Ever since the beginning of our great country there have been many different ways of life. Starting with the first settlers and their struggle to achieve competency in the 1700's, followed by the farming and plantation life in the 1800's, and the establishment of family life in the suburbs in the 1900's. These various ways to live in America have evolved and shaped our country into the success it is today. Despite all of this, there were some dark spots in our history. The idea of slavery in our country was one of the worst thoughts a person could have. Even though it is despicable, slavery was a huge part of the south's production on plantations in the 1800's. Without slaves, life in the north and south would have been totally different. Both regions were heavily dependent on slaves working and generating goods. Although everyone knew slave's lives were bad, few knew the actual specifics and every day events of a slave's life. Two famous slaves, Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs wrote narratives detailing the nature of a slave's life.
When writing a narrative, the author must be sure to target an audience. The audience for any story is important, because the audience dictates the style in which the narrative is written and the actual content of the paper. Douglass's book is written for any non-slave. The book is a story of Douglass's life and difficulties of being a slave. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, is filled with stories about Douglass's various masters, beatings of Douglass and fellow slaves, attempts of Douglass to become literate, and separation from siblings. .
At one point in the story, Douglass tells a tale about a slave that was shot by his master. The slave was to receive a beating, but ran away into a pond and refused to come back to land. The master threatened to shoot the slave if he did not come back for his beating.
