Frederick Douglass

How the book draws them

Appearance, manner, and tone — as the book sketches them, in our words.

• A narrator reconsidering disclosureSecond Part, Chapter I supplies the escape method withheld in his earlier books. Douglass explains the former risks before describing the borrowed sailor's document and his appearance in sailor's clothing.
• A careful improviserIn the same chapter, he explains that the borrowed document does not describe him closely. He times his boarding to reduce scrutiny and relies on maritime knowledge to support his assumed role.
• An advocate entering official roomsThe wartime chapters present Douglass pressing Lincoln on the treatment of Black soldiers. He values personal respect from the president while continuing to argue about what the government should do.
• Looking back for other readersSecond Part, Chapter XIX explains that he has written partly to encourage readers whose ambitions need examples of success. His self-portrait is connected to an intended public use.
• An attentive travelerThe revised third part describes his pleasure in Paris's galleries, Egyptian monuments, and other sites. He repeatedly compares seeing places himself with what he had previously read or imagined.
• Answering public criticismThe final chapter of the revised edition gives his account of the Haiti negotiations. He supplies reasons for the failure and asks readers to judge evidence that he believes press criticism has omitted.