Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (The Penguin American Library)

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Summary: Cliff's Notes of "My Bondage, My Freedom"
Review: While this book is a good one, it is merely a smaller version of Douglass' more substantial work, "My Bondage, My Freedom". This one, however, does contain the more inspiring, more breathtakingly amazing accounts of the trials of Douglass' life.
If you are interested in Douglass, check this out. If you are already a fan of Douglass and his amazingly inspiring story, buy the larger volume. Both will move you from within and inspire you to be a better person.

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Summary: The evils of slavery from one man's perspective.
Review: If there are any doubters about the evils of slavery, read this book. I have heard it said by some white Southerners that slavery benefited the black population, and furthermore blacks were better off in the United States than in Africa. Slavery was evil and this book proves it.
Douglass points out how slaveholders killed and mutilated their own slaves, and nobody did anything about it. When a slave outlived his/her usefulness, the slaveholder often cast them off, so they did not have to feed and clothe these slaves. Slave families were often broken up for the benefit of the slaveholder. Wives and husbands were separated. Slaves worked long hard days and then had to turn over their pay to their slaveholder. If slaves tried to educate themselves, the slaveholders would break up their classes and then punish those seeking the education. Same with those seeking comfort from the Holy Bible. Those slaves were punished.
The question was did slavery benefit the black slave population of the South. The answer is a resounding NO. Douglass does a good job of detailing the hell of slavery.

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Summary: To Be Made Inhuman
Review: "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave" is without question the most important slave narrative penned in American history. Frederick Douglass put to paper what so many former slaves were unable to: the destructive institution that was slavery.

Douglass's account of slavery is very similar to Alexander Solzhenitsyn's account of the Soviet gulag system in "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich". It is very similar in that the protagonist of each account does not have, by comparison with his fellow sufferers, a hard existence. Douglass points out that, but for a brief stint with a 'slave-breaker' and another brief stint with a drunken master, he largely escapes the brutal whippings and degradations of most slaves. However, we still get a sense of the dehumanizing effect that slavery had on him, which is a far greater injustice than any physical punishment.

It is in the comparatively easy existence that Douglass had that we see the true evil of slavery. If that was the best a slave could hope for, to not be whipped or underfed or cursed or killed for no good reason, then surely the institution of slavery was not to the benefit of the slave, which is what most pro-slavery advocates claimed.

Douglass did as much as any person to make people take notice of the evils of slavery and how it was destroying the country. His "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave" is his greatest effort in the crusade of abolition.

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Summary: A Powerful Testimony of An Era We Should Never Forget!
Review: Slavery was known as a "peculiar institution". By broadcasting such labels for slavery, the southern slave owners were able to downplay the severity of the subjugation of slaves in this "peculiar institution". However, in 1845 a runaway slave by the name of Frederick Douglass was published his narrative which showed the extent of the cruelty within of the oppressive the institution of American slavery. Douglass gives a powerful portrayal of his personal struggle against the tyranny of himself and his fellow slaves. By depicting his personal story regarding the horrors of slavery, Douglass testified to the injustices of the slave institution and conveyed an urgent message of the time for prompt abolition.
Douglass leaves out no detail as he portrays the brutal means in which slaves were forced into subjugation. In order to maintain order and to achieve maximum efficiency and productivity from his slave, an owner used the fear of the ever-present whip against his slaves. Over, and over again throughout the Narrative, Douglass gives account of severe beatings, cruel tortures, and unjust murders of slaves. The message is evident. Slavery dehumanized African Americans.
From the introduction of his early experience, Douglass portrays the burdens of slavery. The reader is forced to cope with the fact that he has no tangible background. Slavery has robbed him of the precious moments of his childhood. He was raised in the same manner as one would raise an animal. In his early years he had no knowledge of time-he did not even know when he was born. He is also forced to scrounge for food in the same fashion as a pig digs for slop. The saddest insight is the alienation of Douglass from his family. He has no connection with his parents and when his mother dies he was untouched. On hearing of her death he states, "I received the tidings of her death with much the same emotions I should have probably felt at the death of a stranger" (19). The bond between mother and child is the strongest bulwark for children and to be robbed of this and to not care demonstrates just how severe slavery was to Douglass and countless others who faced the same fate. In the entire slave experience, the only escape from the repression was through sorrowful singing. As Douglass states, "every tone was a testimony against slavery..." and "slaves sing the most when they are unhappy" (29). Only through music could slaves find comfort in dealing with their anguish.
Douglass's first witness of brutality is the telling of his Aunt Hester's beating. The narration is powerfully effective through terrible detail. The cursing of the overseer, the shrieks of his aunt, and the horrible effects the whip upon her flesh is almost as agonizing the reader of the Narrative as it was to his unfortunate aunt. The fact that this terrible instance is a common occurrence makes it a heavier burden upon the reader's soul.
As if the beatings were not enough, slaves were also murdered on a whim. Douglass tells of Gore, a meticulously cold taskmaster who blew out the brains of a poor slave by the name of Demby. The chilliness of Gore's is terrible due the fact that he kills with the sympathy of a butcher.
Upon hearing about this, one would speculate that the authorities would deal with such barbaric acts justly. However, as Douglass recounts in the story Mrs. Hicks, the murderess that killed a slave girl for not moving fast enough, the law officials were hesitant to enforce the rights of the slave and would intentionally overlook such matters. This is primarily due to the fact that a slave owning society could not allow the rights of the slave to be upheld to the same level as a white man. To do such a thing would threaten the stability of their superiority. This is further illustrated in Douglass's struggle against the shipyard workers, when he fled to his master and told him of the attack his master stated that he could not hold up Douglass or even a thousand blacks testimony. The lack of protection under the law and the unwillingness of the whites to give the slaves a voice allowed the whites to completely dominate the slaves without the fear of accountability for their actions.
The worst aspect of slavery is found in the religious nature of the subjugation of slaves. The cruelty found in slavery was even more intense when placed under the pretense of the slaveholding religion of Christianity. Through Douglass's deconstruction of Christianity, he learns that the white oppressive version of Christianity is much different from his own beliefs of Christianity. The incident that shaped Douglass's understanding of the mentality of religious slaveholders was when he was placed under the authority of Mr. Freeland. In this situation, he was able to see the difference between the so-called "religious slave-holders" and "non-religious slave-holders." Douglass felt that the "non-religious slave-holders" were less brutal because they did not reprimand their slaves based on a Divine command. Instead they were more concerned about reprimanding the slaves when the slaves did wrong as opposed to whenever they felt that the Lord professed a beating.
The Narrative and Selected Writings is a powerful testimony to the struggles American slaves faced. Through the writings of men such as Frederick Douglass, abolitionists were given fuel to the bonfire of the Abolition Movement. Douglass honest testimony helped to bring out the truth about slavery. Abolitionists now had evidence to back their claim that the "peculiar institution" was in fact an institution of evil.

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Summary: LIVELY, AND SYMPATHETICALLY REFRESHING
Review: The "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave" is an old fine book. It was first published as 'My Bondage and My Freedom' in 1855. Again in 1881, it appeared as 'Life and Times of Frederick Douglass'.
Lively and sympathetically refreshing, this book gave a comprehensive narration regarding Frederick Douglass' life as a slave, and then, as a free abolitionist (and civil rights leader).
Born as Augustus Frederick Washington Bailey in Talbot county, Maryland, in 1817, young Frederick was a slave right from his mother's womb. However, a successful escape in 1838 changed his life (as well as his name). Known simply as Frederick Douglass, he migrated to New York; and finally settled at Bedford, Massachusetts: where he mastered the art of abolitionism.
The young man's writings and eloquent speeches reminded Americans of the evils of slavery. Not even resentments and pro-slavery racist attacks could deter him.
Soon after publishing his revealing autobiography in 1845, he fled to England in order to escape deportation and re-enslavement (in the South). Fortunately in 1847, some English Quakers purchased his freedom, and he returned (legally free) to the U.S.
This book gave a good account of how Mr Douglass directed "underground railroad", which took fugitive slaves to their freedom in Canada. It also narrated how he founded his abolitionist newspaper: 'The North Star'.
However in 1859, Frederick fled to England once more, having been accused of helping John Brown in the designing stage of his slave revolt plot. He did return to U.S. in 1860, and publicly supported Abraham Lincoln's presidential bid. He held respectable official posts in various capacities: among which was the United States' Minister to Haiti. He wrote several books and newspaper articles, and was finally laid to rest in 1895.
This book, ("Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass"), is a classical masterpiece. It is a historic document, which deserve your time and money. Highly recommended!

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Summary: A reminder of the fight that led to civil rights
Review: I read this book as a freshman in college and have often though about in the last 10 years. I believe it is the first written by a former slave in the U.S., and it clearly outlines the disputes surrounding the anti-slavery movement and the movement for the then status quo.

Though slavery is long gone in the U.S., it is useful to reflect on the process that lasted for many centuries before it was successful. In his case, we see how his masters, who were often considered more benign than other masters, tried to prevent Frederick from learning how to read, arguing that reading was beyond their needs.

Aside from the historical importance of this book, we also have a very interesting character in Frederick, as he is not resentful but rather fair and refined, which I believed added much to his reputation as a leader of the anti-slavery movement.

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Summary: An Actual Account of The Horrors of Slavery
Review: This book tells the amazing story of Frederick Douglass, an American slave. But moreover it shows the struggle blacks endured during slavery. While reading this book one understands that this is non-fiction and this really did happen. Douglass tells his experience as a slave and how he ran away from it. It is cruical that everyone reads this book so that no one forgets our past and to make sure we never repeat it. This work is classified as a slave narrative and was insturmental in bringing an end to slavery. Douglass writes so that all can understand his message and shows how he truimphed in the face of white supremacy paving the way for future leaders to strike down racism in America.

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Summary: Skip the introduction and jump into the actual story
Review: Frederick Douglass' first narrative goes beyond telling the story of his life. This autobiography gives more credit to the evils of slavery, the value of education, and the triumph of the human spirit than any history book I have ever read.

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Summary: Snooze Book for me.
Review: The book looked so boring when I opened it. The introduction is 41 pages long, and I haven't even started reading the actual story. The preface is 9 pages long. The historical annotation+index is 61 pages long. The actual story is 73 pages long, but the book itself will kind of give you an insight on a slave's life. A slave who ran away and actually became someone great and well-known. It's a story that anyone can used to pattern their life after especially when the odds seem against you.

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Summary: Still a moving testimony
Review: I often believe it is easy to criticize nineteenth century Americans for not stepping up to the plate regarding the issue of slavery and race in America. Jefferson may well have agonized over the issue he called the "death knell of the nation" and which he labeled a "neccessary evil." Certainly he benefitted by the ownership of nearly 300 slaves, but he grew up in a world in which slavery was the norm. It takes a revoutionary and remarkable man to truly stand against the only world he knows and move to create a different world, so I usually defend Jefferson and his political vision which clearly transcended that world.

Reading Frederick Douglass, however, makes me wonder how anyone with firsthand knowledge of the institution could not see the obvious pain and cruelty which existed right in front of his or her eyes. Douglass's narrative, and particularly his descriptions of the slave trade in Baltimore and the obvious place of the whip (whether used or not) as the principal vehicle of social control argues most eloquently that though the slave system may have been a social norm, the blinders had to be unbelievably thick not to see the horrors that the institution wrought. The relationship of slave and master perpetuated a most un-American (at least in terms of our professed values--cf. Douglass's later antislavery orations) tyranny and oppression. Douglass's narrative testifies that our ancestors could have seen much more and done much more and that 600,000 lives and a subsequent 120 years of racial schism and pain was too much a price to bear for the peculiar institution.