Narrative of the life of Friedrick Douglass - Detailed Summary

  Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

[alert-success] Chapter VI and VII

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[alert-primary] Critical Analysis [/alert-primary]

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Introduction 

    Frederick Douglass wrote "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave", which came out in 1845. He writes about his life as a slave and a rebel in this book. Douglass played a significant role in the eventual passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which abolished slavery throughout the country.

Life as a Slave

    Mrs. Auld, Douglass's owner, is nice to him and seems like an angel at first. She has worked as a weaver for a long time, but she has never owned slaves before. She had never seen how hard it is to be a slave, so she treats them with kindness as if they were her own children. Douglass is shocked when Mrs. Auld greets him with her "kindest heart," "finest feelings," and "heavenly smiles." This does not last long because Mrs. Auld becomes corrupted by owning slaves and treats her slaves like demons. 
Douglass learns to lesson : 

    Douglass learns the alphabet and a few simple words from Mrs. Auld. One day Douglass happened to heard the words of his master Mr. Auld scolding Mrs Auld. Mr. Auld  commands his wife to stop teaching a slave to read, since reading is illegal and dangerous. If slaves were given little room to move they would become too much to handle. 

    When Douglass hears his master's words he was hurt deeply. He found a powerful truth that changed his life forever. He learnt that education is the education is the only way to end slavery. He made a resolution to learn to read and write at any cost. He believed that education will give him power. He is thankful that his master has taught this valuable lesson. 
Two kinds of slaves  

    Douglass talks about two kinds of slaves: Those who live in cities and those who live on farms. He agrees that slaves on farms did not have as much freedom as slaves living in cities. Slave owners in the city are very careful with their slaves so that white people who do not own slaves do not charge them with crimes. 

    The Hamiltons, who live next door to the narrator, however, mistreat two of their young slaves, Henrietta and Mary. They beat their slaves over and over, leaving them starved and deformed. Douglass had seen Mrs. Hamilton abuse the girls more than once.

Douglass's eagerness to read: 

    Douglass lives with the Auld's for almost seven years and slowly learns to read, even after Mrs. Auld stops teaching him. Slavery takes away her natural religiousness and care for others, and the woman who used to be kind turns into someone with a hard heart. 

    The Aulds started to think that Douglass had a book with him whenever he is in a different room. Douglass learns to read by becoming friends with the little white boys he met on the streets. They helped him to learn the alphabets. For bread, the children gave him back "valuable bread of knowledge". 

    He took his book with him when he had to run chores. Douglass remembers how the urchins felt sorry for him when he talked about slavery and how they comforted him with words of hope.

Douglass learns to write:  

    Douglass makes the choice to learn how to write before he is freed. Seeing shipbuilders write single letters on wood helps him learn how to make more than one letter. He got better at writing letters. His writing pad was the fence, the brick wall, and the sidewalk. His pen and ink were a piece of chalk. He holds writing contests for boys in the area and wins them. To learn how to use italics, Douglass copied the ones in Webster's Spelling Book. Doug tries writing in Thomas Auld's copybooks when he is by himself at home. So, after a lot of trouble, he finally figures out how to write.

The book gives Douglass a voice : 

    Douglass got "The Columbian Orator" when he was twelve years old. It kept him busy because it was written in the form of a conversation. The master makes the case for slavery, but the slave shows him to be wrong and convinces his master to set him free. Douglass was just as interested in reading Sheridan's speech on Catholic freedom from the same book over and over again. He found it to be "a bold denunciation of slavery and a powerful vindication of human rights." 

    Douglass knows, though, that the more he learns, the more he hates his masters. He is having a hard time and feels bad that "learning to read had been a curse rather than a blessing." He knows he is a slave, but he can not find a way to get away. 
Douglass's fight for freedom:  

    Douglass is willing to listen to people talk about slavery, and he tries to figure out what the word "abolition" means. He learns that it means "against slavery" from a city newspaper. Douglass meets two Irish dockworkers who feel sorry for him because he is a slave and tell him to run away to the north. So that he does not get betrayed, Douglass acts like he does not care about what the guys want. But Douglass is really just waiting for a chance to be set free.
Conclusion: 

    Frederick Douglass was one of the most prominent abolitionists in American history. After escaping slavery himself, he dedicated his life to the abolition of slavery and the pursuit of equality and justice for all. Douglass believed firmly in the power of education, self-improvement, and moral persuasion as means to effect social change. As an abolitionist speaker, Douglass traveled extensively throughout the United States and Europe, delivering powerful speeches that captivated audiences with his firsthand accounts of slavery and his impassioned pleas for its abolition. His eloquence, intelligence, and personal charisma made him a compelling figure in the abolitionist movement.

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