Douglass could have easily blamed the man for his actions and cruelty but he decided to put the blame on the sin rather than upon the sinner.
Douglass shared stories of white slave owners whom he thought to be quite kind and gentle early on. However, as the sin of slavery grew so did the evil within the slave owners. Douglass described a mistress whom he worked for as a woman who had been in a "good degree preserved from blighting and dehumanizing effects of slavery. I (Douglass) was utterly astonished at her goodness She was entirely unlike any other woman I had ever seen" (pg. 63). This woman had not worked with any slaves before, which was the cause of her kind interactions with Douglass. Then the vile disease of slavery entered her heart and changed her entire character as Douglass wrote, "But alas, this kind heart had but a short time to remain such. The fatal poison of irresponsible power was already in her hands, and soon commenced its infernal work. That cheerful eye, under the influence of slavery, soon became red with rage; that voice, made all of sweet accord, changed to one of harsh and horrid discord; and that angelic face gave place to that of a demon" (pg. 63). Once again, we see how the affects of slavery changed the heart of a kind soul to that of a hardened sinner.
Other examples of pure evil manifested within white slave owners clearly portrayed the fact that they acted in such ways because of slavery. Men would take pleasure in beating slaves simply because they were slaves. This hatred and these violent acts were caused by slavery. Douglass described early on in his narrative of a slaveholder by the name of Mr. Severe. Douglass said, "He seemed to take pleasure in manifesting his fiendish barbarity" (pg. 48). It is one thing to commit the evil act of whipping another human being, but to take pleasure in it is simply a work of the devil.
All the while Douglass did not disregard the anger and hatred felt among the slaves toward the whites.