Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

Why would slaveholders want to keep a slave ignorant of such a simple thing as the date of his birth?

-To dehumanize and degrade the slaves -To take control over the slaves.

How does Master Auld's prediction about learning come true?

Douglass does understand that slavery is wrong, and he becomes dissatisfied with his own life. He wants freedom.

What does Douglass hope to gain by learning how to read?

Freedom

How does Douglass win the fight with Mr. Covey?

He does not give up.

Why does Douglass suggest that slaves sing out of sorrow rather than out of joy?

He says they do not have anything to be happy about and they sing at their lowest points.

What is a maxim?

Motto or statement that you live by; a slogan

Who helps Douglass in New York? How?

Mr David Ruggles. He helps him find a house and marry Anna

Who helps Douglass and Anna in New Bedford? What does he do for them?

Mr. Nathan Johnson. Helps them get settled and pays their stage coach fee.

Why is Douglass not sure when he was born?

No one ever tells him

How did Mrs. Auld change and why?

She becomes meaner and colder. Her husband and owning a slave change her.

What is the relationship of the slaveholder to the overseer to the slave on the plantation?

Slaveholder is at the top. Overseer answers to slaveholder, and slaves answers to overseer.

Why does Douglass let Master Thomas' horse run away?

So he can go get food.

What is the purpose of the "protections" written by Douglass?

So that they would not be taken back to the plantation and constantly questioned.

How do the slaves plan to run away?

Take a canoe on the bay and follow the North Star all the way to Baltimore.

Douglass again decides to fight when he is attacked. What happens to him? What does Master Hugh attempt to do for Douglass?

The men injure Douglass badly and he fights back. Master Hugh takes him to the police, but can not press charges because Douglass is a slave.

How did the slaves get food?

They beg and steal from neighbors.

Is Douglass' relationship with his mother typical of other slave children?

Yes, it was very common for slaves to not have a relationship with their biological family.

William Coffin

abolitionist who encourages Douglass to speak in Nantucket about his experience as a slave

David Ruggles

an anti-slavery activist who was active in the New York Committee of Vigilance and the Underground Railroad. He claimed to have led over six hundred people, including friend and fellow abolitionist Frederick Douglass, to freedom in the North.

William Gardner

A Baltimore shipbuilder. Hugh Auld sends Douglass to Gardner to learn the trade of caulking.

Nathan Johnson

A Massachusetts worker and abolitionist. Johnson is immediately kind and helpful to the Douglasses, loaning them money, helping Douglass find work, and suggesting Douglass's new name. Johnson is well informed on national politics and keeps a nice household.

Edward Covey

A notorious slave "breaker" and Douglass's keeper for one year. Slave owners send their unruly slaves to Covey, who works and punishes them and returns them trained and docile. He is deliberately deceptive and devious when interacting with his slaves, creating an atmosphere of constant surveillance and fear.

Sandy Jenkins

A slave acquaintance of Douglass. Sandy is kind to Douglass when Douglass runs away from Covey's.

Caroline

A slave woman who Covey owned as a "breeder".

What other examples does Douglass give his statement "that killing a slave, or any colored person...is not treated as a crime, either by the courts or the community."?

An old man accidentally wonders onto another property looking for clams and he is shot. Nothing legal happens to this man.

What is Douglass' last name at birth?

Bailey

How was the value of the master's property determined? How were slaves valued?

Based on their rank.

Why is the use of the verb "to break" ironic?

Because they are going to break him as well as his spirit.

Who is Douglass' first master?

Captain Anthony

What is the relationship of Colonel Lloyd to Douglass' master?

Captain Anthony is Colonel Lloyd's clerk. Lloyd owns over a hundred farms. Captain Anthony works for him and is in charge of about 30 slaves.

Colonel Lloyd

Captain Anthony's boss and Douglass' first owner.

Lucretia Auld

Captain Anthony's daughter and Thomas Auld's wife. Inherits half of Captain Anthony's property when he dies.

Aunt Hester

Douglass's aunt. Aunt Hester is an exceptionally beautiful and noble-looking woman, superior to most white and black women. Captain Anthony is extraordinarily interested in Hester, and she therefore suffers countless whippings at his hands.

Captain Anthony

Douglass's first master and probably his father. Anthony is the clerk for Colonel Lloyd. A cruel man who takes pleasure in whipping his slaves, especially Douglass's Aunt Hester.

Betsy Bailey

Douglass's grandmother. Served the Anthony family her whole life and had many children and grandchildren who became slaves for the Anthony's. She is abandoned to a hut in the woods instead of being allowed to go free.

William Freeland

Douglass's keeper for two years following his time with Covey. Freeland is the most fair and straightforward of all Douglass's masters and is not hypocritically pious.

Harriet Bailey

Douglass's mother. She is separated from Douglass after his birth, but she still attempts to maintain family relations by walking twelve miles to see him at night. She dies when Douglass is young.

Anna Murray

Douglass's wife. Anna is a free black woman from Baltimore who becomes engaged to Douglass before he escapes to freedom. After his escape, Anna and Douglass marry in New York and then move to New Bedford, Massachusetts.

William Hamilton

Father-in-law of Thomas Auld. After Lucretia Auld's death, Thomas remarries Hamilton's oldest daughter. Hamilton himself sometimes takes charge of Douglass, as when Hamilton arrests Douglass for plotting to escape from Freeland.

What does Douglass ask of Master Hugh? What is he told?

He asks if he can pay a rate.

What, according to Douglass, happens to Master Thomas Auld after his conversion to Christianity? Why?

He becomes even more cruel. He is using religious support to sanction his actions.

What had Douglass believed about his life in the north? What does he find out about life in the North?

He believed that everyone would be poor and destitute because they did not have slaves. Most people lived comfortably and worked hard jobs.

Why is Mr. Auld angry when he finds that Mrs. Auld is teaching Douglass his letters?

He believes it will ruin him as a slave and will make Douglass more miserable because he knows his situation.

Why does inability to read keep men enslaved according to Douglass and Mr. Auld?

He believes that the won't realize the situation they are in.

How does Mr. Covey succeed in breaking Douglass?

He breaks his mind, body, and spirit. Through whipping, overwork, and lack of sleep.

How does he trick the white boys into teaching him new letters?

He challenges them with the letters he knows.

How does Douglass learn to write?

He copied letters that were written on a ship & competed with white boys to write. He tricked them and learned more

What rule of slave holding does Master Thomas Auld violate?

He does not feed them.

Why does Mr. Ruggles suggest that Douglas not stay in New York and go to New Bedford, MA instead?

He does not think its safe in New York, and he thinks they will find more work in New Bedford.

What does Master Hugh do when he discovers that Frederick has left town to find work?

He ends their arrangement.

When and to where does Frederick run away?

He escapes in early September to New York.

What does Master Hugh do to attempt to encourage Douglass to continue to earn money? What effect does this encouragement have?

He gives him some of the money he earns.He wants freedom more.

Why did he particularly want to go to Baltimore?

He has heard about it from other slaves and wants to see a big city. He also got to get trousers.

Why does he feel so lonely?

He has no friends or acquaintances. Scared of Fugitive Slave Act.

What must Douglass do with the wages he earns each week as a caulker? Why?

He has to give them to Master Hugh Auld because Douglass is not free and he has no rights to his money.

What reason does Mr. Gore give for killing Demby the slave?

He is "unmanageable" and he says that other slaves will revolt if he does not put him in line.

What do we learn about Plummer, the overseer?

He is a drunk and a profane swearer. He is typically brutal and harsh.

Why is it ironic that he bribed the little white boys to teach him to read?

He is a slave that has no rights, but he has food. These little white boys are going to grow up to be slave owners. Society is going to teach the white boys that Douglass should not have the right to read but the kids do not know about that yet.

Why is Mr. Austin Gore a "first-rate overseer?" What is the irony of this description of him? What is ironic about his name?

He is a very harsh and brutal overseer. He is "first rate" but a terrible person. He causes much gore because of how evil and harsh he is,and how he injures the slaves.

Why does Frederick include the anecdotes about the two religious slaveholders Mr.Hopkins and Mr. Weeden? What point is he attempting to make?

He is emphasizing the hypocrisy of Christians.

What relationship did his new master have to his old master?(Captain Anthony->Hugh Auld)

He is his son-in-law's brother.

Again, Douglass compares the treatment of slaves to the treatment of horses. How?

He is sent to be broken as horses are. You have to break their spirit.

Where does Douglass go after leaving Mr. Covey's on January 1, 1834?

He is sent to work for a new master on a new farm.

Why does Douglass now know the date?

He knows how to read and write now so he can read a calendar.

How does Douglass learn the meaning of the words abolition and abolitionist?

He learns from the newspaper.

Why does Mr. Covey whip Douglass?

He let the oxen break the gate.

Why did Frederick Douglass change his name so many times?

He lives in fear of being caught.

Why does he hire Mr. Samuel Harrison, a married man? What irony does Douglass find in this?

He makes him breed with Caroline. It is ironic because he deceives everyone into thinking he is religious, but he makes them commit adultery.

What arrangement does Douglass eventually make with Master Hugh? Why is this arrangement to Master Hugh's advantage? Why does Douglass agree to it?

He pays the rate and keeps the rest. It enables Douglass to have more relative freedom.

Why does Douglass decide to work hard despite the dissolution of their agreement?

He plans to escape and does not want Hugh to get suspicious.

How did Colonel Lloyd keep the slave boys from taking his fruit?

He put tar on the fence. Anyone with tar on them was beaten.

Why is Douglass' battle with Mr. Covey "the turning-point in my career as a slave"?

He regains his dignity and some of his humanity.

Why was Mr. Covey's reputation for breaking slaves of great value to him?

He rents the slaves that he breaks. He gets the slaves at little to no cost.

How is it possible for Douglass and Anna to marry? Why is their marriage such an important event?

He sends for Anna who is still in Maryland.

Why are the slaves so fearful of Mr. Covey? Why does their work go on in his absence?

He sneaks up on them and surprises them. He is always watching them.

How does Douglass succeed in again becoming a man?

He stands up to Mr. Covey.

Why and where does Douglass begin a Sabbath school? Why is it essential that the slaves tell no one about it?

He starts the Sabbath school to teach slaves how to read in the house of a free black man. They will be shut down if they do not keep it a secret.

Why does Douglass tell the story of Lloyd's Ned and Hester?

He tells the story to show the control and illustrate the cruelty of the master.

Why does he not approve of the underground railroad?

He thinks its too public and it makes it harder for slaves to escape.

What is ironic about Colonel Lloyd's treatment of his horses compared to the treatment of his slaves?

He treats his horses better than the caretakers.

Why was Douglass so happy to be leaving the plantation?(Chapter 5)

He wanted to see Baltimore because it was a big city. He also does not have anything to keep him there.

Why does Douglass include the slaves in Sabbath school in his plans for freedom? Why is this dangerous?

He wants them to be free because they are friends, but if they are caught then they will probably be sentenced to death.

Why does Douglass call Mr. Auld's forbidding his learning how to read "invaluable instruction?"

He wants to learn how to read now, so that he can get freedom.

Why did Douglass, who was seven or eight , not know the month or year of his sailing?

He was never told.

What happened to the slave who told Colonel Lloyd the truth about his master?

He was sold to a slave trader in Georgia and was taken away from his family.

Why was Severe an appropriate name for the overseer?

He was very harsh in his treatment of the slaves

Why was it particularly difficult to be the slaves in charge of Colonel Lloyd's horses?

He was very particular about his horses. It seemed as though those in charge of the horses could never do right.

When Douglass returns to Baltimore, what does he do?

He works in a shipyard. He is essentially used to run errands. He eventually becomes a caulker.

What plan did Douglass adopt to learn how to read now that Mrs. Auld was no longer teaching?

He would bribe he little white boys that were living in his neighborhood.

Who were Douglass' mother and father?

His master was his father and his mother was Harriet Bailey

Why does he return to Covey? Who convinces him to do so? What does Jenkins suggest that Douglass do?

His master will not give him protection. Sandy Jenkins convinces him to go home. Sandy gives him a root and says he must keep it in his pocket.

Why does Douglass contend that Mr. Covey does not turn him in?

His reputation would be ruined as a slave breaker.

Sophia Auld

Hugh Auld's wife. Sophia was a working woman before marrying Hugh, and she had never owned slaves. The corruption of owning a slave transforms Sophia from a sympathetic, kind woman into a vengeful monster.

What irony does Douglass find in this statement: "It is almost in unpardonable offence to teach slaves to read in this Christian country."?

If it is a Christian country then it should be charitable, but that charity does not extend to slaves.

Why does Douglass relate the story of slaves Henrietta and Mary?

In order to show that city slavery is still bad.

Why does Douglass make the point that a slaveholder who has fathered a child is likely to be tougher on that child?

In order to show that the master does not want to show special treatment. Slaveholder's wives were particularly offended by these children.

Why would a slave whose life on a plantation was very bad fear of being sold to a slave-trader?

It could get worse, and they are separated from their friends and family.

Why is the life of a city slave so much better than the life of a plantation slave?

It is due to a matter of pride in the city to feed their slaves. It was a matter of status for the slaveholders. There are obviously exceptions.

What did Douglass learn from the book "The Columbian Orator"?

It teaches him that slavery is wrong, and it justifies his opinions. He has never previously heard that echoed anywhere else.

What was life like for Douglass on the plantation?(Chapter 5)

It was not good. He was always cold and hungry. He had lots of leisure time and was not whipped as much as the other slaves.

Thomas Auld

Lucretia Auld's husband and Hugh Auld's brother. Thomas Auld did not grow up owning slaves, but gained them through his marriage to Lucretia.

What is the role of the overseer on the plantation?

Manager of the slaves that makes sure they are doing their job

Why is it "never safe to stop a single minute"?

Mr. Covey could always be watching.

What does Douglass mean by "Mr. Covey's forte consisted in his power to deceive."?

Mr. Covey is good at deceiving people. The slaves to sneak up and the townspeople to think he is pious.

What, according to Douglass, changes her?

Owning a slave made her a bad person

Why was Douglass forced to return to the plantation after the death of his master?

Property disputes had to be settled.

What does the two Irishmen encourage him to do? Why does he not trust them?

Run away to the North. He thinks that these men will capture him and turn him in for a reward.

To what does Douglass attribute the kindness of Mrs. Auld?

She had never owned a slave, and she had before this done most of her own work. She was a working woman and provided for herself. This kept her busy and she dedicated most of her time to this.

What were Douglass' initial impressions of his new mistress, Mrs. Sophia Auld?

She was kind and welcoming and brightened the day.

What would have happened to Douglass had Mr. Covey turned him in?

The constable would have tied him to the whipping post and he would have been beaten daily.

Why does Douglass find irony in the fact that the slaves sabbath school is discontinued?

The town pretends to be pious and religious, but they want no part in slaves learning to read the Bible.

How are the holidays used to "disgust the slave with freedom"?

They are left to their own devices, and they often spend this time drinking, drunk, and miserable.

What happens to each of the slaves who attempted to run away?

They are put in jail and all except Douglass are taken to their masters. Thomas Auld has to come pick up Douglass and then he sends him to Hugh in Baltimore.

What happens to their plan, and how do the "protections" nearly cause their deaths?

They are snitched on by someone unknown, these protections could have caused their deaths.

What happened to Douglass' grandmother after the deaths of Lucretia and Andrew? How does this anecdote help explain the value of slaves? How are slaves valued when compared to livestock (the ironic comparison of slaves to livestock is a continuous motif of the narrative)?

They build her a hut and send her to the forest to die. They are only valued by what they can do rather than who they are.

Douglass makes the point that many slaves would "rather bear those ills we had, than fly to others, that we knew not of"? How does this help explain why so few slaves escaped?

They do not know what life is like as a free person. The idea that life could be worse frightened them.

Why was the division of property between Mistress Lucretia and Master Andrew so horrifying to the slaves?

They do not want to be separated and the fear they will be given to Andrew.

Why does Douglass say that "adopted slaveholders are the worst?"

They lack basic humanity. They do not know how to control or manage the slaves.

Why is it difficult to find copies of slave songs?

They were passed orally and were not typically written down.

Why does Douglass only rarely see his mother?

They were separated and she lives on a farm 12 miles away.

What would the slaveholders like the slaves to do on the sabbath? Why is this ironic?

They would rather they spend it drunk. Ironic because the Bible advises against over-drinking.

Why does Douglass go to Master Thomas Auld?

This is his master and he is asking for protection and to tell him what is happening at Covey's place.

Who is Douglass' newest Master?

Thomas Auld

Who owns Douglass by the end of chapter 8?

Thomas Auld

Hugh Auld

Thomas Auld's brother and Douglass's occasional master. He lives in Baltimore with his wife, Sophia. He is not as cruel as his brother Thomas, but he becomes harsher due to a drinking habit in his later years.

Why is Douglass forced to leave Baltimore?

Thomas gets into a fight with Hugh and takes Douglass back from him.

Why does Mr. Covey buy a slave to use as a breeder?

To make more slaves.

How does Master Thomas propose to "break" Douglass?

To send him to Mr. Covey.

Who is his new master and how does he treat Frederick?

William Freeland and he treats Douglass significantly better.

Was there a pecking order or hierarchy among slaves?

Working at the big house on the farm where Colonel Lloyd actually lives. Even if it is errands. Also the slaves who got to work on the boats that went to Baltimore because they got to leave the plantation.

Who were the family members of Douglass' master Captain Anthony?

children were Andrew, Richard, and Lucretia. Lucretia married Captain Thomas Auld.

Austin Gore

replaces Mr Hopkins as overseer. He is proud, ambitious, cunning, and cruel. He does not argue or hear protests and sometimes provokes slaves only for an excuse to punish them. Killed Demby.

Henry and John Harris

the slaves that Douglass plans to escape with.