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1.99k reviews for:
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave: A Library of America Paperback Classic
Frederick Douglass
4.14 AVERAGE
1.99k reviews for:
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave: A Library of America Paperback Classic
Frederick Douglass
4.14 AVERAGE
It is an exceptionally well written contemporary account of American slavery by a former slave…
There is not much to say, and the few things I could say he says better… so you’d be better off reading g the book than my review
There is not much to say, and the few things I could say he says better… so you’d be better off reading g the book than my review
dark
emotional
informative
fast-paced
dark
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
dark
emotional
inspiring
fast-paced
dark
informative
tense
fast-paced
experienced enough shivers for a lifetime
some of my favorite quotes from his beautiful, pained prose:
"to be accused was to be convicted, and to be convicted was to be punished; the one always following the other with immutable certainty."
"he dealt sparingly with his words, and bountifully with his whip, never using the former where the latter would answer as well."
"From my earlier recollection, I date the entertainment of a deep conviction that slavery would not always be able to hold me within its foul embrace."
"broad bosom was ever white with sails from every quarter of the habitable globe. Those beautiful vessels, robed in purest white, so delightful to the eye of freemen, were to me so many shrouded ghosts, to terrify and torment me with thoughts of my wretched condition."
"The grave is at the door."
"toil-torn and whip-scarred"
the role of music and literacy play in the perception/yearning of freedom:
"they breathed the prayer and complaint of souls boiling over with the bitterest anguish"
"the songs of the slave represent the sorrows of his heart; and he is relieved by them, only as an aching heart is relieved by its tears. I have often sung to drown my sorrow, but seldom to express my happiness."
"thus I used to think, and thus I used to speak to myself;"
"to make a contented slave, it is necessary to make a thoughtless one"
"I have often wished myself a beast. I preferred the condition of the meanest reptile to my own."
"The moral which I gained from the dialogue was the power of truth over the conscience of even a slaveholder."
complexities of the slave-master dynamic:
"we had almost as well be slaves to man as to rum."
"I did not hesitate to let it be known of me, that the white man who expected to succeed in whipping, must also succeed in killing me."
the relationship between religion and slavery (appendix):
"for between the Christianity of this land, and the Christianity of Christ, I recognize the widest possible difference...to be the friend of the one, is of necessity to be the enemy of the other."
"the slave auctioneer's bell and the church-going bell chime in with each other...the slave prision and the church stand near each other."
"They are always ready for sacrifice, but seldom to show mercy."
some of my favorite quotes from his beautiful, pained prose:
"to be accused was to be convicted, and to be convicted was to be punished; the one always following the other with immutable certainty."
"he dealt sparingly with his words, and bountifully with his whip, never using the former where the latter would answer as well."
"From my earlier recollection, I date the entertainment of a deep conviction that slavery would not always be able to hold me within its foul embrace."
"broad bosom was ever white with sails from every quarter of the habitable globe. Those beautiful vessels, robed in purest white, so delightful to the eye of freemen, were to me so many shrouded ghosts, to terrify and torment me with thoughts of my wretched condition."
"The grave is at the door."
"toil-torn and whip-scarred"
the role of music and literacy play in the perception/yearning of freedom:
"they breathed the prayer and complaint of souls boiling over with the bitterest anguish"
"the songs of the slave represent the sorrows of his heart; and he is relieved by them, only as an aching heart is relieved by its tears. I have often sung to drown my sorrow, but seldom to express my happiness."
"thus I used to think, and thus I used to speak to myself;"
"to make a contented slave, it is necessary to make a thoughtless one"
"I have often wished myself a beast. I preferred the condition of the meanest reptile to my own."
"The moral which I gained from the dialogue was the power of truth over the conscience of even a slaveholder."
complexities of the slave-master dynamic:
"we had almost as well be slaves to man as to rum."
"I did not hesitate to let it be known of me, that the white man who expected to succeed in whipping, must also succeed in killing me."
the relationship between religion and slavery (appendix):
"for between the Christianity of this land, and the Christianity of Christ, I recognize the widest possible difference...to be the friend of the one, is of necessity to be the enemy of the other."
"the slave auctioneer's bell and the church-going bell chime in with each other...the slave prision and the church stand near each other."
"They are always ready for sacrifice, but seldom to show mercy."
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
This is both a thorough account of slavery in the United States in all of its aspects, and a personal account of the life a former slave. It is told brilliantly, with much fervour. The story was written in 1845, but it is SO readable, still. The story really got to me, and there was not a single boring moment in the entire book.
The events described are as horrendous as you'd expect. It is a world where white people get away with anything they do to black people, murder included. But Douglass does such a good job at explaining the mental impact of a life as a slave, too. His tale of what happened to his grandmother after she was too old to work made me cry. Douglass believes that treating slaves in a horrific way, as well as manipulating them mentally, is the only way that people can be held as cattle, because any person in a condition good enough to think for themselves would decide to rather die, or make plans to flee. Thus, slavery corrupts the masters, too, even the ones that started out as good people before they acquired slaves. After reading about Douglass' hardships, this makes sense. You never find out how he himself managed to escape exactly, because sharing this knowledge publicly would - at that time - negatively have interfered with that escape route for others.
Douglass taught himself how to read and write in secret when he was just a boy. When he was eventually free, he clearly developed himself as an intellectual. He orated for the abolitionists and wrote three books. Narrative of the Life... was the first, and it's written so well, with so much passion. Apparently, he was also openly pro women's rights to vote... in 1845! What a guy.
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave is an extremely important and impressive story that I wish everyone would read.
The events described are as horrendous as you'd expect. It is a world where white people get away with anything they do to black people, murder included. But Douglass does such a good job at explaining the mental impact of a life as a slave, too. His tale of what happened to his grandmother after she was too old to work made me cry. Douglass believes that treating slaves in a horrific way, as well as manipulating them mentally, is the only way that people can be held as cattle, because any person in a condition good enough to think for themselves would decide to rather die, or make plans to flee. Thus, slavery corrupts the masters, too, even the ones that started out as good people before they acquired slaves. After reading about Douglass' hardships, this makes sense. You never find out how he himself managed to escape exactly, because sharing this knowledge publicly would - at that time - negatively have interfered with that escape route for others.
Douglass taught himself how to read and write in secret when he was just a boy. When he was eventually free, he clearly developed himself as an intellectual. He orated for the abolitionists and wrote three books. Narrative of the Life... was the first, and it's written so well, with so much passion. Apparently, he was also openly pro women's rights to vote... in 1845! What a guy.
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave is an extremely important and impressive story that I wish everyone would read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Murder
Moderate: Death, Violence, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Alcoholism, Death of parent, Alcohol
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
informative
reflective
medium-paced
I LOVED this book. Such an interesting book that I will for sure re-read. A first hand account of a former slave turned free man by the brilliance of Fredrick Douglas.