Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass’s Narrative really revolutionized and introduced a whole new genre of literature, the slave-narrative. His narrative influenced other fiction slave narratives such as Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin and Harriet Jacob’s Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. Douglass himself is known today as one of the greatest leaders of the abolitionist movement. In the Narrative Douglass speaks about his real story of being born into slavery and eventually getting himself out of it along with all the obstacles he overcame along the way. Douglass came across to me as a heroic figure in this story and also was very inspirational to people of the time it was written and even now to this day. He was very determined to get himself the best life he possibly could have and would stop at nothing to do so. When he was told he shouldn’t learn how to read, he went and found a way to do so anyway. Frederick even finally stood up to one of his masters and told him that he would no longer tolerate being treated like an animal and be beat. Those two events alone were very inspirational to me and very reassuring that I can do anything I want to do as long as I stay determined and work hard for it. I am also the type of person like Frederick in that if someone tells me I can’t do something, I have to prove them wrong, I’m determined to prove them wrong. Especially with me going into the medical field which is really white male dominated, and myself being a black female, I’ve already heard from people that I will never make it and that I should choose another route and that further just motivates me to prove them wrong and work even harder than I have been. Its individuals like Frederick Douglass and other leaders of Civil rights that really keep me going and also prove that anything is possible.