Abstract
This paper looks at Frederick Douglass' autobiography which describes his childhood of slavery. It is shown how Douglass confronts the ideas of power, family, knowledge, home, violence, and having a sense of self. The author illustrates how Douglass attempts to warn Americans about the dire effects that slavery is going to have on the whole nation and how his book makes astounding progress in the fight to abolish slavery.

From the Paper
"The power a slave owner has over slaves is broad Douglass explains how slavery itself narrows opportunities for slaves to have any sense of self. Like many slaves, Douglass did not know his birth date, which strips him of his own identity from a young age. Slave owners purposely withhold this personal information, attempting to keep slaves from feeling human " they don't want slaves to have the power of human rights. To the slaveholders, they are just property, like cows, horses and sheep. The slaveholders utilize their power by keeping children away from their parents, too, because any sense of family would have given slaves security, and camaraderie " both of which could have caused rebellion against the cruelty of slavery. Douglass knew little of his mother, which prevented him from knowing about his history, his ancestry."

Tags:autobiography Douglass, Frederick Abolitionism slave narratives

Abstract
This paper examines Frederick Douglass' experiences with his owners and overseers in "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave". The paper cites the brutality, indignities and horrors slaves endured and looks at the difference between plantation slave holders and city slave holders. The paper notes Douglass' awareness of the value of education as a path to freedom.

From the Paper
"In "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave" written by himself, Douglass relates his observations and experiences with his owners and overseers in Maryland, experiences that range from mildly cruel to virulently cruel, but always cruel. Although Douglass escapes his life as a slave, his book contains a perspective on the slave system as well as a vivid documentation of the indignities and horrors of life as a slave. Douglass did not experience the life of a..."

Tags:Douglass, Autobiography, Slave, Ovreseers

Abstract
This paper details the dramatic events that led Frederick Douglass to pave the way for the successful Abolition Movement in America and the post-Civil War abolition of American slavery in 1865. This paper examines the life of Douglass who was born a slave. Douglass, as a young man seeking freedom ran away first to the North and then to England to escape the bonds of slavery. This paper details Douglass' childhood during the era of slavery as well as his determination to learn to read and write, which at the time was unheard of. This paper examines various autobiographical works of writing by Douglass and others including Harriet Jacobs and Phillis Wheatley, which detailed slavery in America. This paper delves into the various works written during the 19th century and which are now used in colleges around the country. The writer contends and explains that Douglass lived and wrote in a time and place where to attempt to subvert the American slavery system as he did was to invite torturous abuse, if not death. This paper also discusses how for the cause of African-American freedom from slavery, Douglass put his safety and his family's safety, on the line again and again.

From the Paper
"Sadly and ironically, then, as these and numerous other slave biographies and autobiographies attest, Frederick Douglass; Linda Brent; Phillis Wheatley, Sojourner Truth and numerous other 19th century African Americans, many of whose speeches and writings are now integral to college and university courses in literature; African American studies; history; sociology, education, and other subjects, never saw for themselves, as students, the inside of a college or university classroom. Well into the 19th century, access to higher (or any) formal education was but a pipe dream for the vast majority of those born slaves. Indeed, from the outset of American slavery, but particularly during the Industrial Revolution, with field labor then needed more than ever to meet the high demand for cotton and textiles, slaves managing to become even minimally literate did so against the expressed will of their masters."

Tags:history, slavery, autobiography, black, american, literature

Abstract
This paper provides a discussion and comparison and contrast of the different conventions used by three authors in their autobiographies and the effect of these choices. The works used are Mary Rowlandson's "The Sovereignty and Goodness of God", Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Blithedale Romance", and Frederick Douglass' "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave".

From the Paper
"Perhaps autobiography permits as many conventions for the author to express his or her life story as any other form of literature. An examination of Mary Rowlandson's "The Sovereignty and Goodness of God", Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Blithedale Romance" and Frederick Douglass' "Narrative of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave" demonstrates the variety of conventions available to authors writing autobiography. This analysis will compare and contrasts the various conventions used by Rowlandson, Hawthorne and Douglass in the above works. Autobiography is problematic from the..."

Tags:slavery, education, religion, God, dramatic recreation, journalism, diary, characterization, Hawthorne, Douglass

Abstract
This paper is a brief summary and compare and contrast of contemporary African-American writer Alice Walker's short essay "Beauty: When the Other Dancer is the Self" and 19th century African-American freed slave and abolitionist Frederick Douglass' "Learning to Read and Write" from his first autobiography. Both pieces are autobiographical and describe their unique views on the subjects of beauty and literacy.

From the Paper
"In the two short pieces by Alice Walker, "Beauty: When the Other Dancer is the Self" and Frederick Douglass, "Learning to Read and Write" we see two narratives of transformation and coming into self, if not coming of age, of people that would become among the most famous African American authors in the country. Although they are separated by over 100 years and have many surface differences including gender, freedoms and civil liberties by birthright, and geographic distance, these authors share certain similarities that come through in these two pieces. When Alice Walker was a small child she was beautiful, confident, self-aware and full of life and positive spirit, as she describes in her memory of her Easter speech the year she was six. She recalls that she was a tomboy, running around and playing with her brothers like she was one of them, perhaps not as focused, at age eight, on being..."

Tags:walker, douglass, essays

Abstract
This paper discusses the significance of Fredrick Douglass' first autobiography, "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave", in the history of America and the abolitionist movement. The paper compares Douglass with the Roman philosopher and former slave, Epictetus, who equates education with freedom. The paper concludes that, like Epictetus, Douglass presents the theory that knowledge is the path to freedom.

From the Paper
"As Douglass obtains more knowledge and understanding, he quickly becomes dissatisfied with his world. While his eyes were opened to the many inequalities and wrongful actions that take place within the world of slavery, he is left with no answers as to why his freedom has been compromised. Douglass's inability to grasp the concept of his captivity causes him to become hostile and angry. Douglass expresses his frustration towards the white boys helping him to learn, "You will be free as soon as you are twenty-one, but I am a slave for life!" (Douglass, 53). Although Douglass rightfully conveys dissatisfaction towards his slavery, his main objective to learn is still being fulfilled."

Tags:slavery, abolition, abolishment, freedom

Abstract
This paper explains that, when comparing Douglass' life with the autobiographical accounts of other slaves, at least most of the time, Douglass does not seem to have experienced as much hardship as many other slaves had experienced. The author points out that Douglass' autobiography provides a view of slavery through the eyes of a relatively personally fortunate slave, one who may have been favored because his master was his biological father, though no such thing could have been admitted at the time. The paper suggests that Douglass clearly achieved more in his life than any of the other slaves, giving testimonial evidence because of his resiliency and his yearning for freedom, respect and dignity.

From the Paper
"True accounts of life in bondage for other slaves, including Linda Brent (also known as Harriet Jacobs) seems to have been more difficult overall than it was for Frederick Douglass. In Linda Brent's own case, after her relatively happy and protected childhood, she was then sexually abused by her master, beginning in her earliest adolescence, and began a life of daily misery for that reason. Obviously Frederick Douglass, being male, would never have been subjected to that particular form of abuse within slavery, but in contrast, neither Douglass's childhood master on the plantation nor his later master and mistress in Baltimore seem to have treated him badly."

Tags:overseer, education, father, resiliency, brent

Abstract
This paper reviews Frederick Douglass' famous autobiography, "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave", in which he describes the institution of slavery, his personal experience as a slave, his understanding of how the system perpetuated itself and his eventual intellectual growth and freedom from it. The paper describes how Douglass relieved his heart of the burden of slavery by expressing himself through language.

From the Paper
"The knowledge that sets Douglass apart from his fellow enslaved people did not make life any easier for him for some time. His ability to read allowed him to read the newspapers and "the more I read, the more I was led to abhor and detest my enslavers. I could regard them in no other light than a band of successful robbers, who had left their homes, and gone to Africa, and stolen us from our homes, and in a strange land reduced us to slavery" (55). This ability to read and synthesize his thoughts reinforces the cruel irony of his situation. He "writhed under" his learning and he says "I envied my fellow-slaves for their stupidity. I have often wished myself a beast" (55). Having such knowledge but being powerless to use it made him wretched, especially when he returned to the plantation and was treated as an actual subhuman brute."

Tags:alphabet, knowledge, injustice

Abstract
The paper discusses how apart from being a source of inspiration, the book "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave" is also valuable from a historical point of view, since Douglass' testimony is one of the few first-hand accounts of the struggle for racial equality in early nineteenth century America. The paper establishes how this book fits into the genre of slave narratives, and discusses its main themes of education, freedom and equality of chances.

From the Paper
"Frederick Douglass was one of the most prominent figures of American civil rights struggle. He was born into slavery around 1818. He escaped from slavery in 1838, in his early thirties. Apart from his influential career as a writer, Douglass - who had no formal education or training - became a diplomat, a counselor to four presidents, and a respected orator. He advocated racial equality, and his influence is present in the works of political activists and African-American writers who followed. However, his inspiration was not restricted to African-Americans. Douglass's "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave" which tackles issues such as oppression, the struggle for freedom, as well as the search for identity, has resonated with all people regardless of their skin color. The book was first published in 1845, sixteen years prior to the beginning of the Civil War. Apart from being a source of inspiration, the book itself is also incredibly valuable from a historical point of view."

Tags:African, Americans, education, knowledge, freedom, equality

Abstract
Both Frederick Douglass and Benjamin Franklin offer autobiographies that provide insight into the very heart and soul of the men. Frederick Douglass was never more artfully subtle or persuasive than in "Narrative of the Life of an American Slave." The religious slave owners, according to Douglass, attested "that God cursed Ham, and therefore American slavery is right." Franklin's autobiography is undoubtedly his best-known single work and part one, which reads like an eighteenth-century picaresque narrative, is undoubtedly its most interesting part. 6 pgs.