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4.14 AVERAGE
4.14 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Impressive and insightful! Such an intelligent man.
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass
Book 7/52
Favourite Quote: “I now resolved that, however long I might remain a slave in form, the day had passed forever when I could be a slave in fact.”
This was read for my American Literature module and it was brilliant. Douglass has such a magical way with words, and his story is heartbreaking yet effortlessly powerful. It’s incredible to see someone overcome such odds and come out on the other side to reflect on it so eloquently and thoughtfully. His thoughts on American Christianity were a stand out for me; they are so so important and still ring true today. An impressive read and I can’t wait to discuss this this week.
Book 7/52
Favourite Quote: “I now resolved that, however long I might remain a slave in form, the day had passed forever when I could be a slave in fact.”
This was read for my American Literature module and it was brilliant. Douglass has such a magical way with words, and his story is heartbreaking yet effortlessly powerful. It’s incredible to see someone overcome such odds and come out on the other side to reflect on it so eloquently and thoughtfully. His thoughts on American Christianity were a stand out for me; they are so so important and still ring true today. An impressive read and I can’t wait to discuss this this week.
4.5
I'm coming back to this review after a while. Wow. I read this for AP Lang this summer, and it was nothing short of amazing. So so incredibly powerful. Considering that Douglass wrote this after practically teaching himself how to read and write is incredible.
This book made me cry, many, many times, but that only testifies to how great it was. This was not a work of fiction. It really happened. There is both terror and beauty found in that.
I can't say that I necessarily enjoyed reading this book, but I have a solid respect for it. It was not fun to read, but it was necessary. And I will cherish it for that.
I'm coming back to this review after a while. Wow. I read this for AP Lang this summer, and it was nothing short of amazing. So so incredibly powerful. Considering that Douglass wrote this after practically teaching himself how to read and write is incredible.
This book made me cry, many, many times, but that only testifies to how great it was. This was not a work of fiction. It really happened. There is both terror and beauty found in that.
I can't say that I necessarily enjoyed reading this book, but I have a solid respect for it. It was not fun to read, but it was necessary. And I will cherish it for that.
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
Interesting account of his time in slavery and the things he saw. It was short, well written, and easy read even if the topic and depictions aren’t easy. The best part, in my opinion, was the appendix where he clarified his views on religion. “... between the Christianity of this land, and the Christianity of Christ, I recognize the widest possible difference...”. The things he said about how religion back then was cherry picked to support slavery, etc still holds weight today when we see many different religions used to justify all manner of actions. Powerful stuff.
As someone who is getting back into reading this book proved to be something that showed me why I fell in love with reading as a child. It follows Douglass's life through to his escape from slavery and the beginning of his life in New York. I found this book very eye opening as the horrors of slavery. Even months after I finished it I still vividly remember a scene in which an enslaved person was trying to escape, was caught and then refused to get out of a river only to be shot down by musket fire. This scene in conjunction with the scene where Douglass talks about the randomness of whippings helped show me the sheer violence and abject horror an enslaved person would see in their life. I highly reccomend.
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
I can see why this is an important narrative, and I'll be interested to see what my professor thinks the links to Frankenstein are (which he alluded to last class), but I can't say that I was drawn in in any ways other than the sympathetic and the academic.