Frederick Douglass’ Narrative
In the struggle against social injustice, first-person accounts serve as a tool of the highest persuasive power. A single strong voice, if properly heard, can stir an entire nation into action. This was especially true during the abolitionist movement in the United States in the 19th century. While there were many factors stimulating the fight against slavery, its cause was aided in great measure by the written word, specifically, in form of slave narratives. One of the most famous and most influential of them is Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, which describes the author’s path from slavery. However, this is not a simple documentary recounting the life of a single man, as many other first-person narratives …show more content…
Born somewhere around 1817-1818, Frederick Douglass grew up amid the Age of Revolution with its dreams of changes and hopes for better future. According to historian Ira Berlin, “the War for American Independence in particular gave slaves new leverage in their struggle with their owners” by undermining the authority of the slaveholders and invoking the notion of universal equality. However, he also notes that “the same events that freed slaves also allowed slaveholders to consolidate their power and legitimate their claims to property-in-person,” and the conflict kept exacerbating. During this volatile period, the society was re-examining its fundamental notions and questioning its old views. Dwelling on the driving forces of the emancipation of slaves, Ira Berlin names “the resolute commitment of a few men and women—most of them black slaves, along with former slaves and the descendants of slaves—to end slavery and create a slaveless world” as the center of this process. In a dialectical way, the life of Frederick Douglass became possible because of the increasing influence of the new revolutionary mindset, and the influence of this new revolutionary mindset continued to grow not least because of the examples such as Frederick Douglass’ Narrative.
Apart from providing revelatory insights into the life of African-American slaves, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass brings up certain issues of not just social, but even philosophical value. One of the themes revolves around ignorance and knowledge correlating to slavery and freedom. Describing the process of being made into a slave, Frederick Douglass places emphasis on the deterioration of the
In the struggle against social injustice, first-person accounts serve as a tool of the highest persuasive power. A single strong voice, if properly heard, can stir an entire nation into action. This was especially true during the abolitionist movement in the United States in the 19th century. While there were many factors stimulating the fight against slavery, its cause was aided in great measure by the written word, specifically, in form of slave narratives. One of the most famous and most influential of them is Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, which describes the author’s path from slavery. However, this is not a simple documentary recounting the life of a single man, as many other first-person narratives …show more content…
Born somewhere around 1817-1818, Frederick Douglass grew up amid the Age of Revolution with its dreams of changes and hopes for better future. According to historian Ira Berlin, “the War for American Independence in particular gave slaves new leverage in their struggle with their owners” by undermining the authority of the slaveholders and invoking the notion of universal equality. However, he also notes that “the same events that freed slaves also allowed slaveholders to consolidate their power and legitimate their claims to property-in-person,” and the conflict kept exacerbating. During this volatile period, the society was re-examining its fundamental notions and questioning its old views. Dwelling on the driving forces of the emancipation of slaves, Ira Berlin names “the resolute commitment of a few men and women—most of them black slaves, along with former slaves and the descendants of slaves—to end slavery and create a slaveless world” as the center of this process. In a dialectical way, the life of Frederick Douglass became possible because of the increasing influence of the new revolutionary mindset, and the influence of this new revolutionary mindset continued to grow not least because of the examples such as Frederick Douglass’ Narrative.
Apart from providing revelatory insights into the life of African-American slaves, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass brings up certain issues of not just social, but even philosophical value. One of the themes revolves around ignorance and knowledge correlating to slavery and freedom. Describing the process of being made into a slave, Frederick Douglass places emphasis on the deterioration of the