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The most impactful portions of Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass are the sections where the reader can see the shift/change in Douglass's outlook on life despite his circumstances. For example, Douglass extensively discussed freedom in correlation with the development of his sense of self and masculinity. From not earning money as an enslaved person, to earning $1.50 per day, Douglass wrote about how he maintained hope for freedom and also credited those who taught him how to read and write at a young age. Furthermore, Douglass's dissatisfaction with his circumstances, before being freed, echoed through the way he wrote about the small successes in his early life. According to Douglass, he developed his sense of manhood by observing how others treated men around him, and he maintained the positive aspects, such as leadership and independence. Overall, the book is very insightful into how maintaining optimism may allow someone to beat the odds. (Allisya Smith)