The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is a detailed analysis of the oppression Frederick Douglass went through before his freedom. In the autobiography, he provides his readers with first-hand information about his encounters that were characterized by pain, brutality, and humiliation. Douglass emphasizes the cruelty of perpetrators and how it impacted victims (24). He spent several years as a slave before escaping to freedom; during this time, he witnessed the brutalization of black people whose only “crime” was their skin color. His escape to liberation was inseparable from his attainment of literacy.
Literacy marked the first step of his fellow black slaves and his road to freedom. He learned about slavery’s unfairness from a book he found called The Columbian Orator that detailed different beliefs against slavery (Douglass 45). What he learned from this book angered him and he started to think that he was not supposed to be a slave. Hence, A Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass outlines Douglass’s road to liberation from slavery that started with his attainment of literacy.
In the book, Douglass starts by revealing his identity; he was born in Talbot County, Maryland, in 1818. His mother was a slave (owned by Anthony) making Douglass a slave to Anthony (Douglass 19). He never knew his white father (Douglass 17). He writes about the customs of his time; for example, after the death of his mother, he was left in the Lloyd Plantation by his grandmother. On this farm, Douglass came to comprehend the realities of slave life.
At the age of eight, he was sent to Hugh Auld family in Baltimore. He narrates starting to live in Baltimore was the foundation for his life and opened the doors to subsequent prosperity. Douglass was sent back to the plantations in the 1830s and it was difficult for him to adjust. Douglass’s first free attempt was in 1836, but his plan was discovered and as a result, he was imprisoned. After his release, he was sent back to Baltimore and started working in shipyards. Douglass, at last, escaped in 1838 disguised as a free sailor and in 1841, he gave his first anti-slavery speech in a convention in Nantucket.
Douglass also details the reasons for freeing to liberation. He describes that although he was physically a slave, his mind was never enslaved. In the book, he illustrates that a man can only be enslaved by remaining ignorant. Douglass illustrates that the reason many Africans remained as slaves was that their owners dominated them both physically and mentally by implanting fear and denying them education. Douglass explains that education deprival made them mentally weak forcing them to remain as slaves rather than fighting for their freedom. After learning, Douglass became infatuated with the idea of escaping slavery.
His career as a slave reached a turning point during the fight with Covey. After the fight, Douglass decided he would not be whipped again. His book outlines the pain and suffering black people experienced and how he fought and struggled for his freedom by studying. His beliefs on the unfairness of slavery among black people were strengthened. He became more determined to free slavery and be a free man.
The book gives an explicit description of how Douglass run-away from slavery. The key to his escape to liberation was his ability to read. After learning how to read, all his efforts were focused on becoming a freeman. His getaway plan included four other slaves where he forged passes that granted them permission to travel up the Chesapeake Bay and go to Baltimore for Easter Holiday. They were later arrested after one of the slaves betrayed them.
Douglass did not give up and he planned another escape two years later. The last parts of the autobiography detail Douglass’s life after escaping. He was lonely and insecure but never trusted any man. He explains that both the white man and the black man could not be trusted. He feared of being betrayed. Hence, his life after freeing was not easy, especially after the initial excitement had worn down.
Overall, Frederick Douglass’s autobiography is a detailed description of his life and uses it to expose the atrocities of slavery. The book describes various events in his life that facilitated his escape to freedom. It also accounts for the effects of slavery on both the colored people and their owners. The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass includes about three decades of slavery and provides details about Frederick Douglass, his identity, beliefs and when hist story took place.
It also comprises of what he did, his liberation, and life as a freeman. After the escape, Douglass became an active advocate of the abolition of slavery and the end of racial segregation. In 1845, Douglass published his autobiography and moved to England to escape recapture. Overall, the book accounts for Douglass’s life by mostly focusing on his slavery life and how he got away and inspired many slaves.
Work Cited
Douglass, Frederick. A Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. S.l.: LULU COM, 2019. Print.