"Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass" is an autobiographical memoir written by a former slave Frederick Douglass. The book/ narrative recounts his own life as a slave and how he escaped and gained his freedom.

The book contains 11 chapters where Douglass takes us through his life from a slave and his experiences until he escaped to New York and got his freedom. Chapter 11, being the last chapter, is where he (Douglass) decided to tell us about his escape but then changed his plans again as he saw it might endanger those slaves who are still planning for their own escapes. He stated "were I to give a minute statement of all the facts, it is not only possible but quite probable, that others would thereby be involved in the most embarrassing difficulties. Secondly, such a statement would most undoubtedly induce greater vigilance on the part of slaveholders than has existed heretofore among them; which would, of course, be the means of guarding a door whereby some dear brother bondman might escape his galling chains". So, in lieu of the safety of other slaves, he decided not to reveal his methods of escaping.

Thus, the main reason for writing chapter 11 seems to be that Douglass wants to explain why he cannot reveal the exact method of his escape.

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2 years ago