Frederick Douglass Superstition

In the past, slaves were not recognized as nothing more than property; They had no identity outside of what the master told them they were. Being born into enslavement, Frederick Douglass was a victim of this insensitive trend, but did not let it define him. He, like many slaves, did not know his father, and barely knew his mother; he only saw her a few times in his early childhood. He had a very keen mind at even a young age and took into consideration the wrong doing of the white people and the effect it had on the slaves. Douglass knew that it was not right for the people of color to live in that way, and when he was given the opportunity to change the fate that was force upon him even before he entered the world, he did it. After teaching himself to …show more content…
He fought to change policies and demanded equality for all American people. These are the things that define Frederick Douglass. Although he started life as Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, and later changed his name to Frederick Stanley before changing it to Frederick Johnson and lastly to Frederick Douglass, one thing never changed. He always kept his first name with the reason being that he “must hold on to [it], to preserve a sense of [his] identity.” (P. 96) Through his entire life, Frederick knew who he was and molded himself through slavery, through escape, and into freedom and created within himself the identity of Frederick Douglass. At the conclusion of the autobiography, Douglass signs the text as one would a letter stating, “I subscribe myself, Frederick Douglass.” (P. 108) This is his way of confirming his identity to the readers because when he began his life, as a slave is he had no identity. Now as a free man, after his many accomplishments and life lessons, Frederick Douglass was a free man with an identity and could live his life to its full