NARRATIVE OF THE LIFE OF FREDERICK DOUGLASS, AN AMERICAN SLAVE by Frederick Douglass

A moving account of a man’s life of slavery and his escape to freedom, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave deserves its place on American Literature reading lists. It is not only a call to African Americans, but is a plea to every human being to search their souls for what God truly intended for us all to be. Its short length, at just barely over 100 pages, packs in a much larger book’s emotional impact. More than a hundred years after its publication, the messages still resonate.

The scenes of the harsh treatment of the slaves seem crueler in the matter-of-fact way they are presented, and I got the impression that he wasn’t telling us the worst of it. Reading Douglass’ thoughts as he worked so hard to learn to read and write made me eternally grateful that I had the ability to read and understand his words, both that I could read them and that he was finally able to write them. It makes me angry to see and hear about so many kids and other people in our society taking education for granted when it wasn’t all that long ago that it was denied to so many. If you read nothing else, read the Appendix in which Douglass explains his views regarding religion. Even I wanted to stand up and holler, "Amen!" As with the Ralph Ellison short story I recently read, I set this book down at the end humbled and introspective. And I went out and purchased Roots by Alex Haley.

Lezlie