Frederick Douglass, an influential man who stands out boldly as an abolitionist in the nineteenth century has provided us with a compelling example of how a slave's life was like during the eighteen hundreds. Through his writing and particularly in "My Bondage and My Freedom," he gives the reader an idea of what slavery was like 'first hand' by reliving the unforgettable moments of his life. His recounting of his experience as a slave, and his reflections on his role as a black former slave in America, are powerful.
Douglass was Born in Maryland in 1817, the son of a slave and a white father. At the age of eight, he started to educate himself with the help of his master's wife. In 1838, he fled Baltimore for the North. There he soon became a noted symbol against slavery. Later forced to flee to England and Ireland, he returned to the States with enough money to purchase his freedom.
Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass portrait
English: Portrait of Frederick Douglass as a young...He then founded the North Star, an anti-slavery newspaper. He also wrote two other autobiographies, "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass" (1845) and "Life and Times of Frederick Douglass" (1881). "My Bondage and My Freedom" (1855) serves as an extension to "The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave" and gives us more information on Douglass' life especially about the period after he reached the north in 1838. Obviously a more mature writer now, his views concerning the necessity of the abolition of the institution of slavery are deeper, richer, and more detailed. Douglass is also one of the few African-Americans who was able to stand out in the largely white, new England abolition movement. Douglass was a vivid writer and speaker, who very openly expressed his views and ideas about slavery to...