“There are three keys to life, believing in yourself, taking advantage of every opportunity, and using the power of spoken and written language to effect positive change for yourself and society ( IUPUI, NP)."Heard from the mouth of Frederick Douglass himself, he embraced these three "rules" that allowed his work to be superior to that of other authors of his time. Frederick could identify with the realist point of view because until age 20 he was a slave, alone on a plantation This literary period began in 1860 and ended around 1910. Frederick was at the peak of his writing when this movement occurred, being only in his forties he was a fresh and energetic author; who was not shy about expressing his opinion. Douglas endured a brutal life as he was born into slavery, a severe disadvantage, which challenged him to transform not only his own life but the lives of others so that they did not have to experience the tortuous life as a slave. Douglass was betrayed by his family as they left him on a plantation because they couldn't care for him (PBS NP). His brutal life as a slave was made worse by the fact that his parents gave him only one thing in life, a white master. This tragic event allowed Douglass to put immense passion and emotion into his writing. He wrote not just to degrade the enslaved society, but to make a name for himself because he had no family to rely on. His contributions to literature were immeasurable as he wrote from a perspective that had never been investigated. He added to Southern culture accurate events that happened and the true life of a slave that historians later collected. He taught himself to read and write, so his form was completely unique and personal (D...... middle of paper ......lass.org/douglass_bio.htmlA+E Television Networks,. "Bio of the Month Frederick Douglass." LLC. 1996. Web. May 21, 2014. .Fremarjo Enterprises, Inc, comp. "A Brief Biography of Frederick Douglass." Fremarjo Enterprises, Inc. Frederick Douglass Leadership Institute Programs on Race Relations and 'Gender Equity, 1997 Web. May 20, 2014. "Douglass Biography." IU School of Liberal Arts Web, May 21, 2014. "People and Events Frederick Douglass 1818 - 1895." Rochester 2000. Web 21 May 2014. .