The concept of slavery is an idea that’s nearly universally shunned and considered barbaric in the eyes of modern society. However, as we all have learned in school, slavery was once considered one of the foundations of society in America. Rounded up and used like cattle, these people were forced from their home country, forced to do backbreaking work, and forced to dedicate their lives to their owners for profit. Yet, despite the haze of darkness and despair that enveloped the lives of American slaves, bits of light shine through, showing what life really was like for a slave. The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is one such bright source of light, giving a unique glimpse of daily life in slavery. The book is essential to truly understanding slavery as it reveals the true thoughts and feelings of a person who suffered through some of the worst that the American people had to offer.
The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is a powerful and
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Having read through and thoroughly studied this book, as well as many other writings on slavery in my school’s history courses, Douglass’s narratives offers more than a textbook or research paper; he gives a glimpse of the emotions that hide behind the stone-faced slaves in the black and white images. Having personally experienced the horrors of slavery, Douglass reveals the feelings of absolute terror and helplessness brought about by the oppressive slave overseers. His descriptions of the treatment of young children slaves are particularly vivid. In one instance, he describes the appearance of a fourteen year old slave girl, saying that “The head, neck, and shoulders of Mary were literally cut to pieces… and found it [Mary’s head] nearly covered with festering sores...were kept nearly half-starved ” (21). The