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bemused_writer 's review for:
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
by Frederick Douglass
I really think this should be required reading in U.S. schools along with To Kill a Mockingbird and other such books. There are a lot of difficult passages here, but they're incredibly relevant to the history of our country and go a long way toward explaining why things are the way they are today.
Regarding the narrative itself, I found several passages interesting, but one thing that really struck me was when Douglass spoke of making his way to the North. He had imagined it would be a poor environment because there weren't any slaves. That is to say, he equated wealth with slavery because the whites in the South who went without slaves were awfully poor. I think this gives us an idea of how well deceived people were about the truth of slavery. It wasn't necessary to lead a good life; it was just easier.
He also criticized the underground railroad and made a point about it I hadn't considered: it was far too open. Those who were offering to help slaves were doing loudly and as such slaveholders were more in-the-know then they had any right to be.
I'm glad I read this book and I think I'll continue exploring the subject of slavery in the U.S. (and throughout international history); I've often felt like it never received nearly enough attention in school and this is a good intro to it.
Regarding the narrative itself, I found several passages interesting, but one thing that really struck me was when Douglass spoke of making his way to the North. He had imagined it would be a poor environment because there weren't any slaves. That is to say, he equated wealth with slavery because the whites in the South who went without slaves were awfully poor. I think this gives us an idea of how well deceived people were about the truth of slavery. It wasn't necessary to lead a good life; it was just easier.
He also criticized the underground railroad and made a point about it I hadn't considered: it was far too open. Those who were offering to help slaves were doing loudly and as such slaveholders were more in-the-know then they had any right to be.
I'm glad I read this book and I think I'll continue exploring the subject of slavery in the U.S. (and throughout international history); I've often felt like it never received nearly enough attention in school and this is a good intro to it.