The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
An Essential Insight into the Life of an American Slave
Introduction and Thesis
Being one of the most widely read first-hand accounts of life as a slave in America, The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass stands out as one of the most important and influential pieces of American literature. The book brought to life the many horrors of life in bondage and helped dispel the notion of a “companionate” form of slavery or that any argument of that sort could ever be made. In this narrative, Douglass’s exploration of the harsh realities of life as a slave stand’s as one of the key factors that helped advance the movement towards abolition of slavery, helped generate support for the Union cause during the Civil War, and helped advance the cause for civil rights for minorities far after the book was written and continues to inspire those that fight for civil rights to this day.
About the Author
Frederick Douglass has been widely regarded as one of the most influential figures of the Abolitionist movement in the years prior to the American Civil War and an inspirational figurehead for African Americans and their struggle to fight against the injustices of institutional racism and discrimination.
Douglass was born into a slave family either in the year 1817 or 1818, the exact date being unknown as a slave’s birthday usually went documented, and had suffered under the ownership of multiple masters, each one having a varying degree of brutality. Douglass had one slave master that was particularly kind, even going so far as to teach Douglass how to read and write, but even she turned to being cruel to Douglass after being ordered to stop teaching Douglass to read by her husband, the slave master.
Douglass eventually escapes his slave master, the exact method of how he did so was never stated by Douglass in the book for fear of the safety of other slaves, and moves up north to New York where he would remain until he married Anna Murray. Murray was a free woman Douglass had met when he was a slave in Baltimore. Douglass, prior to marrying Murray, changed his name from Bailey to Douglass for fear of being caught, and then moved to Massachusetts to fight for the Abolitionist cause as one of the its most influential members and orators.
About the Book
Written and published in 1845 prior to the outbreak of the American Civil War, it is perhaps one of Douglass’ most influential pieces as it gave credibility to his claims of being a former slave and propelled him to great influence and popularity among the abolitionist crowd, which then allowed him to give speeches at abolitionist rallies and events.
The book does not have an especially unique writing style, which ends up working to the book’s benefit as it allows the reader to focus more on the content of the story rather than how it is being presented. While Douglass does have his own unique writing style, this book is more focused on presenting Douglass’ life from the Narrative perspective and allows us to step into the life of a slave in America.
The main plot of the story explores Douglass’ life as a slave and how he progresses from slave owner to slave owner. He reflects on the experiences he had with each slave owner and how each owner played into his eventual escape from slavery. The book also explores Douglass’ evolution from a terror-stricken slave that is unaware of a life outside of bondage to a life of full autonomy over himself and the evolution of Douglass into a skilled orator and influential member of the abolitionist movement.
The Legacy
“In listening to him,” wrote a contemporary, “your whole soul is fired, every nerve strung — every faculty you possess ready to perform at a moment’s bidding” (Harvard.) Douglass had a remarkable ability to orate his opinions, and he was very good at capturing the attention of his audience with just his presence alone. The fact that Douglass was a well read African American alone was enough to command respect from his peers, but his experience as a former slave contributed greatly to his influence and prestige amongst the abolitionist circles.
In the year 1845 when the book was published, not many Americans were aware or concerned with the ailing conditions of the Africans in bondage in the South. Douglass’ harrowing account of the trials and tribulations he went through as a slave did a great deal to bring this reality into the minds of Americans not only in the slave-free north, but to many in the south as well. This is one of the crowning achievements of this narrative; the raising of awareness of the cause of abolition. Ironically, this word abolition wasn’t even known by many slaves in the south. The idea of having a life not under the ownership of a slave master was unknown to these slaves. Douglass himself never learned the word abolition until his mid-teens, which made the publication of this book especially dangerous in the south where the word of abolition was meant to be kept out of the minds of slaves.
During the Civil War, the book stood as a reminder for why the Union was fighting the war in the first place. Douglass himself travelled to Washington in 1963 to meet with president Abraham Lincoln to address some of his concerns about the treatment of black men in confederate captivity and his concern over the president’s silence on this issue. “I was an ex-slave, identified with a despised race, and yet I was to meet the most exalted person in this great republic” (Washington.) Although this meeting with the president falls outside of the scope of the book, the book itself is what propelled Douglass into the limelight of the abolitionist movement and was essential in getting Douglass’ ideas across to those in power. Lincoln held Douglass in very high esteem and saw Douglass’ input on matters as very important to advancing the interests of freed slaves in the south. Lincoln, in one instance, even went so far as to say “ Douglass; there is no man in the country whose opinion I value more than yours” (Washington.)
In the many years following the publication of Douglass’ narrative, it has been used as inspiration for the many civil rights movements and struggles throughout contemporary American history. In fact, Douglass has often been referred to as “the father of the civil rights movement” (History.) Douglass’ activism during the years when it was especially dangerous to be a well read an well spoken African man against slavery has stood as a symbol for many in the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s as a sign of black excellence and brave defiance towards a system that is built to see Africans fail.
Works Cited
Brown, DeNeen L. “Frederick Douglass Needed to See Lincoln. Would the President Meet with a Former Slave?” The Washington Post, WP Company, 12 June 2020, www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2018/02/14/frederick-douglass-needed-to-see-lincoln-would-the-president-meet-with-a-former-slave/.
History.com Editors. “Frederick Douglass.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 27 Oct. 2009, www.history.com/topics/black-history/frederick-douglass.
University of Harvard. “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Revisited.” Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Revisited | Harvard University Press, www.hup.harvard.edu/features/frederick-douglass/.
