Deliberate story writing

Douglass’s works are literary because he writes with intention. I noticed that in “Bondage”, Douglass focuses on his experiences on his childhood as well as on his ‘family’. The ideals of childhood and family are thought of as sacred within society. Douglass uses his personal experience to illustrate how slavery can destroy the purity of both. He shocks the reader when recounting seeing his brothers and sisters for the first time but knowing that “slavery has made us strangers” (1246). This also means that he is twisting the misconceptions of salves that the audience might have, such as the idea that familial bond is lacking because they aren't capable of it, and proves that the blame should be put on slavery itself. One way in which he does this is through the character of his mother. Though he doesn't know her at all, he shows that "a true mother's heart was hers" (1248). She walks 24 miles in the night time to see children she doesn't know and gives them any love she can. Through this story alone, he stomps on the misconception while also illustrating how slavery took away his chance at a relationship with his mother. He also takes the truest form of innocence, childhood, and shows how slavery taints it. I think what makes Douglass a literary writer is his deliberate story writing. He knows what will catch the sympathies of his audience and writes accordingly. This takes the creation of structure and detail that is seen in other great works of literature.