Title: Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass An American Slave
Author: Frederick Douglass
Genre: Autobiography
Publisher: Anti-Slavery Office
Publication Date: 1845
Number Of Pages: 96
Personal Rating: 5 out of 5
Reading this book, I thought it was an autobiography of Frederick Douglass' whole life, but that was not the case. As it says in the title, this book talks about Frederick's life as a slave, and how he became a free man near the end of his life. This books speaks from first hand experience on the cruel and inhumane ways that of the slave masters and the life of a slave in America. It was an amazing read, without a doubt. After doing a project on Frederick Douglass in high school, I always wanted to know a little more about the guy, so I picked up this book. If you're trying to do the same thing, definitely grab this book. Within the pages Frederick lets everyone know the evils of slavery, from the rules to the consequences. I couldn't believe some of the things I read. The life of Frederick Douglass is an amazing story.
Frederick Douglass was born a slave, to a slave mother. Some say that his real father was his original slave master, making Frederick half white. But, this is very much in the air and has never been completely confirmed. He only saw his mother a handful of times in his life and when she passed away, he explains how it didn't strike him the way you'd think it would. In a slaves life, the slave master does his best to take away the slaves sense of hope and faith. Keeping them from their family and working them damn near to death. So, when Frederick's mother passed away, he didn't really know her enough to cry. One thing I never knew from before was about how the slave masters would test their slaves. Having people ask, or even asking unknowing slaves, "how does your master treat you?" If the answer was anything other than a "very well" or anything else positive (which was obviously a lie), then the slave would be severely punished. Whether his answer were true or not.
One thing that stood out the most to me about Frederick was his eagerness to learn. One of his earlier slave masters had a wife that would teach young Frederick how to read. When his master caught wind of this he immediately made his wife stop and said to her "you can't teach a slave to read, an educated slave is a dangerous slave". This stuck with Frederick all of his life and only fueled him to learn more and as much as he grew older. He was always willing to learn whatever he could and from whoever was willing to teach him. In my opinion, everyone should give this book a read. Know the history and learn about how far we've come. The life of Frederick Douglass was never a dull one. It's the story of someone born into a life that had no promise and no guarantee who persevered and helped free his people from their chains. The story of a man who knew that knowledge was his most powerful tool. When looking in the face of utter defeat, Frederick Douglass stood tall.
