Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass serves as an essential piece of literature that has, and continues, to contribute to history. Douglass’ narrative allows the reader to empathize with him on a human level, exposing the reader to his everyday circumstances and emotions, rather than simply listing off historical facts about slavery. It is commonly known that slavery existed, that millions of Africans were shipped to the United States and other countries around the world, that they were whipped and tortured and forced to provide free labor, and that millions of them died do to the harsh conditions they endured. This information is taught in elementary schools across the nation and is occasionally revisited in junior high and high school, and then again if the person makes it to college. What typically is not taught or touched on, though, is the mental and emotional struggle the slaves endured. Because slavery is no longer prominent and that generation has passed, it is very difficult to dig deeper into what actually occurred during the time period in order to reach a level of empathy that perceives slavery as something more than just a historical fact. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass serves as a fundamental primary source that pulls the reader into the everyday life of a slave and allows them to go beyond history to focus on the human foreground of the narrative. Douglass’ first person point of view is what makes the narrative so valuable and effective. The reader is able to witness exactly what Douglass endured during his time in captivity and during his time of freedom, which is necessary when studying this time period. History books and scholars tend to bypass mentioning the severe psychological suffering slaves were exposed to, simply wanting to focus on the monotonous details and facts that are already stored away in the brains of almost every citizen across the country. What becomes lost in translation is our ability to empathize and truly dive deeper into understanding and listening to the available voices that want to share their life stories and educate the world. What is so special about this particular piece is that he reader is able to catch two different glimpses of slavery: a slave in captivity and an escaped slave who eventually obtains their freedom and their life after slavery. Scholars also tend to overlook what happened to the now free slave after they escaped, the type of life they were able to live, and then the continual emotional suffering they endured. Frederick Douglass and Thomas Jefferson held similar beliefs in regards to equal rights, but what Douglass failed to realize was that Jefferson was quite indifferent about the righteousness and legalization of slavery, as he was a lifelong slaveholder. Douglass admired Jefferson and the Declaration of Independence, believing Jefferson was going to rid the nation of slavery and grant equal rights to slaves and blacks. Instead, Jefferson continued to draw a line between whites and blacks, instead insinuating in the Declaration that all whites are created equal and all blacks are created equal. Thomas Jefferson’s biography, written by Christopher Hitchens, drastically differs from Douglass’ autobiography primarily in the sense that it is not written in the first person, which loses some credibility, especially when comparing it to Douglass’ first hand account. The reader is able to gain a considerable amount of more insight when reading and studying a primary source, as they are able to witness what truly occurred during that time. Although Hitchens does an exceptional job at illustrating the life of Thomas Jefferson, he is not able to express Jefferson’s internal thoughts, struggles and emotions that are so vividly captured in The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. The reader is able to witness Douglass change from slave master to slave master and the difference of how they each treated him. The reader is able to witness Douglass’ failed attempts at escaping from Mr. Freeland’s and then getting brutally punished by Mr. Auld. The reader is able to witness Douglass finally escape and make is way to New York and the struggle to find a fair job. On the other hand, Hitchens only has the power to research Thomas Jefferson and create his own tale of his life, to where the reader gets a story of a story rather than a factual, real life occurrence. Hitchens is able to provide events of Jefferson’s life, such as his affair with Sally Hemings, but he is unable to provide the emotional aspect of the story, which is valuable in order to obtain a complete understanding of history. The commentary at the end of the narrative contains a mixture of reviews of Frederick Douglass’ narrative. There were many critics that highly praised Douglass and his work of art. They felt that it to be “simple, true, coherent, and warm with genuine feeling” (83), allowing the reader to truly experience the story of his life. Many of the critics also comment on the language that Douglass uses, finding it be impressive and eloquent given that he taught himself how to read and write. They found it to be strikingly powerful, giving voice to the millions of slaves that were unable to share their own stories. There were some critics, however, that did not think so highly of Douglass and his narrative, believing Douglass was being untruthful. A.C.C. Thompson writes that he lived one of the places that Douglass mentioned and knew some of the characters Douglass wrote about, explaining that every single aspect of the narrative was written by “some evil designed person or persons… (that) composed this catalogue of lies to excite the indignation of the public opinion against the slaveholders of the South” (88). Thompson continues to aggressively combat the narrative by pointing out specific details that he believes to be false. But, Douglass replies to every claim made in Thompson’s letter with class and humor, using Thompson’s own words against him to validate his story. Lastly, there were a few critics that wanted to give Douglass credit and praise the narrative, but only give it praise for what it was, which was a story written by a negro. These critics also remained skeptical of the validity of the narrative, inserting an “if” clause into their critiques, claiming that if the narrative was indeed truthful, then it was an excellent read. The cause for the numerous amount of skeptical criticism becomes apparent when one takes into account the time period of the narrative’s release. There were not many people that trusted blacks, or even wanted them to be successful, or even believed that they possessed the ability to be successful. These preluding opinions then carry over into their thoughts about Douglass and his narrative.

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass serves as a fundamental primary source that pulls the reader into the everyday life of a slave and allows them to go beyond history to focus on the human foreground of the narrative. Douglass allows the reader to truly witness the everyday struggles of his life, gifting them with the ability to empathize and connect on a human level to history. This first person narrative is an essential key to history, most importantly because it is not merely about history, but is an actual part of the past that brings light and a different, and most important, point of view.