Monthly Archives: March 2020

After kicking Mr. Covey in the ribs in frustration, Frederick Douglass and him fought for nearly two hours and Mr. Covey never laid a finger on him in anger again. Reflecting on this, Douglass narrates, “It rekindled the few expiring members of freedom, and revived within me a sense of my own manhood. It recalled the departed self-confidence …. cowardice departed, bold defiance took its place; and I now resolved that, however long I might remain a slave in form, the day had passed forever when I could be a slave in fact.”

At this point in the narrative, Douglass is at a fork in the road. Him and many others could choose between two unattractive fates: the familiarly ill conditions of slavery and the unknown threats posed to them should they escape. From our point of view this looks like a very easy choice to make because of the promising aspects of freedom and self-asserted independence. But it was at this point in his recollections I realized that many of the slaves have been almost completely stripped of their free will, and for them to make the mental leap towards this idealistic way of thinking was incredibly difficult in their conditions. In the introduction of his narrative, Douglass reveals that he was separated from his parents at birth, and that he had no knowledge of when he was born. He also made it clear that no other slave among him knew of their birthday either. I think that the way Douglass wrote about his experiences was revealing that there was something systematic involved in the way that slaveholders made their slaves obedient. When he wrote about the ways that specifically the younger slaves would be humiliated, and as a whole the way they’re treated seems very Freudian. The inability for a slave to form an identity during his or her childhood most likely neuters the ability for one to develop a sense of self-worth or optimism. When the odds are so held against a people that they are berated and held against their will for wanting to learn to read, it’s really inspiring the lengths that Douglass has gone through to actually attain a waged job towards the end of the narrative.

Frederick Douglass & American Slavery

• Rishi, Eunice, & Kirk

Hey classmates!(Above) Here is our group’s creative project. We decided to make a powerpoint with links to resources that help give a better understanding to Frederick Douglass’s narrative and American Slavery as a whole. We provided brief synopses of the resources on the slides.

“A thrill of horror flashed through every soul upon the plantation, excepting Mr. Gore. He alone seemed cool and collected. He was asked by Colonel Lloyd and my old master, why he resorted to this extraordinary expedient. His reply was (as well as I can remember,) that Demby had become unmanageable. He was setting a dangerous example to the other slaves, — one which, if suffered to pass without some such demonstration on his part, would finally lead to the one slave refused to be corrected, and escaped with his life, the other slaves would soon copy the example; the result of which would be, the freedom of the slaves and the enslavement of the whites. Mr. Gore’s defense was satisfactory. He was continued in his station as overseer upon the home plantation. His fame as an overseer went abroad. His horrid crime was not even submitted to judicial investigation. It was committed in the presence of slaves, and they of course could neither institute a suit, nor testify against him; and thus the guilty perpetrator of one of the bloodiest and most foul murders goes unwhipped of justice, and uncensored by the community in which he lives. Mr. Gore lived in St. Micheals’s, Talbot county, Maryland, when I left there; and if he is still alive, he very probably lives there now; and if so, he is now, as he was then, as highly esteemed and as much respected as though his guilty soul had not been stained with brother’s blood.”

As we already know in the period of time of slavery many things happened and they were never justified. For instance, in this passage we witness the cruelty behavior of the overseer Mr. Gore, who like him were ordered by the actual owners to supervise the people they owned. Mr. Gore murdered Demby because in his eyes Demby was starting to be a rebel and stand up for his human rights. As the overseer, the owner believed in their word and wouldn’t doubt them. This also proves to what we know, as slaves they did not have any right or any kind of privileges. Slaves were treated as non-humans not only in the way that they did not have human rights but also they were not treated correctly. Slaves couldn’t make mistakes without being punished which in majority of cases they were whipped until they bled. For the owners, slaves had no meaning of life but to serve them and satisfy their needs. I believe Frederick Douglass reveals his strength because as a slave you witnessed many horrific scenes. It would affect them physically but also mentally because getting whipped various times and to the point of your flesh just tearing apart bleeding all over is just too harsh and traumatizing for an individual. Experiencing it and also witnessing the pain can cause you to have mix emotions and thoughts. People would probably also commit suicide because they couldn’t handle the torture they would go through for any mistake of fault their owner thought they had. The questions that were raised for me while reading this passage was why did owners permit this. Why did the owners did not just take control themselves when it came to punishing the people. Also, most importantly why whip the people and make them bleed as if they did not have feelings, whom didn’t feel the pain. I also think about the justice that people needed, for having different pigmentation you were served no justice for whether you were murdered or raped.

The passage I picked was “He was immediately chained and handcuffed; and thus, without a moment’s warning, he was snatched away, and forever sundered, from his family and friends, by a hand more unrelenting than death. This is the penalty of telling the truth, of telling the simple truth, in answer to a series of plain questions” (244).

This passage in the text made a strong impression on my reading because he gave us a glimpse into what it was like to be a slave in America. To think that we one day could be living with our family and friends to the next moment being captured with no idea where we’re going and what’s going to happen to you is a horrifying thought. For these slaves who were torn apart from their families, the thought of that was even worse than death. These people had no control over their fate and couldn’t protect their families after they were captured. This quote in itself leaves a strong impression that these slaves in America would have preferred to die than be apart from their families. Slaves weren’t even seen as people. As stated in the passage, the slaveowners had so many that they didn’t even recognize them. These human beings were treated as objects and as property, and getting to hear it first hand from someone who experienced this stuff makes it all the more real.

I believe what this passage tells us about Douglas is that he is intelligent and socially and historically aware and the environment he grew up in taught him the things he needs to know. He knows what is going to happen and what slaves need to do in order to please their masters.

       “His savage barbarity was equalled only by the consummate coolness with which he committed the grossest and most savage deeds upon the slaves under his charge. Mr. Gore once undertook to whip one of Colonel Lloyd’s slaves, by the name of Demby. He had given Demby but few stripes, when, to get rid of the scourging, he ran and plunged himself into a creek, and stood there at the depth of his shoulders, refusing to come out. Mr. Gore told him that he would give him three calls, and that, if he did not come out at the third call, he would shoot him. The first call was given. Demby made no response, but stood his ground. The second and third calls were given with the same result. Mr. Gore then, without consultation or deliberation with any one, not even giving Demby an additional call, raised his musket to his face, taking deadly aim at his standing victim, and in an instant poor Demby was no more. His mangled body sank out of sight, and blood and brains marked the water where he had stood.” This recounts the tine Frederick Douglas witnessed murder before his own eyes. This passage stood out to me because it shows how cold hearted these slave owners could really be. Not only are they cold hearted, but they are allowed to be cold hearted. What I mean by this is no one is stopping this man from committing murder. He’s not getting charged and no one is interfering. This shows the power of a slave owner, and not only that everyone watching him commuting this murder can’t do a thing about it or else they could see themselves being shot. I feel this passage also shows the savage ness of slave owners. Prior to Mr. Gore’s killing he was initially hired because the slave owner before him wasn’t fit for the job. In order to be a slave owner you must have that savage that lives inside of you. You can’t have feelings in order to be a slave owner. One man does not simply shoot another for no longer wanting to be whipped once more. It takes a different kind of evil to condone this behavior. If  a slave owner doesn’t have it in him to be so cruel he simply must be replaced with someone who can take the job and make the slave life as miserable as can be. Frederick Douglas after witnessing this has no choice to be shocked and possibly in fear. That person could be him if he ever rebelled. That person getting shot could be his brother or sister but he’ll never really know because slave owners don’t want them to no. Frederick wasn’t even allowed to see his mother become buried or even meet his father. Slaves have been so physically and mentally brutalized at this point where they create their own happiness, but such happiness isn’t real and can be hard to create especially witnessing a man being murders right before your eyes. 

“I never saw my mother, to know her as such, more than four or five times in my life; and each of these times was very short in duration, and at night.  She was hired by a Mr. Stewart, who lived about twelve miles from my home.  She made her journeys to see me in the night, travelling the whole distance on foot, after the performance of her day’s work. She was a field hand, and a whipping is the penalty of not being in the field at sunrise, unless a slave has special permission from his or her master to the contrary — a permission which they seldom get, and one that gives to him that gives it the proud name of being a kind master.  I do not recollect of ever seeing my mother by the light of day.  She was with me in the night. She would lie down with me, and get me to sleep, but long before I waked she was gone. Very little communication ever took place between us.  Death soon ended what little we could have while she lived, and with it her hardships and suffering. She died when I was about seven years old, on one of my master’s farms, near Lee’s Mill. I was not allowed to be present during her illness, at her death, or burial. She was gone long before I knew anything about it. Never having enjoyed, to any considerable extent, her soothing presence, her tender and watchful care, I received the tidings of her death with much the same emotions I should have probably felt at the death of a stranger.”

This passage hits deep in my heart. The author Frederick Douglass was separated from his mother since he was an infant. It was the slave owner’s intention to break the bond between a mother and a son. However, despite the difficulties of visiting her child, Douglass’s mother committed to walk twelve miles to be with her son. Douglass recalls his only times with his mother, quoting “I do not recollect of ever seeing my mother by the light of day.  She was with me in the night. She would lie down with me, and get me to sleep, but long before I waked she was gone. Very little communication ever took place between us.” (Douglass 237) Douglass’s mother shows preserving love for her child, risking her own life to take care of Douglass. The maternal affection of a mom for her child is manifested through the hardship of being a slave, though very little communication occurred. It indicates how dehumanizing the slavery was to attempt to destroy the natural affection between the bloodlines. The slave owners were callous to empathize their slaves’ emotions and acknowledge them as human rather than properties. When Douglass’s mother passed away, Douglass had not yet developed the capacity of understanding love nor the sadness of losing his mother. He says, “I received the tidings of her death with much the same emotions I should have probably felt at the death of a stranger.” (Douglass 237) He was numbed by the long absence from his mother’s nurture. When she died, Douglass showed little emotion. His malformed affection towards his mother caused by slavery is very sad. Additionally, Douglass reveals that he wrote a lot of parts of the essay by using his imagination. It is easy to tell from his diction such as “soothing”, “tender”, “watchful.” He was not able to understand his mother’s love for him at the time, but still tried to depict her affection for him through idealization. It makes readers extremely sympathetic to read about his life.

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave. (Page 250 chapter VI).

To use his own words, further, he said, “if you give a nigger an inch, he will take an ell. A nigger should know nothing but to obey his master-to do as he is told to do. Learning would spoil the best nigger in the world. Now”, said he, “if you teach that nigger(speaking of myself) how to read, there would be no keeping him. It would forever unfit him to be a slave. He would at once become unmanageable, and of no value to his master. As to himself, it could do him no good, but a great deal of harm. It would make him discontented and unhappy.”

Mr. Auld was only half right when stating that Frederick Douglass would become unmanageable, and reading would make him feel unhappy, but I think Douglass would prefer this unhappiness then of the life he had before when he was in the plantation.  Douglass states, “From that moment, I understood the pathway from slavery to freedom. This incident left such a strong impression on Douglass that Mr. Auld was hinting at something important, it was a clue for him to have hope, and to follow this ambition of learning how to read, because reading could be the key to unlocking his chains of slavery and towards a path of freedom. Mr. Auld didn’t realize that when he was saying all of these things to Mrs. Auld and condemning her educating Douglass, it only inspired him even more to pursue it. This was sort of like an accidentally reversed psychology. 

 I’ve pondered on this question on what is freedom? and how reading influences one’s mind? Reading allows people to learn and inspire new ideas. Reading makes one more self-conscious and socially aware. Douglass was not only just born into the world, but he was also born as a slave because of American society’s common-sense. The same way people are born into the world, not by choice, and are trapped until death. Just because society says its common sense may not always be common sense (as in the case of slavery), just because someone else says it’s right or true- may not be so, (hence the reason for debates.) I’ve come to the conclusion that the ability to think for yourself is the ultimate freedom. Being educated allowed Douglass to free his mind, no longer was he a prisoner of his own mind because he broke the chains of ignorance. 

Mrs. Auld gave Douglass an inch by teaching him the alphabet, it was too late for her to go back from this teaching because nothing was going to stop Douglass from taking the ell– a former English unit of length(as for cloth) equal to 45 inches. It is a fact that education and slavery are incompatible with each other. For an educated slave or an educated person, may find out and know that slavery is wrong and would most likely do everything in their power to find a way out of slavery or abolish it. If ignorance is bliss, then the truth can be painful but liberating; in other words, the truth hurts but cures. Douglass found the truth of his own conditions of being a slave and the truth of how it all started. Through that realization, the truth was painful. Had he not learn to read, to pursue knowledge, he would have remained ignorant and therefore would have spared him of pain. Nevertheless, writing down his narrative is one of the remedies to alleviate his pain, and to cure the disease that plagued America’s conscious-of the inhumane and abominable act of slavery. 

Mr. Fundementals

“Very soon after I went to live with Mr. and Mrs. Auld, she very kindly commenced to teach me the A, B, C. After I had learned this, she assisted me in learning to spell words of three or four letters”(250).  The alphabet is the foundation, the bricks, of language. Douglass writes in a style that embraces the fundamentals of the language. His words are short, clear and concise. His syntax and diction follow a repetition. This approach shapes the narrative, adding a sense of authorship to his words. To give an example of his repetitive language, Douglass uses words like how to, seldom, slave, well, read, write, and mentions God through the whole of the text.  The word seldom, which is not a common word in respect to the other words of repetition, is extant, written in the work twenty times. The paradox of such word choice is that seldom is a synonym for rare(ly); infrequent(ly); on only a few occasions, yet the word is frequent throughout the text. Does this finesse manipulation of ironic wordplay mean anything? 

Douglass continues, stating, “Just at this point of my progress, Mr. Auld found out what was going on, and at once forbade Mrs. Auld to instruct me further, telling her, among other things, that it was unlawful, as well as unsafe, to teach a slave to read. To use his own words, further” (250) and what Douglass recites Mr. Auld uttering, here, reveals the sheer power of language. The overarching theme of the narrative. The explanation of what Mr. Auld fears. He quotes Mr. Auld,    “he said ‘If you give a nigger an inch, he will take an ell. A nigger should know nothing but to obey his master–to do as he is told to do. Learning would spoil the best nigger in the world. Now”’(250). Although many words in this quotation do not need decoding, there are a few to take close note of. Accounting to hearing and comprehending what an ell is, the initial logistics point to the letter in the English alphabet. However, after searching the definition, in context to Mr. Auld’s words, an ell is describing a measure of length, typically about forty-five inches or so. Mr. Auld is describing, figuratively, how an inch of learning can grow rampant. How learning the alphabet and putting letters into small words opens the door to new intellectual discoveries. 

Spoil is written in italics. Predominantly, spoil is a synonym for ruin, or perish. But spoil, like many other words in the English language, has more than one meaning.  Contradictory to the first interpretation, spoil can also be to treat someone very or too well, especially by being extremely generous. It can also be something valuable or desirable gained through special effort or opportunism.  Thus, learning to read can very well spoil a slave by directing him toward freedom. A special opportunity for a man of color at the time. Douglass continues to quote Auld’s rant, “said he, ‘if you teach that nigger (speaking of myself) how to read, there would be no keeping him. It would forever unfit him to be a slave. He would at once become unmanageable, and of no value to his master. As to himself, it could do him no good, but a great deal of harm. It would make him discontented and unhappy.’ These words sank deep into my heart, stirred up sentiments within that lay slumbering, and called into existence an entirely new train of thought”(250). Without learning the written word, Fredrick Douglass would be unable to present the language of Mr. Auld. He would not be able to communicate his experiences on such an extensive level, if at all.  Without reading, Douglass may even be unable to decipher Mr. Auld’s words properly. 

Allow that to sink in. Reading is learning and writing is documenting. Douglass, now conscious of his capability, exposes the colloquial language of the American citizen of the south. He does not hold back from unmasking the barbaric diction of, who he must address at the time as, his master. According to Frederick’s recollection of the situation, he says, “It was a new and special revelation, explaining dark and mysterious things, with which my youthful understanding had struggled, but struggled in vain. I now understood what had been to me a most perplexing difficulty–to wit, the white man’s power to enslave the black man. It was a grand achievement, and I prized it highly. From that moment, I understood the pathway from slavery to freedom”(250-1). The pathway from slavery to freedom is through the written word.

” My mother was name Harriet Bailey. She was the daughter of Isaac and Betsey Bailey, both colored and quite dark. My mother was of a darker complexion than either my grandmother or grandfather. My father was a white man. He was admitted to be such by all I ever heard speak of my parentage. The opinion was also whispered that my master was also my father, but of the correctness of this opinion I know nothing; this means of knowing was withheld from me” (pg.236)”

Douglass has a multitude of feeling as he writes his narrative, as a reader you can see how traumatic and hurtful his life was. They’re were multiple roadblocks and hardships he has to go through as a slave. In this quote it is understood that Douglass never had a real relationship with his parents. He describes them as the people who concieved him yet he has no attachment to either parent. The way he describes almost all the ways that black woman and white men can have relations is threw rape. His view is that anything they’re is a child between a slave woman and a white male it is rape. They result of the child is an insult to the white man’s wife and an embarrassment to the slave because that is not how she wanted to have a child. Douglass’ reading portrays the pain and suffering that he had to endure in his life, the suffering that is so life altering to Douglass. It is a generational , cultural and emotional pain that he goes through that he eloquently describes. It is the never ending torture of slavery. The questions reading Douglass passage raise for me are wether we as a country and culture will every get through this hurtful piece of history but also not look down upon the new ways slavery had reshaped itself in our present day area. They’re is and equality issue that very present in American, it is shown in a multiple ways wether it is blatant racism or statistic that 1/3 African American males will get incarcerated within there life time is an abhorrent statement to me.  Americans  still have to face the inequality that is has toward the African American race and the way we treat and label African Americans. America as a hole needs to address it’s issues with colorism and racism, and with that addressed we would thrive as a whole.

Your assignment for Sunday has two parts.

1. First, read the  excerpts from Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl that I have linked to on our “Readings” page. In a brief (250 word) post to our blog, comment on the reading. What does Harriet Jacobs’ narrative add to our understanding of the experience of slavery? How does this narrative connect to or differ from Douglass’? (As you read Jacobs’ description of her attic hiding spot, which she refers to as a “loophole of retreat,”  keep in mind that she remained in this hiding place for seven years!)

2. Although slavery was abolished in the United States in 1865, slavery in various forms continues to be an important Human Rights issue even in our own day. Spend some time exploring the topic of contemporary slavery on the internet, and share on the blog three important things that you learn about this subject.