Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass Analysis

In Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American slave, Frederick Douglass states, “People may not get all they work for in this world, but they must certainly work for all they get.” This statement is true according to the life that Frederick Douglass lived.” Frederick Douglass (1818-1895) is closely associated with the American Romanticism movement, which began in the early 1800s and lasted roughly 1865 the importance of individual freedom and liberty, the reliance of intuition over logic, and valued pure nature. Living a life in slavery helped Frederick Douglass to realize the importance of the freedom of his people, and through his perseverance, he was able to write his own life experiences down for America to read.
Douglass
was a slave who was treated very poorly. He was able to run away to the north where he furthered his education through many years of hard work. Frederick Douglass became an abolitionist because of his experiences from his past as a slave who gained freedom. He didn’t know his mother because he was parted from her when he was really young, though he did meet her a few times. There was some speculation that his master might have been his father. Frederick Douglass was an educated slave who inspired those around him. He taught those that it is important to have an education. Frederick Douglass published his first autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, in 1845, but skeptics questioned if he could have actually written such an eloquent piece of literature. He revised his narrative three other times, but the one published in 1845 was the biggest seller, and helped him to raise funds to gain his legal freedom.
The title of the criticism is Introduction of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, and the author is Benjamin Quarles.
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, was most influential in appealing to abolitionist propaganda. The Narrative had a bigger impact on Americans because it was written by himself and so his life as a slave was easier to believe than those of other writer (Quarles, 6). I agree with Benjamin Quarles because he echoes everything I would explain about Douglass’s work. Douglass used pathos that drew people in and had a huge affect in America. He wrote from his past life and was able to continue the abolitionist movement because of his constant efforts of equality (Quarles,
7).
Douglass mentions the inequality between the slaves and the slave owners throughout different points in his autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American slave.
“It was doubtless in consequence of a knowledge of this fact, that are great states man of the south predicted the downfall of slavery by the inevitable laws of population.” (Douglass, 13). Frederick Douglass is explaining the fact that people in the south found ways of justifying the grim reason why they treated the slaves the way they did. “No words, no tears, no prayers, from his gory victim, seemed to move his iron heart from its bloody purpose.” (Douglass, 13).The terror of this time was real and Frederick Douglass states that as he describes the horror that Mr. Plummer, a ruthless foreman unleashed on the slaves. “It was the blood-stained gate, the entrance to the hell of slavery, through which I was about to pass. It was a most terrible spectacle. I wish I could commit to paper the feelings with which I beheld it” (Douglass 14). Frederick Douglass describes in awful detail the events of passing through slavery was as he compares it to the gates of hell, meaning that slavery was scarring and painful (Douglass 13). In order to explain the cruel system of slavery in the south, Frederick Douglass details the pains of slavery and the grim ways that people often treated slaves (Douglass 13). Frederick Douglass is explaining the fact that people in the south found ways of justifying the grim
reason why they treated the slaves the way they did.
Frederick Douglass was able to become an important person in the abolitionist movement because of the time he spent in slavery and the hard work he put into getting an education and writing down his life experiences. A writer has the power not only to inspire the world, but change it through the different works of literature that authors present. What important causes are happening today that can shape the world of literature tomorrow?