January Book Club - Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

At our meeting on Wednesday, January 20th, eleven of us discussed a pair of American classics, Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe and Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. Both present wrenching pictures of the life of enslaved people, with Douglass’ having the sting of reality. Stowe’s writing is saccharine and emotional, intended to move the reader and to move the national discussion; in crisp, unadorned prose, Douglass contributed to the abolitionist cause and also moves us to admiration for him. Stowe writes passionately about the hypocrisy of northerners and the Christian church; both emphasize how the institution of slavery dehumanizes owners and undermines otherwise decent people. The two books complement one another and worked well as a pair.