The book Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave by Frederick Douglass published in 1985 tells the story of his life in slavery and further escape. Literature about life in captivity was popular in his century but what distinguishes this author’s work is that it is his autobiography and the fact that it discloses the details. Douglass does not try to hide or change events, but indicates places, names and other details as fully as possible. The only part where the author is missing out on details is his escape. This was done solely for the safety of other people involved.
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is the first in a series of autobiographies written by Frederick Douglass. It tells the story of his birth in slavery in Maryland, how he independently learned to read and write. This is one of the main themes of the work, since for this the author had to go through many difficulties, including the lack of resources. He also identifies people who helped with this, including Mrs. Sophia Auld who first started teaching him. But even she was later forbidden by her husband, who was the owner of the slaves (Douglass). Nevertheless, even after that, he found people who contributed to his learning and development. Thus, it was important for Douglass to be able to become a full-fledged member of society and have at least basic education and erudition.
Another important topic of the book is the desire to be free. The author made three attempts to escape before finally getting out in 1838 (Douglass). Suffering, punishment, pain and death frightened him, but he was even more afraid to live his whole life in slavery. Douglass also cites the reasons for this through the details of the low standard of living, bullying, violence, lack of opinion and rights for slaves. Even living in such conditions from childhood, the author could not come to terms with this, so the whole story of the book is directed towards his release.
Another aspect of the book is that the author fully demonstrates his readiness to die in the event of an unsuccessful escape. The very experience of the author in social and class inequality and the understanding that slavery can continue led to the publication of the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (Douglass). This shows that for Douglass the value of freedom is higher than the value of life in the conditions in which he was born and lived, daily humiliated, citing examples such as comparing slaves with animals.
In the book, the author talks not only about physical abuse during a life in slavery, but also about mental and spiritual. Slaves can be hit, treated insensibly and indifferently, or with hatred and contempt. The masters try to remove any identifying data for the slaves, including their age. Families are separated to remove attachments, so mothers and children are living in different locations (Douglass). These are the reasons that made Douglass so desperate for a life in freedom. The desire for freedom forced him to make regular attempts to get out of his existing life at that time.
By telling the plot through real events, the author makes the reader empathize. He does not remove the horrors of slavery but presents them in full. For example, Douglass talks about the violence of white masters against black women who are in slavery (Douglass). At the very beginning, he even says that many slaves do not even know who their parents are and when they were born (Douglass). The details add more tragedy and realism to the author’s story about his own life.
Events in the book develop gradually, starting with an introduction about his birth among slaves and describing their conditions of life, including the moment when he first saw the violence, and ending with his escape. In the chapters, the author describes in detail the events taking place, neglecting his own safety, with the exception of the escape, since other people were also involved in it. The book is a detailed representation as it is not a retelling of another person’s words, but an autobiography of the author.
Throughout the work, a religious line is traced. At the same time, the author differentiates the faith of slaves and masters, emphasizing the difference in attitude. Douglass adds notes to many chapters to make sure the reader understands it correctly. Therefore, in relation to religion, he emphasizes that he has nothing against religion itself, only against the slave owners.
In conclusion, Douglass published a powerful piece the importance of which lies in representing the real conditions in which slaves live. The reader has the opportunity, together with the author, to go through it, even from birth to escape to a free life. The topic of class inequality, violence and non-human living conditions is fully disclosed in the book.
Reference
Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglas, 1968. The Project Gutenberg. Web.