Douglass had never gone to school, and he was very sensitive about not having any training in public speaking. This wasn't just because of stage fright. At first, Douglass didn't want to stand up and tell his story. Garrison starts out by telling us about the first time he heard Frederick Douglass speak in public, at an anti-slavery convention.This sort of paradox gives us a sense of Douglass's problem: in order to prove that he wrote the book on his own, he needs the help of a white guy to say that he did. William Lloyd Garrison's preface is there to help Douglass prove that he wrote the book on his own.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |