Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass an American Slave

Narrative on the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

In his autobiography, The Narrative on the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Frederick Douglass presents a poignant and evocative view of life as a slave in antebellum America. Among the points made by Douglass was that education would set him free and that the "peculiar institution" was detrimental to whites and blacks. This paper provides a review of Douglass's autobiography to examine these issues more thoroughly, followed by a summary of the research in the conclusion.

In Chapter II, Douglass expresses his belief that education will set him free. By what does he mean by this? Is this essentially an optimistic view? If he could visit us today, do you think he would still hold this view?

Being illiterate in a land of the literate must have been a daunting experience for an individual of Douglass's intellect, and the inability to read and write affected him profoundly. It was only by chance and subterfuge that Douglass was able to learn to read and write and he equates the experience to being shut "within the circle," cut off from learning everything that was important to him and other slaves. In this regard, Douglass laments, "I did not, when a slave, understand the deep meaning of those rude and apparently incoherent songs. I was myself within the circle; so that I neither saw nor heard as those without might see and hear" (chapter 2). Despite the arduous life circumstances described by Douglass in chapter II, this view is basically positive because it reflects hope for the future.

If Douglass could visit America today, he would be pleased to learn that despite popular perceptions to the contrary, "There are approximately 395,443 more black men in college than in prison. Approximately 1,236,443 black men are enrolled in institutions of higher education" (Toldson & Morton 2).

Several times in his Narrative, Douglass expresses his view that slavery is bad for both whites and blacks. In what ways is slavery detrimental to the South?

Slavery forced everyone involved to "live the Big Lie." This is one of the main reasons whites needed to keep their slaves ignorant about the rest of the world. For instance, when his master gives Douglass six cents of the six dollars he earned the previous week to incentivise him, it has the opposite effect for this very reason. In this regard, Douglass writes in chapter 11, "I regarded it as a sort of admission of my right to the whole. The fact that he gave me any part of my wages was proof, to my mind, that he believed me entitled to the whole of them." In a country forged of revolution just a few decades previously based on the fundamental premise that "all men are created equal," the institution of slavery required the acceptance on the part of whites that blacks were indeed inferior and actually benefited from being slaves. This manner of thinking created a powerful racist mindset that wherein whites were better and blacks were inferior that has persisted among many whites and even some blacks to this day.