Frederick Douglass: Truly Inspirational
             Many may wonder about the relevance of yet another slave narrative amongst so many others. The fact remains that Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, written by Douglass himself, was a breakthrough in slave writing at the time it was first published (1845). The language in the book is beautiful, almost poetic, yet at the same time raw and heartbreaking, which is atypical for a narrative written by the slave himself. This book affected me in many different ways; it made me sad, angry, happy, and relieved, sometimes more than one at once. Someone just picking up the book might think that it's just another typical slave narrative, but the book depicts more than just one slave's story: it's the story of Frederick Douglass, once a slave, now a free man, and a true inspiration, even today.
             Douglass first realizes what slavery is all about when he witnesses his own aunt being whipped mercilessly: The louder she screamed, the harder he whipped; and where the blood ran fastest, there he whipped longest (51). This was the blood-stained gate, the entrance to the hell of slavery (51) that he came into contact with and was thrown into. He comes to the horrific realization that this was a commonplace occurrence on the plantation and knows that this is his fate as well unless he does something about it. This also inspirational because it sets up Douglass' life, showing his white readers what he had to face in order to become a free man.
             Douglass also feels that he is chosen by God to do his good works. Being picked to move to Baltimore proves that fact. By going to Baltimore, he learns to read and write, a factor in first, his despair at slavery life, and second, his fight for freedom. Not only was it unlawful to teach a slave to read, let alone write, it showed Douglass how whites enslaved blacks by their ignorance: he understood the pathway from slavery to freedom
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