Frederick Douglass's narration revealed the extent of the cruelty and the brutality that he witnessed during his period of slavery. Frederick Douglass was born in 1818 in Tuckahoe, Maryland, as a slave to Captain Aaron Anthony, who was also rumored to be his father. His mother was Harriet Bailey a slave from whom Frederick was separated from before he knew she was his mother (Douglass 47). For several years, Frederick worked in plantations owned by his mother's master, until he was eventually sent to Hugh Auld in 1825 to live in Baltimore (Douglass 72). Auld's wife Sophia Auld, not knowing that teaching slaves to read was prohibited, unintentionally taught Frederick to spell words and in doing so opened his way to freedom (Douglass 78). For several years Douglass unsuccessfully attempted to escape from slavery but in 1838, he finally escaped to Philadelphia, then to New York and then on to Massachusetts (Douglass 143). Shortly after moving to Bedford, Massachusetts, Douglass joined a black abolitionist group, where he was hired to give speeches to the Antislavery Society (Douglass 151). However, some of the abolitionists began accusing Frederick of never being a slave, since his speeches and behavior did not match those with the behaviors of the other slaves. They couldn't believe that a slave could be so intelligent, well behaved, and educated (Douglass 19). As a result of the accusations and the claims that he was a fraud, Frederick Douglass decided to reveal his life as a slave in his narrations (Douglas, 19). After reading his narrative, I have learned that during the slavery period African slaves were brutally exploited, denied education and human rights, and deprived of basic human needs.
             Douglass's narrative showed several descriptions of brutality, whipping and killing of slaves. At the beginning of his narration Douglass explained how his master took complete control over his life since he was bor...