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4.14 AVERAGE
4.14 AVERAGE
I had a hard time focusing on reading in the weeks following the 2016 election, but this was a really excellent choice to read at that time even if it took me longer to get through than it should have.
Douglass's book is primarily about his life as a slave, with just a couple of chapters at the end addressing his earliest experiences as a free man. He deliberately leaves out every detail about his escape to freedom to protect both those who helped him and those he hopes will be able to follow him out of slavery.
He speaks frankly about the physical abuses he and others experienced as slaves, but the book isn't especially graphic - his primary focus is on how intellectually damaging slavery is. He talks about how liberating it was to begin to learn his letters, and how reading and educating himself gave him both the sense of self-worth and the courage to seek freedom.
I think what's most eye-opening about this book is how little we've changed. Slavery may be illegal, but many of the ideas behind it haven't gone away. Douglass expresses deep frustration with his experience that the most "deeply religious" people were consistently also the most likely to be cruel and abusive toward their slaves and would even use the Bible to back up the institution of slavery and their treatment of their slaves. We still see this today, where many of the most outspokenly "religious" people in this country promote hatred of others through hand-selected Bible verses. Douglass was so worried that his frustration with religious slaveholders would be misconstrued that he wrote an entire appendix explaining that he didn't hate Christianity but that he didn't think the behavior of the "religious" masters he encountered was in any way in keeping with the actual messages of Christ about loving and caring for all other people.
This is a powerful book, and one I'm very glad I read when I did.
Douglass's book is primarily about his life as a slave, with just a couple of chapters at the end addressing his earliest experiences as a free man. He deliberately leaves out every detail about his escape to freedom to protect both those who helped him and those he hopes will be able to follow him out of slavery.
He speaks frankly about the physical abuses he and others experienced as slaves, but the book isn't especially graphic - his primary focus is on how intellectually damaging slavery is. He talks about how liberating it was to begin to learn his letters, and how reading and educating himself gave him both the sense of self-worth and the courage to seek freedom.
I think what's most eye-opening about this book is how little we've changed. Slavery may be illegal, but many of the ideas behind it haven't gone away. Douglass expresses deep frustration with his experience that the most "deeply religious" people were consistently also the most likely to be cruel and abusive toward their slaves and would even use the Bible to back up the institution of slavery and their treatment of their slaves. We still see this today, where many of the most outspokenly "religious" people in this country promote hatred of others through hand-selected Bible verses. Douglass was so worried that his frustration with religious slaveholders would be misconstrued that he wrote an entire appendix explaining that he didn't hate Christianity but that he didn't think the behavior of the "religious" masters he encountered was in any way in keeping with the actual messages of Christ about loving and caring for all other people.
This is a powerful book, and one I'm very glad I read when I did.
challenging
dark
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
fast-paced
MY OPINION: *****
I read this book for my English class and ended up really enjoying it. I obviously had heard of it before but I'd never gotten around to actually reading it, so I'm glad that I had this opportunity to force me to read it because I'm not sure if I ever would have otherwise. This is one of those books that are hard to properly review because of how complex and world-changing this narrative was, but I'll try my best.
It's a very powerful story told from the perspective of Frederick Douglass, a former enslaved person who taught himself how to read and write despite the fact that this was technically prohibited during slavery. The writing is very beautiful and it's incredible that he was completely self-taught in his education.
Frederick Douglass was clearly a very determined and intelligent person. He spent every waking moment of his spare time teaching himself how to read and write because he knew that his master would not have so vehemently opposed it for a reason. This whole book felt like a series of unfortunate events, with tragic episodes and harrowing accounts of the trauma he went through in his life under the disgusting inhumane system of slavery.
I found it intriguing to read from Douglass's perspective, especially after having just finished Olaudah Equiano's similar report of his life. Douglass does not seem to be filled with the bitterness and hatred you would expect someone newly freed from such a despicable institution to have. Instead, he seemed almost neutral in his descriptions about everything he went through, which I found particularly surprising. He is a very dignified and respectful man even when describing his worst abusers.
As a history major, though I'm not particularly concerned with American history, the institution of slavery was so worldwide and universal that it is impossible to ignore no matter what area of history you are studying. To this day, people feel its effects and it has permanently stained this country and so many others with how horrific it really was. Every time I learn something new about it, I feel more and more disgusted with this country and everyone involved with such a despicable institution.
I'd highly recommend reading this book, no matter who you are. It's short and simple but remarkably powerful and meaningful in ways that you can only imagine. Please take the time out of your day to read it.
Main Character: Frederick Douglass
Sidekick(s): N/A
Villain(s): Slavery
Nonfiction Elements: This is an autobiographical description of Frederick Douglass's life.
I read this book for my English class and ended up really enjoying it. I obviously had heard of it before but I'd never gotten around to actually reading it, so I'm glad that I had this opportunity to force me to read it because I'm not sure if I ever would have otherwise. This is one of those books that are hard to properly review because of how complex and world-changing this narrative was, but I'll try my best.
It's a very powerful story told from the perspective of Frederick Douglass, a former enslaved person who taught himself how to read and write despite the fact that this was technically prohibited during slavery. The writing is very beautiful and it's incredible that he was completely self-taught in his education.
Frederick Douglass was clearly a very determined and intelligent person. He spent every waking moment of his spare time teaching himself how to read and write because he knew that his master would not have so vehemently opposed it for a reason. This whole book felt like a series of unfortunate events, with tragic episodes and harrowing accounts of the trauma he went through in his life under the disgusting inhumane system of slavery.
I found it intriguing to read from Douglass's perspective, especially after having just finished Olaudah Equiano's similar report of his life. Douglass does not seem to be filled with the bitterness and hatred you would expect someone newly freed from such a despicable institution to have. Instead, he seemed almost neutral in his descriptions about everything he went through, which I found particularly surprising. He is a very dignified and respectful man even when describing his worst abusers.
As a history major, though I'm not particularly concerned with American history, the institution of slavery was so worldwide and universal that it is impossible to ignore no matter what area of history you are studying. To this day, people feel its effects and it has permanently stained this country and so many others with how horrific it really was. Every time I learn something new about it, I feel more and more disgusted with this country and everyone involved with such a despicable institution.
I'd highly recommend reading this book, no matter who you are. It's short and simple but remarkably powerful and meaningful in ways that you can only imagine. Please take the time out of your day to read it.
Main Character: Frederick Douglass
Sidekick(s): N/A
Villain(s): Slavery
Nonfiction Elements: This is an autobiographical description of Frederick Douglass's life.
*3.5*
I found this book refreshing, as it showed slavery through the enslaved, not the slave holding. It opened my eyes wider to the true horror of slavery.
I found this book refreshing, as it showed slavery through the enslaved, not the slave holding. It opened my eyes wider to the true horror of slavery.
Many pages had me tearful and many passages had my heart twisting in my chest. To taste slavery in the shoes of Douglass is a real eye-opener, for as bitter as slavery already sounds, hearing its pains told firsthand makes it tenfold harder to imagine. I wish the book had more details, more stories, more personal relations of Douglass as a slave, but it's truly a remarkable book considering the academic level of its author.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
An insightful and sobering look into the life and times of Frederick Douglass.
me pareció aburridísimo pero escuché el audiolibro, la prosa muy plana
I really enjoyed Frederick Douglass's telling of his early life as a slave. His writing is very eloquent and moving. Unfortunately, this was his first autobiography and didn't include much about his escape freedom and much of his free life hadn't heard yet. I look forward to reading one of his later autobiographies.
Included in this book was also his famous speech "what to the slave is the 4th of July" which was extremely compelling and damning of the times in our country while full of hope for the future.
I would recommend this as an important book for everyone to read.
Included in this book was also his famous speech "what to the slave is the 4th of July" which was extremely compelling and damning of the times in our country while full of hope for the future.
I would recommend this as an important book for everyone to read.