Name: My Bondage and My Freedom
Author: Frederick Douglass
ISBN: 9780192552525

My Bondage and My Freedom

Frederick Douglass

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Author Description

'it Was Said To Me, Better Have A Little Of The Plantation Manner Of Speech Than Not; 'tis Not Best That You Seem Too Learned.' Appearing In 1855, My Bondage And My Freedom Is The Second Autobiography Written By Frederick Douglass (1818-95), A Man Who Was Born Into Slavery In Maryland And Who Went On To Become The Most Famous Antislavery Author, Orator, Philosopher, Essaysist, Historian, Intellectual, Statesman And Freedom-fighter In Us History. An Instant Bestseller, Douglass's Autobiography Tells The Story Of His Early Life As Lived In 'bondage' And Of His Later Life As Lived In A 'freedom' That Was In Name Only. Recognizing That His Body And Soul Were Bought And Sold By White Slaveholders In The Us South, He Soon Realized His Story Was Being Traded By White Northern Antislavery Campaigners. Douglass's My Bondage And My Freedom Is A Literary, Intellectual And Philosophical Tour-de-force In Which He Betrays His Determination Not Only To Speak But To Write 'just The Word That Seemed To Me The Word To Be Written By Me.' This New Edition Examines Douglass's Biography, Literary Strategies And Political Activism Alongside His Depiction Of Black Women's Lives And His Narrative Histories Of Black Heroism. This Volume Also Reproduces Frederick Douglass's Only Work Of Fiction, The Heroic Slave, Published In 1853.

Menrva's Summary

THE THESIS

How does the experience of enslavement shape the intellectual and moral development of an individual seeking autonomy in a society built on human bondage? Frederick Douglass, a formerly enslaved man turned orator and statesman, provides a detailed account of his life to challenge the dehumanizing narratives of the antebellum South. He utilizes his personal history to argue for the inherent humanity of enslaved people and to critique the systemic hypocrisy of American institutions that claimed to value liberty while maintaining chattel slavery.

THE SCOPE MAP

What You Will Find

Detailed accounts of life on Maryland plantations and the psychological impact of slavery.
Analysis of the transition from physical bondage to the complex realities of freedom in the North.
Primary source reflections on the political landscape of the 19th-century abolitionist movement.
Inclusion of the novella 'The Heroic Slave' as a companion text.

Scope Limits

The text does not provide a comprehensive history of the entire abolitionist movement, focusing primarily on Douglass's personal trajectory.
It does not cover the later years of his life following the American Civil War.

THE AUTHORITY PERSPECTIVE

Scholars and historians regard this work as a foundational text for understanding the intellectual history of the American abolitionist movement. Readers frequently note the sophisticated prose and the philosophical depth that distinguishes this account from other contemporary slave narratives.

Page Count:
432

Publication Date:
2019-01-01

Publisher:
Oxford University Press

ISBN-10:
019255252X

ISBN-13:
9780192552525

Memoir

History

Autobiography

19th Century

African American

Slavery