you included a lot of good information and quotes. I think the event of the whipping of Aunt Hester would be about enough for anyone who witnessed it to effect them for life. The fact that it was a family member to him I'm sure only made it more painful. Even more than that, as you had mentioned, he was now aware that he was a slave. He expected that it would be his turn after that, and I think that is when he really realized in a very painful way just what it meant to be the property of someone else.
ReplyDeleteI agree. This was obviously extremely horrific for Douglas to witness. To have remembered the incident with so much detail just shows how horrible it was for him. To remember something like that happening to a family member most likely haunted him for his entire life. Also, this was Douglas’s first time experiencing such abuse. By his use of the world “blood” makes you think how disgusting it is to be just a child and witness a beating like that. He believed that those awful things were going to happen to him next. It’s sad that a young boys first time experiencing such a traumatizing scene has to be his aunt.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Douglass might have associated himself with Aunt Hester’s ruthless beating and began to feel the despair of his future. I also agree that young children are easily traumatized by events that are out of their control. Young children will not forget traumatic incidents, as Douglass has not forgotten the “warm, red blood” that “came dripping to the floor” from his Aunt. I liked the last sentence when it said, “it was his personal introduction or INITIATION”, in a way it was an initiation to the troubled ways of slavery, and it was a horrible one at that.
ReplyDeleteDouglas's aunts beating had a major effect on him. It was very traumatic and i believe that moment played into the rest of his life. At that moment, he saw how cruel the world was and how mean people could be to one another. Im sure he had always been told from a young age that he was a slave but never really comprehended what it meant to be a slave and what people could do to you because you were a slave. Also, he probably never had seen blood like that before so he probably thought that his aunt was going to die and he was going to be left alone with no one to take care of him.
ReplyDeleteI agree that this must have been a very traumatic event in Douglas' life. He was only a boy, and had never witnessed this sort of brutality. The fact that it was his aunt made it even worse. On Page 933, Douglas stated "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 any thing. It was the first of a long series fo such outrages, of which I was doomed to be a witness and a participant. It struck me with awful force. it was the blood-stained gate, the entrance to the hell of slavery, through which I was about to pass. It was a most terrible spectacle. I wish I could commit to paper the feelings with which I beheld it." Years later, even though Doulgas was a very good speechmaker and writer,he had a hard time putting his feelings into words about this incident. No doubt, it shaped his life. As he said, he would remember it until the day he died.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Douglas’ early childhood wasn’t ideal it was sheltered from the harsh reality that awaited him when he got older. Living on the outskirts of the village, the slave children were hungry and poorly clothed but at least they were generally equal and safe. You’re absolutely right about how traumatic this experience was for Douglas. We worry in our time about children seeing violence on t.v. and family violence in the home but this act of violence was more graphic and terrible then either of the two. This event torn Douglas out of his childhood into a reluctant adulthood as a slave.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you and on how you put it that it is because this was his first personal introduction or initiation to the horrors of slavery. This must have also shocked him because he was so close with her and loved her like a mother. He thought of her as kind and gentle and must not have truly understood why this was happening to her because to him she did nothing wrong. This then makes him imagine what could possibly happen to him in the future even if there is not much he has done. Seeing this happen to aunt Hester has instilled an image in his mind and will forever be haunted by slavery and what might come.
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