Douglass' Self-Characterization in Chapter 1

Within the first paragraph of his Narrative, Douglass expresses how he doesn't know his exact age. This acts as a literary device to differentiate himself as a narrator from those of typical first person narrators. It also accentuates his status as a slave, providing his audience with a shocking detail many people overlook in discussing slavery. He explicitly determines this unawareness of his own age as essential to his status as a narrator and a character.

The following paragraphs explain that he also has little knowledge of both his parents. This further emphasizes the shocking details, both of his character and of slavery in general. His explanation that "I do not recollect of ever seeing my mother by the light of day. She was with me in the night" stands out as especially poignant (p. 1183). Details like this characterize Douglass as a man whose story necessitates telling and reveals the atrocities of slavery.

Unawareness becomes a crucial motif in the first chapter, culminating in the scene where Mr. Plummer violently whips Aunt Hester: "soon the warm, red blood (amid heart-rending shrieks from her, and horrid oaths from him) came dripping to the floor. I was so terrified and horror-stricken at the sight... I had never seen anything like it before" (p. 1185). The motif of unawareness accentuates the profound and personal effect of slavery. In this first chapter Douglass reveals details intrinsic to his upbringing and shows why his narrative is worth telling.