Frederick Douglass was born into slavery in the early 1800s. He has, " no accurate knowledge of my age, never having seen any authentic record containing it." (19) His life lasted nearly eighty years, ironically from the time that slavery was universal in American states, to the time it was becoming a memory. Beginning as a slave on various plantations to his freedom from slavery he is portrayed as a hardworking and innately good man. Frederick Douglass escaped slavery and through many years of determined efforts he helped to free millions more. .
I think that Douglass" Narrative is an effective argument for the abolition of slavery because there are many instances in which he uses his experiences to enforce the view that slavery should be abolished. He also uses other slaves as examples in order to support this strong unpopular belief. He gives the message of realism in his work. He does not come directly out and say he is against slavery but it is evident in his writings. Throughout the narrative he looks at the different perspectives of slavery. Douglass was a very successful abolitionist. Douglass" writings reflected many American views that were influenced by national division. He changed America's views of slavery through his actions and writings. Douglass successfully published an abolitionist newsletter entitled the North Star. His life was definitely an integral part of the anti-slavery movement.
Frederick Douglass shows the excessive irony of being a slave in the white South. Being able to see this for its true worth was the start of a long road to abolition. Many of the slaveholders felt slavery was their duty and that God approved. Who would have thought that such a large population could be in denial and totally oblivious to the cold hard truth lying directly in front of them? .
The book was biased against the slave holder but Douglass seemed to write fairly of his experiences especially since he was able to relate both good and bad experiences with his slave owners.