Frederick Douglas' Book "The Narrative

Frederick Douglas' book "The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas" succeeds in providing readers with a thorough first-hand account regarding the institution of slavery and the concept of racial discrimination in the nineteenth century. The manuscript puts across a series of themes, most of them related to how prejudice, education, and city life can influence an individual in wanting to fight bondage. Most readers are likely to observe that discrimination is a topic that Douglas deals with throughout the book.

One of the first factors indicating that slaves were not equivalent to slave-owners is Douglas' incapability of telling the others his exact age. "I have no accurate knowledge of my age […] I do not remember to have ever met a slave who could tell of his birthday" (Douglas, 16). This would have been less worrying if it were not for the white children, who were all able to tell their age. Douglas actually considered this to be a privilege.

Taking into account the circumstances, one can easily agree the author in this statement, as it seems absurd for an individual to be unable to know his or her age in a society where the majority of individuals belonging to another racial group consider this to be something natural. It is during Douglas' childhood when he realizes most of the differences between him and white people.

In spite of the fact that society had strict rules regarding slavery at the time, he is unable to accept his fate and observes more and more factors that differentiate him from white individuals. It is obvious that Douglas' intention is that of raising his readers' awareness on the subject of slavery and it malevolent character. Although it is virtually impossible for Douglas to refrain from putting across an objective perception of slavery, he is nonetheless devoted to providing readers with a complete report of his life experiences.

It is not necessarily that Douglas's stories reach the reader's heart because of the intensity with which they are narrated, but it is because the reader immediately relates to how it is very probable that the horrors related by the author are actually real-life events. This proves that real life is often more surprising than fiction.

The society contemporary to "The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas" was in point of fact taught to believe that slavery was absolutely normal and necessary, even though most agreed that it was immoral. Most people believe that background is not of extreme importance, given that the individual is primarily the principal factor who can shape his or her life.

However, if one is unaware of his or her background, the respective person basically has nothing to relate to and is thus more likely to be unable to create his or her individual identity. Masters generally preferred that slaves remained ignorant regarding their status, as they considered factors.