The History of Now: A Review of the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

The defining quality of literature has been its ability, throughout history, to shed light on problems created by the human condition. To achieve this end, the art of writing seeks to invert magnification by stirring emotion. For example, it may be observed that a piece written primarily on one man’s experience will employ grand metaphors and far-reaching themes. In contrast, the criticism of an entire institution will narrow itself to the details of a single life. Thereby, utilizing a kind of emotional tunnel vision to clarify suffering in relatable terms rather than in the big, impersonal numbers of news reports. It is through this method that the most enduring works of our time have been created. The greatest authors channel into a single character an idea that may remain in the public perception centuries after the original dispute has been laid to rest. If all due consideration is given, then the name of Frederick Douglass must make its way into the list of such great authors. 

The life of Frederick Douglass, former slave and famed orator, began and ended nearly two hundred years before the present day. Yet, in his first autobiography, aptly titled Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, he grapples with issues that remain increasingly relevant in a modern, technologically connected society that those of Douglass’ time could scarcely have imagined. Told in beautiful form and stunningly crafted prose, Douglass’s grasp of the English language reaches impeccable heights, every word carefully placed to punctuate a sketch, an idea of the world he advances. He reflects on topics such as the nature of freedom, the consequences of rhetoric and propaganda, and the masks people take to justify violence. The book was originally published for a two-fold reason: to establish Douglass’ credibility and to unearth the horrors of slavery. At the moment of its publication, it achieved both objectives, sending Douglass into the forefront of the abolitionist movement. It is indubitable that the biography played a pivotal role in the framework of African American history, doing more than its due part in humanizing the enslaved, and in bringing their plight to the minds of the average citizen. Its lessons, however, do not belong only in the confines of the past. Ms. Taylor, Masterman’s teacher of AP African American Studies, remarks that in merely holding the book, “we are literally holding his resistance in our hands.” It is through this resistance that she hopes students will see the power of a continual fight and how even those without power can still make a difference. As with all great pieces of literature, what we take away from this story can not only help us analyze history but also confront the future.