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rozeyh 's review for:
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
by Frederick Douglass
All novels documenting the struggles and woes of slavery, this book alongside "Uncle Tom's Cabin" (which I read this Douglass novel as a supplement) and "Up from Slavery", stretching to the woes of Reconstruction as seen in "The Souls of Black Folk", evoke feeling in every inch of my being. To think that my people were degraded in every way possible and to think of our advancement through the decades following our liberation does nothing short of stunning me and causing my mind to want to read every account of every injustice levied upon us. And to think that Douglass' account was one coming from a Mid-Atlantic slave region, where the slaves were reportedly treated with more care and tenderness!
As I mentioned, I read this novel alongside "Uncle Tom's Cabin" and one thing that stuck out to me in both tales was the depiction and description of Christianity when it comes to the institution of slavery. In both tales, Christianity is revealed as being utilized as a defense for slavery--"that the religion of the south is a mere covering for the most horrid crimes,--a justifier of the most appalling barbarity." We see specific passages i.e. Ephesians 6:5 "slaves, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling." etc. being used by these slavemasters to justify their peculiar institutions wherein they preach the gospel of loving thy neighbor but then abuse their brother on their plantations. It's a wonder how some of these same passages were then utilized by abolitionists and it is too a wonder how Douglass proclaimed time and time again that it would be solely through the grace of God that he could make it to the Promised Land.
Another commonality that struck me was the mention of the institution of slavery eroding the morals of slaveowners as well as the slaves. Douglass speaks of his master's wife and how the institution absolutely corrupted her heart, turning her from a kind and altruistic woman into something completely fiendish. This evolution was so stark and sudden, all stemming from the power found by the woman in possessing a being. This incident shows how drastic slave-owning can shift someone.
In summary, this narrative is short but features an array of horrors, all one in the same institution. Douglass truly progressed "Up from Slavery", learning how to read and write when that was forbidden to slaves. He escaped the slave-holding states, along a route that he would not disclose so that it could be safe to future escapees in the future which, to me, was beyond genius. He is remembered as the pinnacle of a black MAN and as an immaculate orator, grasping the language and its words as if he had known them his entire life. What an incredible story!
As I mentioned, I read this novel alongside "Uncle Tom's Cabin" and one thing that stuck out to me in both tales was the depiction and description of Christianity when it comes to the institution of slavery. In both tales, Christianity is revealed as being utilized as a defense for slavery--"that the religion of the south is a mere covering for the most horrid crimes,--a justifier of the most appalling barbarity." We see specific passages i.e. Ephesians 6:5 "slaves, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling." etc. being used by these slavemasters to justify their peculiar institutions wherein they preach the gospel of loving thy neighbor but then abuse their brother on their plantations. It's a wonder how some of these same passages were then utilized by abolitionists and it is too a wonder how Douglass proclaimed time and time again that it would be solely through the grace of God that he could make it to the Promised Land.
Another commonality that struck me was the mention of the institution of slavery eroding the morals of slaveowners as well as the slaves. Douglass speaks of his master's wife and how the institution absolutely corrupted her heart, turning her from a kind and altruistic woman into something completely fiendish. This evolution was so stark and sudden, all stemming from the power found by the woman in possessing a being. This incident shows how drastic slave-owning can shift someone.
In summary, this narrative is short but features an array of horrors, all one in the same institution. Douglass truly progressed "Up from Slavery", learning how to read and write when that was forbidden to slaves. He escaped the slave-holding states, along a route that he would not disclose so that it could be safe to future escapees in the future which, to me, was beyond genius. He is remembered as the pinnacle of a black MAN and as an immaculate orator, grasping the language and its words as if he had known them his entire life. What an incredible story!