INFLUENCES ON WRITING

Frederick Douglass

Race

Gender

Inside Douglas' autobiography, the main character is a young boy who must overcome difficult life challenges in order to achieve not only his freedom, but also his manhood. Douglas focuses mainly on strong men who display great leadership qualities, which can relate to his slavery filled past. As Douglas recalls, "It is easier to build strong men, then to repair broken ones".

Douglass was not a racist individual, whether the skin color was white or black. Despite Douglass being born and raised ostracized for his skin color, he was not bitter towards whites. Instead, he greatly appreciated a good majority of them. The white children even taught him to read and write.

Class

Education

Douglas was born as a slave in the year 1818. He was separated from his mother at a young age, forced to take care of himself as he lived a life of slavery. This is a common occurrence for slave children, as Douglas recounts his days saying "Frequently, before the child has reached its twelfth month, it's mother is taken from it." Despite Douglas escaping the plantation at the age of 20, he remained poor a majority of his life.

At the age of twelve, Douglass was sent to Baltimore to serve the family of Hugh and Lucretia Auld. It was Mrs. Auld who first taught him the alphabet, in spite of the fact that she was breaking the law by doing so. Douglass, aware of the power of a good education, secretly taught himself to read and write, resolving to one day escape to freedom.