First published in 1855, this book tells the story of Fredrick Douglass' life first as a slave, then as a fugitive, and finally as a free man working to free the rest of the slaves in the American South from bondage. This book shows he was a very well educated man who could write very well, and engage his readers with his stories of his life and troubles. He shows what it is like to be a slave, and shows how violent and unfair the masters can be, and he shows that black people were capable of anything, which many white people did not believe at the time.
             Douglass' has memories of his first realizations that he and his family were slaves, and he writes about his life with candor and bitterness. He writes, "Slavery does away with fathers, as it does away with families. Slavery has no use for either fathers or families, and its laws do not recognize their existence in the social arrangements of the plantation" (Douglass 52). He writes about being separated from his family, enduring beatings and punishments, and of not being allowed to visit his own mother when she was ill and on her deathbed. He shows the injustice of slavery, and he does not do this so the reader will feel sorry for him, he does it to show how bad slavery was and why it should end. That shows that he was a very strong man with strong convictions, and that he could communicate very well, especially when he was writing about the experiences of slaves and how they contrasted with free men and women.
             Douglass is clearly a very strong man who believes in what is right and is not afraid to air his views. He discusses his escape from slavery and shows that he had a good plan and the good sense to keep his actions a secret from everyone, indicating his will to be free, another important aspect of his character. He writes of his first experience of freedom, "In less than a week after leaving Baltimore, I was walking amid the hurrying throng, and gazing upon the da...