I definitely struggled to read these first 5 chapters of the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. I was overwhelmed with the detailed accounts of the brutality Douglass witnessed and the outrageous acts of those in power. I was particularly shook by his memories of childhood and how he rarely knew comfort (both physical and emotional). I can’t begin to comprehend the cruelty and evil required to allow a child (or any person for that matter) to suffer like that. My focus for this reading was his description of song. These songs are the furthest thing from joyful, they are actually tragic and slaves sang when they felt the lowest.The power that music has always amazes me and I find it interesting that Douglass included this in his first few chapters. Music can evoke all sorts of emotions and Douglass makes it very clear that the songs of slaves haunt him and continue to grow his hatred for the institution of slavery. And how these songs connect to the journey to the “Great House Farm” and the privilege it was to be doing errands for that farm. These sad songs were often sung during the walk between farms which revealed the two warring emotions of joy and sadness. It's a beautiful reflection of the complexity of the human heart and how music influences daily life. 

Quotes: 

“While on their way, they would make the dense old woods, for miles around, reverberate with their wild songs, revealing at once the highest joy and the deepest sadness”(Douglass8). 

“Those songs still follow me, to deepen my hatred of slaver, and quicken my sympathies for my brethren in bonds… Slaves sing most when they are most unhappy. The songs of the slave represent the sorrows of his heart; and he is relieved by them, only as an aching heart is relieved by its tears”