Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

Question 1

At the start of chapter 9, Frederick Douglass finds himself at Master Thomas Auld’s plantation. In this chapter, Douglass mentions that he left Baltimore to live with Auld.

Question 2

Based on Douglass (2005), Auld can be described as mean and temperamental. Douglass highlights that Auld did not give his slaves enough food to eat, which was considered as the most aggravated evidence of meanness among slaveholders.

Question 3

Auld acquired all of his slaves through marriage (Douglass, 2005). Remarkably, Auld was born poor, and hence, he was an adopted slaveholder.

Question 4

After attending a Methodist camp-meeting in 1832, Auld became more cruel and hateful (Douglass, 2005). Before the meeting, Auld was mildly humane and played a pivotal role in promoting the adoption of religion among other slaveholders.

Question 5

The conversion made him crueler, which, in turn, compelled him to treat his slaves inhumanely. As Douglass (2005) indicates, the conversion granted him the religious sanction for his slaveholding cruelty. 

Question 6

Thomas Auld uses the scripture to justify his acts of punishing slaves by whipping them (Douglass, 2005). He quotes that those slaves that follow his will receive minimal punishment.

Question 7

Henny can be described as helpless, an instance that gives Auld the advantage to treat her with cruelty (Douglass, 2005). As the book indicates, Henny fell into the fire as a child and burned herself, thereby leaving her disabled.

Question 8

No. Henny, due to the injuries sustained during her childhood, Henny was incapable of performing numerous tasks (Douglass, 2005). Therefore, due to her condition, Henny was incapable of obeying Auld’s will.

Question 9

No. Master Thomas is not a good Christian since he treats his slaves with cruelty, which is against the scripture (Douglass, 2005). Besides, he mistreats needy people while pretending to help them.

Question 10

No. A majority of other slaveholders were Christians and treated their slaves inhumanely (Douglass, 2005). For instance, Mr. Covey, a respected member of the Methodist church, also treated his slaves like Master Thomas.

Question 11

Master Thomas, Reverend Weeden, and Mr. Hopkins are among the church leaders who abused their slaves (Douglass, 2005). Notably, their actions contradicted the ideal Christian values.

Question 12

Master Thomas denied his slaves enough food and punished them through whipping. Like Master Thomas, Reverend Weeden, and Reverend Hopkins also abused their slaves through whipping.

Question 13

Mr. Freeland was considered to be a good slave owner since he had respect for humanity and expressed reverence for justice. Besides, Mr. Freeland did not use religion to justify cruelty against slaves.

Question 14

Unlike other slave owners, Mr. Freeland gave his slaves enough food to eat, and although he forced his slaves to work hard, they only worked between sunrise and sunset (Douglass, 2005). Additionally, Mr. Freeland gave his slaves the necessary tools.

Question 15

Frederick Douglass attended Sabbath school at the house of a man of color. As Douglass (2005) indicates, the experience at the Sabbath school was outstanding since it granted him and other slaves the opportunity to learn how to read and write.

Question 16

The students primarily learned how to read and write at the Sabbath school. Most importantly, the Sabbath school equipped the students with knowledge related to Christianity.

Question 17

If they were caught there, the students could be punished through whipping. According to Douglass (2005), these students risked being given thirty-nine lashes every moment they spent in that school.

Question 18

The Sabbath school ended when Douglass and other slaves began planning how they would escape from slavery. The plan was unsuccessful, and Douglass and his counterparts were jailed.

Question 19

Mr. Covey was poor, yet an intelligent slave owner. Due to his ability to break young slaves, Covey managed to have his land tilled with less expense (Douglass, 2005). Mr. Covey was also a religious man since he was a renowned member and class-leader of the Methodist church.

Question 20

Mr. Covey had earned the reputation of breaking young slaves. As previously highlighted, this reputation enabled him to have his land tilled at a low expense.

Question 21

Mr. Covey treats his slaves with cruelty. As Douglass (2005) mentions, Mr. Covey occasionally whipped him severely. Nonetheless, unlike Master Thomas, he gave his slaves enough food.

Question 22

The slaves nicknamed Mr. Covey ‘the snake.’ The slaves adopted this name due to Mr. Covey’s cunning behavior and his tendency to ambush his slaves without being noticed while they worked on his farm. According to Douglass (2005), Mr. Covey would sometimes crawl to avoid being detected by the slaves.

Question 23

Mr. Covey attempts to increase the number of slaves he owns by forcing his sole female slave into giving birth to children with another male slave. As Douglass indicates, Mr. Covey was poor, and thus, he could not afford to buy slaves.

Question 24

Mr. Covey’s employment bore immense impacts on Douglass. As he highlights, the slave owner had succeeded in breaking his body and soul. Mr. Covey eventually transformed Douglass to a brute.

Question 25

Douglass sees the receding vessels and perceived them as a symbol of the spirit of freedom. Douglass envisions being a free man one day.

Question 26

Douglass is jealous of the ships on the water since they had the freedom to move around the world while he was denied the same privilege (Douglass, 2005). Essentially, he is angered by the punishments to which being born a man had subjected him.

Question 27

Upon seeing the sight, Douglass resolves to free himself from slavery and become a free man. He decides to use the bay as his avenue to freedom.

Question 28

The incident where Douglass becomes unwell and falls, and instead of helping him, Mr. Covey assaults him brutally shows ‘how a slave was made a man.’ After escaping from Mr. Covey, Douglass was left with the option of starving in the woods or going back to Mr. Covey’s plantation and getting whipped (Douglass, 2005). Douglass resolved to confront Mr. Covey, and his bold act played an integral role in earning him Covey’s recognition since he only received mild whipping after the incident.

Question 29

After returning to Mr. Covey’s plantation, Douglass was initially treated well, and Mr. Covey tricked him into entering the stable to tend to the horses (Douglass, 2005). However, Covey ambushed him and tied his legs using a rope, an instance that compelled Douglass to fight back.

Question 30

Master Thomas fails to protect Douglass since he feared that doing so would cost him the wages that Mr. Covey would pay him for Douglass’ services (Douglass, 2005). Besides, Master Thomas argued that Douglass belonged to Mr. Covey, and hence, he would not involve himself in their affairs.

Question 31

Covey is surprised by Douglass’ resistance, an instance that left him trembling. The incident forced him to call for help from Hughes.

Question 32

Covey reports Douglass to the police to protect his reputation as an individual who possessed the capability to break young slaves (Douglass, 2005). If Douglass’ actions went unpunished, this reputation would have been lost.

Question 33

The fight played an integral role in helping Douglass to realize his capabilities as a man (Douglass, 2005). After the fight, he became defiant and realized that he could free himself from the claws of slavery.

Question 34

Due to their subjection to bondage for an extended period, the slaves knew nothing about the outside world and the areas to which they could escape. Besides, most of them feared that they would be subjected to worse treatment if their escape plans were unsuccessful.

Question 35

The first plan was to get a canoe that belonged to Mr. Hamilton and paddle it towards the Chesapeake Bay (Douglass, 2005). Douglass and other slaves planned to turn to canoe adrift and follow the North Star until they reached beyond Maryland’s limits.

Question 36

The slaves chose to go by water to avoid being suspected as runaways. As Douglass (2005) indicates, they would be seen as fishermen.

Question 37

As Douglass (2005) indicates, using the water would exempt them from suspicions from other white men as they would be regarded as fishermen. In contrast, traveling by land would subject them to interruptions, which could affect their plan.

Question 38

Douglass knew they had been betrayed when he experienced an indescribable feeling on the morning of the day they were planning to escape (Douglass, 2005). His feeling was further reinforced by the arrival of four white men and two men of color at his master’s compound.

Question 39

Douglass destroys the pass that he wrote for himself by burning it (Douglass, 2005). Essentially, during the scuffle that ensued as the constables attempted to arrest him, he threw it into the fire without being discovered.

Question 40

Frederick was sent to Baltimore to live with Auld’s brother, Hugh. Besides, he was sent to Baltimore to learn a trade.

Question 41

Douglass’ second fight ensued after a dispute emerged between black and white carpenters at Mr. Gardener’s shipyard. The white carpenters demanded that Mr. Gardener should discharge black carpenter’s since they were unwilling to continue working with them (Douglass, 2005). Angered by their discriminative sentiments, Douglass began a fight with some of them.

Question 42

The fight was not fair since Douglass had to fight four of the white apprentices. Despite his courage and the previous fighting experience, Douglass could not take on four of them.

Question 43

The vow Douglass made to remain courageous after his fight with Mr. Covey inspired him to fight back (Douglass, 2005). Remarkably, he was incensed by their hateful and discriminative sentiments.

Question 44

The Lynch law prescribed that a slave should be punished by death for striking a white man. This law prohibited slaves from engaging in violent confrontations with their white counterparts.

Question 45

Douglass gives all of his wages to Master Hugh since he took care of him after the fight at Mr. Gardener’s ship-yard (Douglass, 2005). Nonetheless, he states that his decision was based on the fact that Mr. Hugh had the power to force him to give up his wages.

Question 46

Douglass describes his successful escape in a concise but brief manner. As indicated in the book, he opts to conceal some of the details.

Question 47

The first reason why Douglass withholds most of the details related to his second escape is the possibility that some people would be involved in embarrassing difficulties (Douglass, 2005). Secondly, he conceals most of the details to prevent slaveholders from becoming vigilant as it would curtail the plans of other slaves who were pursuing freedom.

Question 48

The ‘underground railroad’ describes a network of routes that were utilized by slaves to escape from their masters. Remarkably, these routes were established by individuals who opposed slaves.

Question 49

A person escaping leaves behind more vigilant slaveholders. By planning a successful escape, slaves alert their slaveholders to remain alert, and thus, trails left might affect their counterparts’ chances of escaping.

Question 50

Douglass felt excited upon arriving in New York, which was a free state. Nonetheless, the feeling was short-lived as insecurity and loneliness set in.

Question 51

First, the latter feeling ensued since Douglass was still liable to being recaptured and being taken back to slavery. Second, Douglass had no home and friends (Douglass, 2005). Third, Douglass was afraid to speak to the strangers he met in New York since he was scared of falling into the hands of slave traders.

Question 52

Douglass’ motto as a slave was “trust no man” (Douglass, 2005). He adopted this motto as a result of past betrayals, which compelled reduced his trust in people.

Question 53

Douglass changed his name from ‘Frederick Bailey’ to ‘Frederick Douglass’ after reading the ‘The Lady of the Lake.’ Douglass admired a character named Douglass in the narrative.

Question 54

Douglass assumed that the northern people were not slave owners. Furthermore, he believed that the people of the north had minimal knowledge about the luxuries enjoyed by the southern slaveholders.

Question 55

When Douglass walked down by the docks and the town, Douglass saw proofs of wealth, including ships and warehouses. Besides, he encountered men loading and unloading the ships (Douglass, 2005). However, unlike in Baltimore, individuals performing these tasks were not being whipped, and they seemed to understand their tasks.

Question 56

Unlike the slaveholders of Maryland, Nathan Johnson seemed to live a more luxurious life as his residence was neat (Douglass, 2005). Additionally, Mr. Johnson treated people in a humane manner and seemed to understand the country’s religious and political characters.

Question 57

In New Bedford, people of color betrayed escaped fugitives by informing their masters of their whereabouts (Douglass, 2005). In this regard, Douglass encountered intra-racial racism.

Question 58

Douglass is describing slaves who were drawn from Africa in this quote. In essence, the revolutionary abolitionist lived at a time when slavery was at its peak.

Reference

Douglass, F. (2005).The narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass: An American slave. San Diego, CA: ICON Classics.