Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (Penguin Classics)

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Summary: Could this the most important American autobiography ever?
Review: "Keep the black man away from the books, keep us ignorant, and we would always be his slaves... Come hell or high water - even if it cost me my life - I was determined to read," wrote Frederick Douglass.
This fiery autobiography, written as anti-slavery propaganda, told of his struggle to gain freedom, identified his "owner", and became a 19th century antional bestseller. Long before Uncle Tom's Cabin opened the eyes of sentimental Northerners to the evils of slavery, Douglass' chronicle inspired the small abolitionist movement and challenged the conscience of the United States to live up to the heroic ideals expressed in the Declaration of Independence... "all men are created equal."
The publication of this masterpiece also forced Douglass into exile in England for two years to avoid capture by slave traders. British supporters eventually "purchased" Douglass allowing this great American to return to the United States and live in freedom.
While the battle against slavery was won almost 150 years ago, this autobiography's remains a very powerful tool against racism, ignorance, and historical amnesia. This book should be required reading, for all American schoolchildren, in the middle school and excerpts should be constantly used in high school and college courses. Adult literacy centers should find this story a powerful inspiration too.

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Summary: Revealing
Review: A prime subject of debate before the Civil War seems to have been the nature of slavery in the South. Northern abolitionists would shoot rhetorical darts concerning the ineffable cruelties done to slaves at the hands of Southern slaveholders; Southern Confederates would fire their own salvos in return, telling stories to show that the abuses did not outweigh the general decency of the system. In this autobiography, Frederick Douglass weighs in heavily with the abolitionists, laying bare the barbarity and brutality of his experiences with slaveholders in the South. Tracking his life from the ignorance of childhood, to his growing awareness and education, to his final escape, Douglass makes his opinion plain: It is not only the South's particular form of slavery which is savagely corrupt - the system itself is despicable at its core.

My college assigned me this book to read, suggesting I watch for two things: the relationship of Christian faith to his life and to that of his masters, and the role of education in his journey toward freedom. In regard to the first, Douglass actually says surprisingly little about how his faith sustained him throughout his captivity. A few brief mentions are made here and there about how Christianity strengthened him during his trials, but the vast majority of his remarks on Christianity addressed the viciousness it seemed to inspire in his masters. In his experience, pious slaveholders were more cruel and malicious than unbelievers. Indeed, one of his worst masters was reverend of a local church. Douglass explains that while religion is well and good in its proper state, the corruption of the Southern version of Christianity was unpardonable, a religion where piety begot brutality, and faith sanctioned savagery.

In my reading of this narrative, Douglass' primary hope was not in Christianity, but in education. Throughout the book, he explains the various devices slaveholders used to keep their slaves from getting religion, or getting reading and writing, or getting knowledge of current events. He shows that the Southerners knew exactly what they were keeping from their slaves - the very tool by which they could gain liberty, humanity, and freedom. Douglass traces his tortuous trials in learning to read and write, and then shows the invaluable benefits he received from these. A good education is one of the greatest and most liberating things a person can get, and Douglass' narrative drives this point home hard and clear.

This book is a worthwhile read. Engaging and well-written, this narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass fascinates and informs. It illustrates the cruel treatment he, and by extension many other slaves, received at the hand of Southern slaveholders. It shows how a barbaric form of Christianity inspired some of these cruelties. And it shows how education delivered Douglass from the hands of his oppressors. Read it as a history. Read it as a story. But by all means, read it.

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Summary: Literature that will manage to affect a deeper part of you
Review: As soon as I began reading this book, I knew it would have an effect on me. I found it captivating and disturbing from the beginning, allowing me a direct insight on slavery. By the second chapter, I became emotionally engulfed in the novel, feeling pain, frustration and anger as I read on. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass really fills in the gaps in African American education. Where statistics were once offered, this first hand account is much more believable, personalized, and very heartfelt.

There are many valuable lessons to be learned from this book. The power of education and Douglass's determination to rise from being a slave made me very appreciative of what today's world offers, education wise and otherwise. After reading it, I felt a real need to grasp life and take every oppurtunity that comes along, really utilizing everything that I have been given. It also serves as a reminder of the horrific effects of discrimination, and the hideous nature of racism.

It is also written very eloquently, so much so that if it were not for the subject matter, it would be easy to forget that this book was written by a man who had spent much of his life as a slave, deprived of an education.

Overall an excellent book that provokes a very powerful emotional response. I reccomend it for anyone to read.

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Summary: An essential American autobiography
Review: As the title implies, this short work is the narrative of Frederick Douglass, an escaped slave. He wrote it by himself, a significant fact in that his prose is so eloquent and his pathos so powerful that it seems impossible for a former slave to have composed it. In this short autobiography, Douglass recounts his life as a slave, and details some of the horrors and atrocities perpetuated on slaves by their fiendish overseers, most of whom Douglass portrays as downright evil. More than just a narrative of his life, Douglass also gives an account of how the desire to be free grew and began to burn within his bosom, and how he grew to hate that horrible institution. Above all, this is a story of a slave learning that he is, in fact, a human being.

The significance of this book cannot be overestimated. In it, Douglass effectively dispels a number of popular myths about slaves and slaveholders, and forever changes the way the reader (especially one who lived while slavery still existed) looks at slavery. The theme of this book is very simple: slavery is wrong. It is evil, it is cruel, and, despite what many people thought at the time, the slaves know how cruel it is. Douglass cites several examples of the horrible treatment slaves received, one of them being separation of families. "It is a common custom...to part children from their mothers at a very early age" So it was with Douglass and his own mother.

Douglass writes in a very eloquent style, and this contributes to the power of this work. Many people who thought blacks were inferior in intelligence were shown to be sadly mistaken with the coming of Frederick Douglass, a man both educated and refined. It may be said that the book is not entirely fair, for it is decidedly anti-slavery, but it is undoubtedly true for most cases nonetheless. Most of the overseers in Douglass's narrative are demonic and sadistic, but when a good overseer comes along (such as Freeland), he is fair in his treatment of him.

One can imagine the fuel this book gave to the abolitionist fire, and it is not difficult to see why Douglass had such an impact on both North and South. This is, in my opinion, a definitive work, in that it shows the horrible institution of slavery in all its barbaric nature, and does it from a firsthand point of view, that of a former slave. This book was a tremendous contribution, both for the light it shed on slavery in general, and for proving that blacks were not intellectually inferior by nature, but instead were "transformed into...brute[s]" at the hands of their overseers.

This is a great book, essential for anyone wanting to study the Civil War era or wanting to gain a firmer understanding of slavery.

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Summary: Very Good
Review: I had to read this for a freshman history class. I dreaded it before because I usually hate historical nonfiction biographies, but I was quite surprised. Anytime somebody says that Affirmative Action is necessary because of past wrongs, I direct them to read this book. This man had the drive to learn to read in secret (at the age of 8) and ultimately escape to the free North to become an author. And his conditions were FAR worse than anybody's today! It's a very inspirational novel. It details the horrors of the slaves having to be split from their families and the hardships they had to endure. It also gave some insight to the mindsets of the slave owners. This is not a long book and is well worth an afternoon.

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Summary: A honest look at slavery
Review: Perhaps more so than any other account, Douglass gives us a look into the life of a slave. I enjoy this book on many level. Douglass writes honestly and in a factual tone. He does mince his words when he describes the brutality of slavery. Douglass demonstrates that he is an intelligent man despite his lack of education. He taight himself to read. To our youth, this demonstrates the value of education. Douglass also show Americans manipulated the work of God even in his time. Yet, Douglass found strength in that God. I think the quality I enjoyed most about this book is the fact that Douglass does not see himself as a hero, but as an average slave. This is not a typical characteristic of an autobiography. I read this book for the second time coming and going on 3 hour flights. The book is a short read, but well worth your time to read of atriumph of the human spirit.

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Summary: A damning Tale of Evil in America
Review: This is a difficult book to read because the evil that slavery entails. The oppression of anyone is an evil that must be overcome. Frederick Douglass displayed a remarkable courage in learning to read and write to finally overcome the horror of slavery. I appreciate his observation on the religious hypocrisy of the South. It was telling that religious slave owners were always the worst. Of course since religion helped breed slavery in America this really should not come as any surprise. I have great admiration for the founders of this country but I also feel that the evil and hypocrisy of slavery should be exposed. It is an ugly passage in American history that must be addressed. This book should be read by high school kids in every high school in America--make that every American period. Frederick Douglass deserves to be recognized as a great American and this book is essential reading for any American.