Part of the Hero Classics series
"Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance
prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an
organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons
nor property will be safe."
Douglass cultivated himself to such an extent that the listeners of his
lectures doubted if his narratives were true. His autobiography is both
a compelling tale of a slave and a contribution to the public discourse
on slavery. His language is poetic and precise honed in its simplicity
as if something artificially put together but immensely natural at the
same time. Opening this book is opening the door into Douglass's
consciousness and tracking his inner journey of finding himself in the
world: a story of his childhood and youth - a long and laborious path to
freedom. Douglass talks about the explicit punishments and tortures that
slaves were exposed to. Despite the suffering, he emphasises the power
of self-education and continuous resistance that pushes one to fight
their predicament. The publication of this book was such an
unprecedented event that the author had to leave the US for Europe for
about two years. The fact that Douglass's experience and meditations
were issued in print gave him a wider audience, not restricting
dissemination of his beliefs to those who could physically come to his
public speeches.
The Hero Classics series:
Meditations
The Prophet
A Room of One's Own
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
The Art of War
The Life of Charlotte Bronte
The Republic
The Prince
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave
