Narrative of the Life of
Frederick Douglass
Cathy, Beryl, Kellie and Mindy
Cecilia H. C. Liu revised
American Literature I
03/01/2005
Basic Background
• Birth of Douglass - February 1818
• Place - Holmes Hill Farm, near the town of
Easton on Maryland's Eastern Shore
– Aaron Anthony = managed the plantations of Edward
Lloyd V, one of the wealthiest men in Maryland
• Mother - Harriet Bailey, who worked in the
•
cornfields surrounding Holmes Hill
Father – A White man , who was rumored to be
Aaron Anthony
Early Years
• Lived with Betsey Bailey
– lived in a cabin within a short distance from
Holmes Hill Farm.
– Her job was to look after Harriet's children
until they were old enough to work
• Age 6 – Brought to Lloyd Plantation
• His siblings - Perry, Sara and Eliza
Early Years 2
• When Douglass was young, he used to give
bread to poor local boys in exchange for
reading lessons.
• When he was 12 years old, he had
encountered a book called The Columbian
Orator, which contains a philosophical
dialogue between a master and a slave,
which was the first time he heard the word
“abolitionist,” which means anti-slavery
• arrived at Thomas Auld ’s place
Freedom
• September 3, 1838 – Left Baltimore and
went to Wilmington, Delaware
• September 4, 1838 - arrived in New York.
• Southern slave catchers – Looked for
fugitives in boarding houses that accepted
Blacks
Life in New York City
• Douglass met David Ruggles, who was an
officer in the New York Vigilance Committee
– He was the city's link in the underground
railroad = a network of people who harbored
runaway slaves and helped transport them to
safe areas in the United States and Canada
• September 15, 1838 – Douglass married
Anna Murray, and then moved to Port of
New Bedford, Massachusetts
Life in New Bedford
• Douglass went to work for Nathan Johnson, who
•
•
was from a well-to-do black family
Changed Bailey to Douglass, which the name
came from The Lady of the Lake, a novel by
Scottish author Sir Walter Scott
Worked as a common laborer
– sawed wood, shoveled coal, dug cellars, and loaded
and unloaded ships
• 1833 - The American Anti-Slavery Society
– a constant battle to reduce racial prejudice in the
North
Life as an Abolitionist
• August 1841 (23yrs old) – met William Lloyd
Garrison at an abolitionist meeting
– Editor of Liberator & outspoken leader of the American
Anti-Slavery Society
• "The paper became my meat and drink, my soul
•
was set all on fire."
Hired to be an agent for the society (1841~1845)
– a traveling lecturer on tours of the northern states
– Purpose - to talk about his life and to sell subscriptions
to the Liberator and another newspaper, the AntiSlavery Standard.
Continued…
• 10 years - associated with the Garrisonian school
•
•
of the antislavery movement
"He has wit, arguments, sarcasm, pathos - all
that first rate men show in their master effort"
(Herald of Freedom, Mass.)
1844 – Doubts
– "How a man, only six years out of bondage, and who
had never gone to school could speak with such
eloquence - with such precision of language and
power of thought - they were utterly at a loss to
devise”
Published Work
• May 1845 - 5,000 copies of the Narrative of the
Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave
was published
– The book had become a best-seller: a story of the
triumph of dignity, courage, and self-reliance over the
evils of the brutal, degrading slave system.
– It is a sermon on how slavery corrupts the human
spirit and robs both master and slave of their freedom.
– The book was enjoyed by the widespread popularity
in the North, and even the editions in Europe also
sold very well
Problem
• Federal laws gave Thomas Auld the right to seize
•
the property of Douglass—the fugitive slave
Frederick Bailey
Summer of 1845—decided to go to England
– By 1838 all slaves within the British Empire had been
given a gradual emancipation and were
• December 5, 1846—two English friends raised
enough money to buy back the freedom of
Frederick Douglass.
– Amount = $710.96
– Hugh Auld signed the papers that declared the 28 year
old Douglass a free man.
Life in England
• Traveled for nearly two years
throughout the British Isles
• Encountered little racial prejudice
among the British
• Spring of 1847 – Returned to America
Life in Rochester
• Fall of 1847 – Douglass decided to move to
•
Rochester, New York, which has a reputation for
being pro-abolitionist
December 3, 1847 - his four page weekly
newspaper, The North Star, came off the presses
– Motto: "Right is of no sex - Truth is of no color - God is
the Father of us all, and we are all Brethren."
• After 1851 – He published Frederick Douglass'
Weekly and Monthly, which symbolized the
potential for blacks to achieve whatever goals they
set. The paper provided a forum for black writers
and highlighted the success achieved by prominent
black figures in American society
After the Civil War
• 1860s and beyond—Douglass continued to
campaign for the right of blacks to vote
and receive equal treatment in public
places
• 1870s and 1880s—Douglass served in
government positions under several
administrations
• 1895—died of a heart attack
His Works
• 1845 – Narrative of the Life of Frederick
Douglass, an American Slave, Written by Himself
• 1855 – Revised the Narrative  My Bondage
and My Freedom
• 1881 and 1892 – The Life and Times of
Frederick Douglass
• Chronology of Frederick Douglass
• Brief Summary of Narrative of the life of
Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written
by Himself
Slavery
• 1662 Virginia law
• “Africans would remain servants for life.”
• 1667
• “Baptism doth not alter the condition of the person
as to his bondage or freedom. ”
• 1740 Slavery system fully developed
• Virginia law “chattel personal in the hands of
their owners and possessors for all intents,
construction, and purpose whatsoever.”
The Life of the Slaves
 Being cut away from family as well as
tribal links
– Husbands were separated from wives, and
children were separated from mothers.
• “My mother and I were separated when I was but
an infant.” (970 B 2040)
 Harsh overseer and brutality was
common
– “He always rest armed with a cowskin [ . . . ] I
wish I could commit to paper the feelings with
which I behold it.” (972 B 2041-42)
The Life of the Slaves 2
The unfair treatment
- Rape is not considered to be a crime.
• “Before he commenced whipping Aunt Hester,
[ . . . ] red blood came dripping on the floor.”
(972 B 2053)
- Blacks can’t present evidence in courts.
- To teach a black to read/write is illegal.
• “Slavery soon proved [ . . . ] that educators and
slavery were incompatible with each other. (975
B 2055)
Summary I.VI.VII.IX.X
1
23
Captain
Anthony
Sophia Hugh
Auld & Auld
6
William
Freeland
5
4
7
William
Gardner
Thomas
Auld
8
Walter
Price
5
Edward
Covey
Captain Anthony
• Douglass was soon separated from his mother
soon after he has been born
– “My mother and [ . . . ] very early age.” (970 B2040)
• Father, a white man, whom was said to be
Anthony—his master
– “My father was a white man [ . . . ] the evitable result.
(970 B2040)
• The Captain frequently whipped Douglass’s Aunt
Hester for his particular sexual interest
– “He then said [ . . . ] after the bloody transaction was
over. (972 B 2042)
• Starts his poor life of slavery
Sophia Auld & Hugh Auld
• Sophia:
– A kind woman, who taught Douglass the alphabet &
words
• “My new mistress [ . . . ] her voice of tranquil.” (973 B2053-54)
– However, later on she turned her ways towards cruelty,
which was considered to be a disease of slaveholding
• “But, alas! [ . . . ] gave place to that of a demon.” (973 B2054)
• Hugh Auld:
–
When found out what Sophia did, he ordered her stop
immediately, because education ruins slaves.
• “If you give nigger an inch, he will take an ell.” (973 B2054)
Thomas Auld
• A stingy and cruel master, who gives slaves
a difficult time, for he does not give them
enough food
– “I have now reached [ . . . ] though there are
exceptions.” (978-79 B2062)
• After he has attended a Methodist camp
meetingAuld became more religious and
even more cruel
– “In August, 1832, [ . . . ] been much worse after his
conversions than before.” (980 B2061)
• Rented Douglass to Edward Covey, a poor
man with reputation for successfully taming
problematical slaves
– “He resolved to put me out [ . . . ] without any other
comprehension.” (981 B 2065)
Edward Covey
• First 6 months was the hardest time of
Douglass
– “I was now [ . . . ] midnight often caught us in the fields
binding blades” (982-83 B2065-66)
• Runaway – Sandy’s magical root
– “To please him, [ . . . ] I at first had taken it to be.” (98788 B2071)
• Fights with Edward Covey—Covey never
touches Douglass again
– “Mr. Covey seemed now to think he had me, [ . . . ] for
you will come off worse than you did before.” (988 B
2071-72)
• Move to William Freeland
William Freeland
• Worked slaves hard but fair
– “I soon found Mr. Freeland [ . . . ] and some respect for
humanity.” (990 B2074)
• Holds a Sabbath school in the cabin
– “I held my Sabbath school [ . . . ] through my agency.”
(992-93 B2076)
• This was the period when Douglass desired
to live on the “Free Land”
– “”At the close of the year, [ . . . ] I began to live upon
freeland as well as with Freeland.” (993 B2076)
• Escapes party jailThomas AuldHugh
AuldWilliam Gardner
William Gardner  Walter Price
• Severe physical intimidation from white
apprentices
• Four white apprentices attack
Douglassnearly destroyed his left eye
• Later on, he returned back to Hugh
Auldstayed in Hugh’s shipyard worked
under Walter Price, had the highest possible
wage, but had to turn back the wages to
Hugh Auld
– “In a few weeks, [ . . . ] Mr. Gardener’s shipyard.”
(998-99) B2081-82)
Theme
A. Ignorance as a Tool
of Slavery
• 1. white slaveholder control
their slaves by keeping them
ignorant.
• 2. many people believe that
slavery is a natural state of
being.
– “I lived in Master Hugh’s [ . . . ]
I were a brute.” (975 B 2055)
Theme
B. Knowledge as the Path to
Freedom
– Knowledge helps slaves to articulate the
injustice of slavery to themselves and others.
– Knowledge helps slaves to recognize
themselves as men rather than slaves.
• “Slavery soon proved [ . . . ] that education and
slavery were incompatible with each other.” (975 B
2055)
Theme
C. Slavery’s Damaging Effect on
Slaveholders
• The corrupt and irresponsible
power that slave owners enjoy over
their slaves has a detrimental effect
on the slave owners’ own moral
health.
– “In August, 1832, my master attended
a Methodist [ . . . ] it made him cruel
in hateful in all his ways.” (980 B
2063-64)
– “Slavery soon proved its ability to
divest her of these heavenly qualities
[ . . . ] She finally became even more
violent in her opposition than her
husband himself.” (975 B2056)
Symbol
A. White-Sailed Ships
• Angels
– “Our house [ . . . ] multitude of ships.”
(984-85 B 2068)
• Freedom
– The ships appear almost a spiritual and
physical low point of his first months with
Covey, as if they are a vision to Douglass
as a sign of his demoralized state.
Symbol 2
B. Sandy’s root
• A symbol of a traditional African Approach to
religion and belief
– “That night I fell in love with [ . . . ] I had first
taken it to be.” (987-88 B 2071)
C. The Columbian Orator
• A symbol not only of human rights, but also
of the power of eloquence and articulation
– “I was now about 12 years old [ . . . ] died away
for want of utterance.” (976 B 2057)
Conclusion
• Douglass progresses from uneducated,
oppressed slave to worldly and articulated
political commentator.
• However, the road he took to freedom was not
easy. Many people thought that such a
powerful young man could have been a slave.
• So Douglass wrote the book, Narrative of Life
of Frederick Douglass, and this persistence of
him took him to the final success to the land of
freedom, where he could be a real man
instead of a slave.
References
• “Slavery in America” 2 Jan., 2005
•
•
•
<http://www.simplcom.ca/lnq/mlk3/blackslavery.h
tml>.
“Theme, Motif, and Symbols” spraknotets 2 Jan
2005
<http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/narrative/>.
Frederick Douglass “Abolitionist/Editor”
– <http://www.history.rochester.edu/class/dougla
ss/home.html#contents>.
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
– <http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/narrative/>.
References
• The Norton Anthology American Literature (Page 967~969)
• “Plot Overview” Sparknotes 2 Jan. 2005
•
•
•
•
•
<http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/narrative/summary.html>
“Chapters I–II” Sparknotes 2 Jan. 2005
<http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/narrative/section2.rhtml>
“Chapters V–VI” Sparknotes 2 Jan. 2005
<http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/narrative/section4.rhtml>
“Chapters VII–VIII” Sparknotes 2 Jan. 2005
<http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/narrative/section5.rhtml>
“Chapters IX–X” Sparknotes 2 Jan. 2005
<http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/narrative/section6.rhtml>
“Chapter X (continued)” Sparknotes 2 Jan. 2005
<http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/narrative/section7.rhtml>