Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave

A detailed Summary of Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave

The issue of slavery has been touched upon often in the course of history. Not often d owe get to learn about the inner struggles of a slave spiritually and intellectually. Through Frederick Douglass and his Narrative, we can see into slavery from a mental state rather from a physical state. Frederick Douglass' Narrative of his life is about his experiences both during and following his life as a slave. The Narrative is Douglass' tool for establishing himself as an abolitionist leader as well as an escaped slave. It's based on the ideas of legal liberation and a mental and emotional liberation from slavery. Douglass comes to terms with himself as not only as a man, but also as a black man, and an American slave.

Douglass' Narrative is, in many parts, one that focuses much on physical events of his life. This allows the reader to vividly see both maturation and decay of Douglass as a person and of the institution of slavery. Both the physical and literal regression of Douglass and his environment and the immaterial progression of Douglass' spirituality can be perceived as if on a spectrum. When a boy of seven or eight, Douglass recalls his excitement at moving to Baltimore. Douglass "left without a regret, and with th

While Douglass' realization of himself as a man is a significant step in securing his freedom, it is his third step towards self-definition that provides the greatest benefit. His recognition of himself as a black man prompts the most movement towards conquering slavery in his own life and in his own mind and in the lives and the minds of others. While it is obvious that slavery can never be abolished in the lives of those who shared its brutality and those who share its heritage, I believe that Douglass' goal was to beat slavery before slavery could beat him or beat any more of his fellow slaves, family and all who supported the abolitionist movement. From the beginning of the novel, Douglass' blackness and the African American in general were purposely hidden among the darkness of the morality of his tales and of the physical world. By doing this, Douglass creates an almost shameful portrayal of the black person. There is a stark contrast in this blackness; it was here that Douglass could hide in fear, but here also that he could feel safe and feel a sense of belonging - the slaves held on to their hopes for freedom in the darkness. The sentiment that comes across is that a black man or woman can hold no value in the light of day and in the light of society and that their proper place, if not working for white masters, is hidden away in that darkness. For Douglass to come to terms with who he was as a black man meant separating himself even further from other slaves to establish a self identity made up of more than the definition of a colored person as a slave. Again, the physical downward spiral of the tragedies of slavery affect Douglass and create in him the notion that as a man he deserves better and as a black man, he deserves equality.

In Douglass' second stage of defining himself as a man, he proceeds to separate himself from this mass, which enables him to see the injustice as belonging to him individually as well as to the population of slaves, in general. The opening of these doors let Douglass into a world where he felt that he deserved to be - a world of freedom and opportunity. In seeing hi

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Approximate Word count = 1445
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: People