Customer Reviews

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave, Written by Himself (Bedford Series in History and Culture)

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I read this book as part of a summer assignment entering into the 11th grade in addition to "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl" by Harriet Jacobs. Both are great pieces of African-American historical literature and well worth the read. I couldn't read this book all in one sitting, due to the need to fight the urge to throw up. He detailed descriptions of physical, psycological, and emotional abuse are enough to sicken any one and make you disgusted with the human race.

Frederick Douglass is the complete ressurection of the saying, "Knowledge is Power." With the more information he aquired as a slave the more he lusted for freedom. He also provides an excellent example of what black people in this country could do for themselves, interms of their economical status. Looking further, Douglass loved to think and imagine the endless possiblities, while he was still in bondage physically. When he began to read and understand the "Hypocrasy" that this country was based on, using christianity as it main tool, and what every human should be allowed by right, this released his psychological enslavement. If blacks throughout this country could read and understand there were blacks that went through worse situatians and overcame them, and the current situation that destroy the black communities were created for them to fail, just like slavery, many would wake up and take on the mask of Douglass. The mask that says, "regardless of class, race, or creed, this world was created for everyone to enjoy including me."

I have been a huge admirer of Frederick Douglass for years. He was so obviously a genius of rare ability as shown by his writing and speeches. He was a huge influence on Abraham Lincoln who had never known any Blacks on a personal level but became an admirer of Douglass as he could relate to a man from poverty that used self-study and hard work (both mentally and physically) to elevate his station in life. He was even more impressed as he came to understand how much he had in common with Douglass but Douglass had to overcome being a slave and the rampant prejudice against blacks in the U.S.; even among abolitionists in the North. Reading his descriptions of his life, his thoughts and feelings and thinking upon his experiences draws the reader closer to understanding the travesty and inhumanity of slavery than any other text I have read. The editor has included additional material that illuminates the text of Douglass' narrative and enhances the readers comprehension of the nuances of meaning in Douglass' prose. The reasonable price and the excellent compilation make this a "must have" book for every American household. After reading this no one should be able to believe the myths of the "happy plantation" and the "benevolence of white masters" in caring for negro slaves any longer.

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is one of the few books that every American should read and is also essential for anyone even remotely interested in American history, African Americans, or slavery's sad story. It is a fine piece of writing in itself and also of immense historical value - a true American classic.

The most obvious aspect is of course autobiographical. American literature has a long, prestigious autobiographical tradition, and this is one of the best entries. Douglass' account of his life is profoundly moving and immensely thought-provoking. He begins with his first memories and carries his story all the way to what was then the present. Needless to say, the inside look at slavery from a slave's perspective is the most valuable part; there are numerous such narratives, but this is surely preeminent. The story is heart-wrenching, vividly and unforgettably detailing humanity's inhumanity; we see what it was like to be a slave in regard to everything from food, clothing, and shelter to labor. Many of the incidents are almost painful to even read; actually living through them - or even being alive when such things happened - is now thankfully unimaginable. Douglass gives several examples of physical cruelty, but the most harrowing stories may well be those of psychological torture and simple denial of basic human feelings, as in the heartless breaking up of families. Such things are inherently moving, and this would be one of the most emotional works ever if it were fiction, but the stunning fact that it is not makes it all the more meaningful. The dread weight of its truth is particularly shocking when we realize that Douglass came from one of the areas where slavery was least harsh. The horrors here related are thankfully long past, but such books will always be immensely valuable as reminders of just how cruel people can be - and have been quite recently. We must never forget, lest they happen again.

Douglass in this way is more representative than individual, and he indeed took it on himself to speak for all slaves. The book was in this sense propagandistic and did its job better than anyone could have expected, laying slavery's evils bare to many who were previously unaware or unable - possibly unwilling - to believe. It was an abolitionist milestone and had a real effect in moving slavery toward its end. Yet Douglass' story is extremely interesting in itself; indeed, in many ways he was the spiritual successor of Benjamin Franklin, founder of the American autobiographical tradition. Franklin practically invented the American dream by showing how hard work and perseverance could raise one from humble beginnings to wealth, fame, and acclaim. Douglass had infinitely worse circumstances yet managed to rise far above them - not only teaching himself to read but becoming a genuine autodidact, not only escaping slavery but becoming a noted abolitionist, orator, writer, black leader, and racial authority with world fame and reverence. Few stories are more inspirational, and the work is thus on top of everything else the best kind of self-help book. Douglass unforgettably shows that it is possible to overcome even the most adverse circumstances and gives a good idea of how to do so.

One must not neglect to mention that, incredible as it is, Douglass is a premier prose stylist. Considering his circumstances, the fact that he was able to write at all is amazing; anyone would make great allowance for poor or even semi-literature writing. In fact, though, Douglass is a top-level writer; this is not only one of the very few autobiographies that is true literature but simply great writing per se. The writing is simple in the best sense; Douglass truly embodied Jonathan Swift's good style definition: "Proper words in proper places." He is admirably clear and concise. That said, he works himself up to a rhapsody when appropriate, reaching near-lyrical heights; the passage where he compares himself to the free is one of the most affecting and best-written I have seen in the hundreds or thousands of books I have read. That Douglass' Narrative has this totally unlooked for virtue in addition to all others is thoroughly impressive.

Simply put, anyone who has not read this should do so as soon as possible; few books are more important or memorable. Douglass is an American giant, and this is his enduring fame's base. No one who reads it can forget it, and that may be the highest praise of all.

In the classic slave narrative genre, Frederick Douglass' narrative of his life brings to life, in all its horrors, American slave society, and one slave's life-long protest against it.

When we read Frederick Douglass in his own words, he is less the radical and more the reformer than we've been led to believe. He is also more the Christian statesmen and less the Christianity critic than we might imagine. Douglass' oft quoted comments about Christianity had much more to do with a righteous critique of distorted Christian living practiced by white masters than with any critique of Christianity or of Christ. In reality, Douglass, like so many enslaved African Americans before and after him, saw in Jesus a Savior they could identify with--a suffering Savior.

Reviewer: Bob Kellemen, Ph.D., is the author of Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction , Soul Physicians, and Spiritual Friends.

"The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass" was published in 1845; it is a story about Frederick Douglass' life as a slave, and his ambition to become a free man. He talks about how he was raised by and working for his owner without being able to see his mother as a child. His mother died when he was seven, but he never felt sorrow because his master would never let him spend time with his mother as a child. He does not know who his father is, but believes that his owner is his father because of rumors.

Douglass' life got better when he moved to Baltimore because he had new owners, Mr. and Mrs. Auld. Mrs. Auld was the person who taught him how to read and write in English. At first she was very kind to Douglass and taught him different things, but later her husband forbid her to do anything to help a slave because they might take advantage of it. Later Mrs. Auld became cruel and started whipping Douglass. After his owners were brutally beating him every day, Douglass decided to end this and fought back, and eventually conquered himself. He was later transferred to a different place and became friends with other slaves, where he taught them how to read and write. In the end he lived happily with his fiancé and lived a better life.

I liked this book because it showed me how it is possible to do anything you put your mind to. Douglass's main thing to do was find a better life and get away from the life of slavery, and he eventually did succeed. I liked how the author put almost all the details he could possible know about him: he told us everything he can remember about his life and how he went through a lot. Many of us cannot express how we were ever abused or harassed during our life journeys. The persuasive method that the author used was encouragement because he believed that you can be physically imprisoned but your mind and spirit can never be imprisoned.

I highly recommend everyone to read this book because you will learn about the life of slavery and how humans were treated differently. It was really a fun book to read, and you will never regret how much you learn from the life of Frederick Douglass.

Senior English Student 2011

Frederick Douglass's autobiography makes a powerful indictment of slavery. Slavery was a growing national controversy at the time the book was published, so it was both a narrative of a life and a contribution to ongoing debates.

Douglass's autobiography shows how cruel the slaveholders could be. There are over a half dozen descriptions of whippings administered by slaveholders, often for some trivial infraction, and several examples of murder or manslaughter that went unpunished.

The book also documents that the slaves have no recourse against this mistreatment. On several occasions, Douglass describes the turmoil caused by breaking up slave families, a routine occurrence if the owner decided to sell one or more of his slaves. In the case of one murder, committed in plain view of many slaves, the overseer who committed the murder was not even removed from his job. The slaveowner did ask the overseer why he had destroyed an article of property, but the overseer's answer (if the slave was permitted to get away with disobedience, no slaves would obey) was satisfactory. The slaves who observed the murder had no rights either to institute a lawsuit or to present testimony.

Douglass also denounces what he considers the hypocrisy of Southern religion, stating: "I assert most unhesitatingly, that the religion of the south is a mere covering for the most horrid crimes - a justifier of the most appalling barbarity - a sanctifier of the most hateful frauds - and a dark shelter under which the darkest, foulest, grossest, and most infernal deeds of slaveholders find the strongest protection." He provides numerous examples of supposedly religious people - even preachers - who are particularly cruel to their slaves.

I have toured several plantation houses where the issue of slavery is discussed (including Carter Grove, Monticello, Mount Vernon, and Gunston Hall); virtually all of these tours stress that, while slavery was wrong, the slaves AT LEAST ON THIS PLANTATION were well fed and treated with respect by the master and his family. However, according to Douglass, while different slaveholders (and overseers) showed varying degrees of brutality, very few if any showed any humanity or decency.

Jefferson and others of his generation considered slavery a necessary evil that future generations would hopefully have the wisdom to solve. But by the time Douglass's book was published, Southern slaveholders had developed an elaborate justification for the benefits and morality of slavery. This argument included the rationalization that: slavery was justified in the Bible; the Africans were an inherently low and degraded race, unfit for freedom or the rights of citizenship; and slavery was actually beneficial for the slaves, because (in contrast to "wage slaves" in the north) they were protected, sheltered, and well cared for by their benevolent masters.

Douglass's autobiography provides an effective counter to these rationalizations. By showing that slaves love their families, feel pain, have desires, and yearn for freedom, Douglass rebuts the assertion that they are a "degraded" race. The slaves he describes show similar emotions to any other human being: happiness and sorrow, hunger and weariness, anxiety about separation from friends and family, desire for safety and security, etc.

In addition, his descriptions of the brutality of life on a plantation rebut the slaveholders' claim that their slaves are happy and well-treated. His description of the slaveowners' "base ingratitude and fiendish barbarity" to his grandmother at the end of her days is an especially effective rebuttal of the claims of paternalism. Here was a slave who had "served my old master faithfully ... been the source of all his wealth ... rocked him in infancy ... and at his death wiped from his icy brow the cold death sweat and closed his eyes forever," yet in her old age when she was unable to continue working, she was put out of the home and left to die alone, unable to care for herself.

His descriptions of the behavior of slaves also make a powerful argument for the ability of humans to endure. Despite the degrading conditions he describes throughout the book (beatings, overwork, forced sex with the males of the household, poor food and shelter, etc.), the slaves show the will to survive, to be free, and, when given the opportunity, to learn. Additionally, despite numerous hardships (forced separation of families, lack of free time), he describes a number of occasions when slaves (including his own mother) went to considerable effort to be with their family members.

The absurd views of loyal slaves and kindly masters in old movies like "Gone With the Wind" and "Birth of a Nation" are pretty well discredited. But the view that "slavery was, well, not exactly justifiable, but, you know, sort of ok and the slaves didn't really mind all that much" is surprisingly widespread. Go to any Civil War re-enactment or any Sons of Confederate Veterans meeting or "Southern Heritage" ball and you will hear that the slaves loved their masters so much that they enlisted in the Confederate army by the hundreds or thousands to defend THEIR country against the "Yankee invasion." Until recently, many Virginia middle schools happily taught this to their students and apparently no middle school teacher noticed. Douglass's autobiography is a good antidote to this "Lost Cause" nonsense.

We had to read this in 11th grade when I was in high school. Like many people, I just skimmed it and now I regret the decision so I decided to try it again. This is a fantastic edition. First, to hear about slavery in America from a former slave's own words is powerful. Many times we just hear slavery was horrible and that's it. This narrative makes it personal. You see an individual and what has happened in his personal life and that always makes it more real. Secondly, the reason why this edition is so fantastic, is the footnotes that it provides. It tells you who the people in the narrative are and even points out mistakes that Douglas made which makes it more authentic for me. I literally read this in a few hours as it is a short book but I have gained much from the exercise.

The honesty with which this is written is amazing. I was glued to it from page one. I felt disgusted by the human race, saddened by his traumas and guilty just for being white. I think this needs to be read more. Especially in schools. Why isn't it???

Powerful and moving, Douglass's story of the horrific bonds of slavery and his escape is an excellent reminder of man's innate desire to be free and the benefits of education and literacy.