The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is a memoir and treatise on abolition written by famous orator and ex-slave, Frederick Douglass. It is generally held to be the most famous of a number of narratives written by former slaves during the same period. In factual detail, the text describes the events of his life and is considered to be one of the most influential pieces of literature to fuel the abolitionist movement of the early 19th century in the United States. The book encompasses eleven chapters that recount Douglass' life as a slave and his ambition to become a free man. Clearly, in the minds of many, Douglass' work in this Narrative was an incredibly influential piece of literature in the anti-slavery movement. One of the more significant reasons Douglass published his Narrative was to offset the demeaning manner in which white people viewed him. When he spoke in public, his white abolitionists established limits to what he could say on the platform.