Janelle FergusonApril 20, 2014Dr. MarottaHUMA 202.011 Story of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave After the novel Story of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Frederick Douglass quickly became recognized as an incredible abolitionist. In his novel, he expresses his theory about the most unfortunate era for all African Americans in America, known as slavery, and uses his life experiences for the benefit of demolishing slavery practices. In doing so, he is able to clearly express his oppressive views and how they parallel the issues leading to Christianity or white religion, education, and development. Frederick Douglass presents an astonishing portrayal of issues surrounding Christianity and religion. According to the novel's narrator, two forms of Christianity are represented in the text. There are both “true” and “false” versions of religion. From the slaves' perspective, Christianity is seen as their saving grace. Choosing to believe in God is their only reason to wake up in the morning and suffer through the exhausting list of tasks they must complete throughout the day. Participating in religious worship activities gives them the assurance that one day God will save them from the cruelty they have endured for so long. Frederick Douglass admits to practicing what is the “true” version of religion and white people who openly oppose slavery. On the other hand, the remaining slave owners or whites have subverted the purpose of Christianity and turned it into hypocrisy, where it has become a bastardization of the true ideals behind true Christian thoughts. The reader gets the gist of the story that slavery and true Christianity are opposed... middle of paper ... whipping or execution, but in the end he still strived for the education he wanted. Douglass's passion for learning helped him survive many of the horrible times he had to endure, and that reward ultimately paid off. He hoped that by writing his own story, this novel would open the eyes of those around him to the harshness of slavery that was taking place before their eyes. Despite Douglass's minimal education, he managed to amplify his passion, go from slave to free man, and in turn, made himself a major voice in educating others against the evils of slavery . He also managed to grant his readers the luxury of providing them with information in the novel Account of the Life of Frederick Douglass, about how religion and its literature, the Bible, had a negative influence and effect on the slavery as well as the development of white Christianity..