d wastes no letters expressing his thoughts. Douglass allows his pen to flow freely when writing about the injustice of slavery’s oppressive cruelty, yet does not stress the cruelties themselves as greatly as their effects. In My Bondage and My Freedom, the author fully describes the injustices and includes more realistic passages. He also retains the somewhat naturalistic arguments against the dehumanizing effects of slavery “Our destiny was now to be fixed for life, and we had no more voice in the decision of the question, than the oxen and cows that stood chewing at the hay.” (Bondage, 237-238) Again the base of naturalism in the book appears evident. The third autobiography, Life and Times, appears as a gloating book reviewing Frederick Douglass’s successes in life. However, he still repeats the first years of his life as a reminder of his humble roots. “Life and Times is the memoir of a famous man relishing his honors while smarting from those denied him” (McFeely, 7). Douglass smugly recalls all his political endeavors, and the mood of the book ends in one of elation. However, the author, as always, informs the reader with a straightforward style which pervades the book. This direct style becomes most apparent in his work Narrative of the Life, but nevertheless lies in all his autobiographies. The greatness of his first autobiography becomes apparent when comparing the book to the criteria. Of all his works, this short novel of his early life stands out as a classic deserving of a place in the canon. Douglass’s new subject matter, a true first hand account of slavery and its consequences, strikes the reader deeper than a fictional account of such events because of its depth of understanding. Although other slaves published accounts of their slavery, oppression, and escapes, Douglass stands out as the first to write his own story. Many other black writers presented their subject matter thro...
