Frederick Douglass’ revolutionary novel, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass; An American Slave, sent a seismic shock through American society, altered many people’s perception of the “peculiar institution”, and utilized a stylistic combination of flawless rhetoric and his poignant first-hand account of childhood shattered by slavery. Douglass’ childhood was marred by an all-encompassing sense of nothingness, he did not know his parentage, mother, age, or birthday; he felt inferior to white children, and lusted after the simple knowledge about themselves the whites regarded so casually. Through revealing specific details of his childhood experiences Douglass creates an emotional connection with his intended audience, Christian, white, Northerners, and by use of pathos, strengthens that bond with every paragraph. Douglass begins his haunting tale with one of the few cemented truths of his childhood; his birthplace. He was born in Tuckahoe, Maryland, to Harriet Bailey, an attractive slave woman with a dark complexion and light, loving demeanor. However, these small truths were overshadowed by dark, looming clouds of uncertainty, which posed more questions than it ever answered. A young Douglass was left confused; Who was his biological father? Why was he so cruelly separated from him mother? What was his true age? Was the master actually his Father? These questions pestered Douglass for years, and as the excerpt explains, he had no venue through which to glean the information. “I was not allowed to make any inquiries of my master…He deemed all such inquiries on the part of a slave improper and impertinent.” Douglass spent his childhood swathed in mystery, he never had the chance to enjoy the warmth of a mother’s love, swathed, bundled, protected. Douglass accounts his separation from his mother for a variety of reasons; includ>