narrative of the life of frederick douglass sparknotes

Having spent considerable time in the city, Douglass was not familiar with farm instruments and techniques. Offal parts of an animal killed for food, which are thrown away.Įll about 45 inches a British unit of measurement.Douglas spent a year (1833) with Covey, during which he was frequently and brutally whipped.

His point is that wherever there is slavery, there will be mistreated slaves. He does this because he wants to show that even though slavery in the cities is comparatively better, it is still unacceptable. But after her husband explained to her that freeing Douglass' mind could lead her to losing her property (that is, Douglass himself), she changed her attitude.ĭouglass ends this chapter by presenting the horrifying story of Mary, a neighboring slave. In the beginning, Sophia Auld did not understand that teaching Douglass to read and write would free his mind, a first step toward physical freedom. Sophia Auld was a kind and industrious person, who treated Douglass like a genuine human being because prior to meeting Douglass, she had never owned a slave. Here, Douglass shows us how slavery corrupts the morality of whites: Initially, Mrs. Douglass wants to convince his white readers in the North and South that slavery is bad on moral, legal, religious, and economic grounds. The Narrative, after all, is an advocacy statement. In this and the next chapter, Douglass explores how slavery is detrimental to whites. Every city slave-holder is anxious to have it known of him, that he feeds his slaves well.' Douglass, however, ends this chapter with one exception - Mary, a slave in the neighborhood, is treated brutally by her master. There were also community standards regarding how slaves should be treated: 'Few are willing to incur the odium attaching the reputation of being a cruel master. Douglass was better fed and clothed in Baltimore than he had ever been. Slaves in the cities were generally treated better than those on plantations. It would forever unfit him to be a slave.' how to read, there would be no keeping him. Auld admonished her and explained, 'Learning would spoil the best nigger in the world. Auld taught Douglass how to read, but Mr.

Sophia Auld was unlike any white person Douglass had met before because she had 'the kindest heart and finest feelings.' She had never owned a slave, and, prior to her marriage, she was an industrious weaver.

Narrative of the life of frederick douglass sparknotes