Allison Graham
Ms. Nusbaum
English III Dual Credit- 4th
19 March 2015
Frederick Douglass, an American Slave
Frederick Douglass, an author made famous from his autobiographies, wrote many different stories during his life time. Even though his stories reaches large numbers in quantity, none of them had an impact on the literary world in the way that Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave did. His autobiography was first published in 1845 and has continued to evolve into the most modern publications today. Douglass’ autobiography was published exactly seven years after he had escaped from slavery on a plantation in Maryland. Frederick Douglass used his autobiography to critique the faults of slavery, something that he …show more content…
An example of this is that Douglass mentions that slaves rarely knew their birthday because “it is the wish of most masters… to keep their slaves thus ignorant.” The masters believed that if the slaves were made aware of their birthdays, they would feel less like animals and more like humans. This is something that the whites were afraid of. It was important that this was included in the narrative, because it allowed for the reader to realize all of the hardships that Douglass had to overcome, just to become a free man. This point in the novel also allows the reader to sympathize for Frederick Douglass during this point in his life. The American Studies professor Albert E. Stone claims in his narrative, ‘Identity and Art in Frederick Douglass’, “For the more clearly and fully we see the man and the writer… the more we acknowledge the force of his argument for an end to slavery’s denial of individuality and creativity (Thomason).” This quote describes Douglass indefinitely, because as the reader reads further into the novel, the reader starts to appreciate Douglass as a writer and a human, and less as an African-American …show more content…
His stories inspired Americans to persevere and to achieve the American Dream. Douglass’ narrative has been used across the country as a way to show the evolution of slaves from “rags to riches” and has given African-Americans hope for many centuries to come. Works Cited
Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. Cambridge, MA: Belknap, 1960.
Thomason, Elizabeth. Nonfiction Classics for Students: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Nonfiction Works. Detroit: Gale Group,
Ms. Nusbaum
English III Dual Credit- 4th
19 March 2015
Frederick Douglass, an American Slave
Frederick Douglass, an author made famous from his autobiographies, wrote many different stories during his life time. Even though his stories reaches large numbers in quantity, none of them had an impact on the literary world in the way that Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave did. His autobiography was first published in 1845 and has continued to evolve into the most modern publications today. Douglass’ autobiography was published exactly seven years after he had escaped from slavery on a plantation in Maryland. Frederick Douglass used his autobiography to critique the faults of slavery, something that he …show more content…
An example of this is that Douglass mentions that slaves rarely knew their birthday because “it is the wish of most masters… to keep their slaves thus ignorant.” The masters believed that if the slaves were made aware of their birthdays, they would feel less like animals and more like humans. This is something that the whites were afraid of. It was important that this was included in the narrative, because it allowed for the reader to realize all of the hardships that Douglass had to overcome, just to become a free man. This point in the novel also allows the reader to sympathize for Frederick Douglass during this point in his life. The American Studies professor Albert E. Stone claims in his narrative, ‘Identity and Art in Frederick Douglass’, “For the more clearly and fully we see the man and the writer… the more we acknowledge the force of his argument for an end to slavery’s denial of individuality and creativity (Thomason).” This quote describes Douglass indefinitely, because as the reader reads further into the novel, the reader starts to appreciate Douglass as a writer and a human, and less as an African-American …show more content…
His stories inspired Americans to persevere and to achieve the American Dream. Douglass’ narrative has been used across the country as a way to show the evolution of slaves from “rags to riches” and has given African-Americans hope for many centuries to come. Works Cited
Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. Cambridge, MA: Belknap, 1960.
Thomason, Elizabeth. Nonfiction Classics for Students: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Nonfiction Works. Detroit: Gale Group,