In The Narrative, Frederick Douglass makes use of acquired writing abilities to express the struggles and despairs slavery presented. He uses multiple themes and supports his presentation as two separate characters, both narrator and protagonist. One of the first presented themes pertains to the masters of slaves often using ignorance as a control mechanism. Douglass begins to explain his early life by revealing the few details he had about his birth, revealing how he was incapable of knowing when he was born. He recognized that white children were all aware of this information, and this injustice was a partial source of his childhood unhappiness and frustrations. Furthermore, Douglass is unsure of his paternity and separated at a young age
