After compelling and continual praise from Garrison and Wendell Phillips in the Preface to the Narrative, Douglass begins his story immediately addressing the ignorance expected from slaves. They were not allowed to know their ages,

Diligently, Douglass learned to read and became an eloquent speaker. Upon his escape to freedom, the opportunity to share his experiences with multitudes of others that were unaware of the abilities of a Negro to think deeply and speak powerfully opened up.

In addition to education, violence also played an important role in Douglass's efforts to prove himself an equal. He offers disturbing accounts of starvation and depravation of the most essential things in life. Numerous descriptions of violent beatings that were indicative of any given day on a plantation drew sympathy from those who read the Narrative. Douglass's stories offer a view of the brutality of slavery that was rarely seen or heard in that time, especially from a black man. His descriptive and graphic words grabbed hold of the hearts of readers and listeners. Douglass used his personal expe

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 584
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)