Summary of “Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass”

Douglass

________ was able to obtain a copy of the Columbian Orator, which contained liberty and anti- slavery articles.

Anthony

________ was a middle- class slave owner who was not very charitable or conscientious.

Freeland

________ was the finest owner Douglass had; he was fair and honest, provided adequate food and equipment for his slaves, and didn't pretend to be religious.

Douglass

________ established a Sunday school in which he taught approximately forty slaves how to read and write.

Douglass

________ also wrote on the slave songs 'wild and sorrowful beauty, and how they alluded to the evils of slavery.

He explained why slaves frequently complimented their masters

they were worried that the whites they were interacting with would denounce their insolence and punish them

Her husband, however, banned her from teaching a slave to read because he knew the consequences

intractability, unmanageability, and disillusionment

Frederick Douglass

The Author and the narrator. The Narrative describes Douglass's experience under slavery from his early childhood until his escape North at the age of twenty. Within that time, Douglass progresses from unenlightened victim of the dehumanizing practices of slavery to educated and empowered young man. He gains the resources and convictions to escape to the North and wage a political fight against the institution of slavery.

Captain Anthony

Douglass's first master and probably his father. Anthony is the clerk for Colonel Lloyd. Anthony is a cruel man who takes pleasure in whipping his slaves, especially Douglass's Aunt Hester. He is called "Captain" because he once piloted ships up the Chesapeake Bay.

Colonel Edward Lloyd

Captain Anthony's boss and Douglass's first owner. Colonel Lloyd is an extremely rich man who owns all of the slaves and lands where Douglass grows up. Lloyd insists on extreme subservience from his slaves and often punishes them unjustly.

Lucretia Auld

Captain Anthony's daughter and Thomas Auld's wife. After Captain Anthony's death, Lucretia inherits half his property, including Douglass. Lucretia is as cruel an owner as her husband.

Captain Thomas Auld

Lucretia Auld's husband and Hugh Auld's brother. After attending a church meeting in Maryland, Thomas Auld becomes a "pious" man, but he uses his newfound Christianity to be even more self-righteously brutal toward his slaves.

Hugh Auld

Thomas Auld's brother and Douglass's occasional master. Thomas and Lucretia Auld allow Hugh to borrow Douglass as a servant for Hugh's son, Thomas. Hugh is not as cruel as his brother Thomas, but he becomes harsher due to a drinking habit in his later years. Educates Frederick even though it is said that whites maintain power by depriving blacks education.