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In Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written by Himself, the mental life of the narrator is both a complex voice and a powerful tool. Douglass is consumed by seemingly contradictory roles. His literacy and eloquence cast him outside the group he attempts to represent. Therefore, he must craft his character and narrative voice in a state of constant duality. This duality is in the space between his slave life and his free life, his ignorance and his education, his story and his purpose. He needs to communicate an authentic slave life to qualify as a representative of the slave community. But to appeal to his white audience, he must retain this authenticity despite the intellectual growth that will set him apart from his fellow slaves. The separation from the group is both dangerous for his legitimacy and necessary for observation. Douglass must be detached from his slave history without losing his connection to it. He also lifts himself closer to his white audience while remaining an obviously separate entity. He is simultaneously narrating a story, acting as protagonist, and defending an argument. He embraces this complex voice in establishing a narrator stuck between two distinctly separate realms. It is crucial to note that Douglass' narrative is a tool in this fight for freedom, and he is thus admittedly invested in making it convincing. The narrative voice he adopts speaks to this task. He is careful to craft a particular mentality that dually renders him authentic in representing a slave's life and qualified to win the respect of readers. His position as both observer and participant is carefully cultivated until the reader is convinced he has a distinct perspective: he can experience and analyze at the same time. Douglass skillfully separates from and identifies with the slaves in his life story. He will refer to slaves just like him as 'Colonel Lloyd's slaves,' and a few lines earlier he had referred to his own position as one of these slaves as 'my stay on Colonel Lloyd's plantation' (2011). This is one example of a subtle swaying in the narrator's voice, when Douglass occupies the roles of both visitor and participant. He cultivates this double voice from the very beginning of his Narrative. Early in his life story, even though he is still a slave, he will often refer to 'the slaves' as though he is outside of this group. One example of this observer-quality is in the section on slave songs, 'to which [he traces his] first glimmering conception of the dehumanizing character of slavery' (2006). Douglass causes his non-slave readers to experience this glimmer by aligning his perspective with theirs. He is an innocent observer impressed by something completely unfamiliar. This childhood gaze is thus a useful tool, as it connects Douglass to his audience by paralleling their innocent state.
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