Do you think Frederick Douglass's My Bondage and My Freedom is authentic? If so, how do you explain the inconsistancies between his three autobiographies?

Essay by silvanijUniversity, Bachelor's July 2002

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Fact or Fiction: You Decide!

I believe the book, My Bondage and My Freedom, by Frederick Douglass is an authentic retelling of his life. It is the story of a boy who was born a slave. He was one of very few who knew how to read and write. He stood up against those keeping him down, such as Mr. Covey. "I now forgot my roots, and remembered my pledge to stand up in my own defense." (Douglass, pg. 242) escaped slavery, and started his own newspaper. Frederick Douglass became a very important abolitionist and titled, "the representative colored man of the United States." (Gates, pg.1) Frederick Douglass was living his American Dream, which means to him freedom, equality, and happiness. It was best said by Thomas Jefferson, in The Declaration of Independence. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."(Jefferson,

pg.45) Douglass wrote two more biographies, Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written by Himself, and The Life and Times of Frederick Douglass. Even though there a many inconsistencies between the three auto-biographies, I still believe My Bondage and My Freedom to be true to life because of the impeccable details, the literary style, and because it is different from other slave books.

My Bondage and My Freedom, written by Frederick Douglass has flawless details. These details are so true to life, that it would be hard to make up. Also, Douglass was scrutinized for four years after his first auto-biography came out, and his story was always the same. "Before the abolitionists published Douglass's Narrative, they put him on the lecture circuit for four years: that...