Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Frederick Douglass by William
The book is about the life and times of Frederick Douglass. The book provides a narration of the life of Douglass as a slave, how he freed himself and the passion that he pursued as a free man. Frederick Douglass was a slave during his younger years until he escaped to New York in his early twenties and later settled with his wife in New Bedford, Massachusetts. As a free person, Douglass joined trade abolitionist movements and became a strong preacher and anti-slavery campaigner. The book gives an account of the works that Douglass did and his philosophy. Moreover, the book presents his ideologies against the evils of slavery and how he worked to promote freedom and equality for all.
The book is largely focused on the historical era of slavery. The entire book focuses on the experiences of Douglass as a child in the slavery times and narrates how he spent his younger years as a slave. The historical context of the book is the time when slavery was highly practiced with white masters having legal claims over blacks as property and not as human beings. The book also reflects the context of the peak of the anti-slavery and abolitionist movements which Douglass was part of. It is in the abolition context that the book finds its meaning and significance to the society.
The story is told from a combination of different perspectives. The story is told from the perspective of a politician, other writers and slightly from the perspective of a slave. However, the dominant perspective is that of a politician. The story reflects the politician’s perspective by presenting the issues that Douglass was engaged to end through the abolitionist movements. The political mind appears to cover the story’s quest to present Douglass as a human rights champion and a freedom fighter. The activities and trips that he was engaged in presents a life of a politician with a mission for equal rights.
William writes that “Douglass’s leadership often assumed a more moderate and emblematic quality that tended to overshadow its earlier, more activist and reformist quality” (William, page 169). However, the book presents the perspective of a writer of the book since William writes on the account that was already written by Douglass himself.
The most interesting aspects of the book are those that reflect the incredible abilities of Douglass as a free slave. First, the most interesting thing about the book is the way it presents a slave who frees himself and becomes one of the most respected human rights activists. Every part of the book that describes his ideologies and his attitudes towards humanity is very interesting. This is because a person would wonder how he was able to shift from the dangerous life of a slave to a life of a famous writer. The second thing that is interesting is how he Douglass was able to learn how to read and write while he was a slave. Amazingly, he became so good at it that he wrote and published books, which many learned whites could not do at the time.
The book also has several interesting parts. Thirdly, interesting part of the book is when Douglass writes a letter to his former master, Thomas Auld when he was a slave. He wrote challenging him on the need to free slaves, especially those that were related to Douglass (William 1995). The most interesting aspect of this part is where Douglass asks the former master of how he would feel if her he came to his homestead and took the daughter, Amanda as a slave. The fourth interesting part of the book is when Douglass gave his speech at the Bristol Antislavery Society, where William Lloyd Garrison discovered him.
The fifth most interesting thing about the book is the presentation of Douglass as not just an abolitionist, but also as a women’s rights campaigner. William notes that, “I have about made up my mind, that if you can forgive me for being a Negro–I cannot do less than forgive you for being a woman” (William, 1995 p. 249).
However, there are some boring things and parts of the book. The first boring thing about the book is the presentation of the slavery as a social-economic practice instead of an evil inhuman behavior. Despite being a practice that gave the historical context of the book, it is an evil practice for humanity. The second boring thing about the book is how the whites treated blacks as property. It takes heart to read the book in modern times, since it exposed the suffering that blacks faced at the hands of some evil white ideology. Thirdly, it is boring to learn of the events of the book through a narration that is given by another writer, in this case William writing about Douglass.
The fourth most boring part of the book is when Douglass escapes to Europe in the fear of the former white master Thomas. It is the feeling of the reader that the years he spent as a free slave would mean no turning back no matter the pressure. It means that even though the slaves were free, they would be claimed back by the whites. This introduces the fifth part of the book that is boring, the treatment of slaves as property. At one point, when Douglass had escaped, he was captured and was almost sold to slave traders. It is boring to read through and comprehend how white masters, aided by the law would treat human beings like that.
I would like to read more about the individuals covered in the book. Particularly, I would like to read another book about the life of Douglass and his life in freedom, not as a salve. In addition, I would like to read about other abolitionist champions who helped Douglass to live the life he led. Particularly, I would like to read about William Lloyd Garrison, who was instrumental in shaping Douglass as an abolitionist.
The author can improve this book by making it more authoritative. This can be made through the use of a stronger voice that condemns slavery and the slave trade. The writer can use stronger words that will make the reader hate slavery and appreciate freedom. Moreover, the writer can describe the life of Douglass with light words that express his happiness and delight as a free person in comparison to his life as a slave.
The author has some information that is left out. The book does not give the most inner details in relation to the events that Douglass faced. For instance, the book does not give finer details of what Douglass was doing while he was in Ireland as he escaped the threat of being claimed back by his former master. Moreover, the book omits the provisions of the law that legalizes claiming of slaves a property at the time. However, the book is interesting and provides an account that every person should read.
Reference
William S. M. (1995). Frederick Douglass. New York: Norton.