The document discusses slavery from the perspective of slaves based on Frederick Douglass' narrative of his life in slavery. Douglass was able to write about his experiences because a mistress initially taught him to read, against her husband's wishes. His writing described the violence he endured and witnessed, such as his aunt being whipped. Seeing this violence as a boy impacted Douglass' mental state and trust in white people. His narrative provided valuable insight into slavery from the slaves' point of view, which was rare as most slaves could not read or write.