Summary of “Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass”

 ==PART 1==  

^^Douglass opens the narrative by noting that he was born in Talbot County, Maryland, but that he didn't know his birthday because such information was commonly withheld from slaves, something he found to be regrettable and inconvenient throughout his life.^^ His mother was rarely seen, and his father's name was unknown, but it was widely supposed to be his first master, Captain Anthony. Anthony was a middle-class slave owner who was not very charitable or conscientious. When his overseers mistreated his slaves, he rarely intervened.

==PART 2==

Colonel Lloyd, one of Maryland's wealthiest slaveholders, recruited Anthony as his secretary and superintendent. Douglass lived on his plantation's Great House Farm when he was a child. Slaves were given meager rations and had little free time; many were also brutally beaten by their overseers. ^^Slaves on the outlying farm, on the other hand, praised Great House Farm and considered it an honor to be sent there on errands.^^

==PART 3==

Colonel Lloyd's exquisite gardens were described in detail by Douglass, who also supplied additional information about the reality 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. ^^Douglass also wrote on the slave songs' wild and sorrowful beauty, and how they alluded to the evils of slavery.^^

==PART 4==

On Colonel Lloyd's plantation, Douglass had little responsibilities. He was cold and hungry most of the time. Thankfully, he was picked to live with Anthony's son-in-law's brother, Hugh Auld, in Baltimore, along with numerous other slave children. ^^Douglass attributed this fortunate occurrence to divine intervention, knowing that God had intended for him to one day be free of slavery.^^

==PART 5==

^^Mrs. Auld, Douglass's new mistress, was lovely and unaffected by slavery's terrible repercussions. She refused to regard him as a sick person and even decided to teach him to read.^^ Her husband, however, banned her from teaching a slave to read because he knew the consequences - intractability, unmanageability, and disillusionment. Douglass resolved to teach himself how to read and write by studying from the Baltimore Street boys and practicing writing in the Aulds' sons' copybooks. Douglass was able to obtain a copy of the Columbian Orator, which contained liberty and anti-slavery articles.

==PART 6==

^^Captain Anthony's assets, including all of the salves, were divided between two of his children after he died.^^ Douglass was able to stay with Master Hugh for a brief time, but due to a conflict between Hugh and his brother, Thomas, Douglass was sent to live with Thomas instead. Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Auld had been wrecked by drink and the realities of slavery, respectively, so he was not sad to go, but life with Master Thomas was not pleasant either. In his faith, Thomas was ignoble, cowardly, harsh, and virulently hypocritical. He and Douglass did not get along, and Douglass was assigned to labor on the plantation of Edward Covey, the infamous "slave-breaker" who was known for "taming" slaves.

==PART 7==

Douglass' life came to a halt while he was living with Covey. He was thrashed in the most inhumane ways imaginable, and his spirits were crushed. ^^He lost his drive to read and improve his intellect. Covey was an appalling individual who was deceitful, ruthless, fickle, and capable of horrific violence.^^

==PART 8==

Douglass became ill one day and was unable to finish his work. This got Covey's attention, who thrashed Douglass until he was nearly senseless.  Douglass taken the initiative to go to Master Thomas and implore him to protect him from Covey. Douglass was forced to return to the farm after Thomas refused to accept his decision. He stopped at the home of a fellow slave's wife, Sandy, on his way there. ^^Sandy handed Douglass a particular root and swore that as long as he kept it by his side, he would never be touched by a slaveowner again.^^ Douglass was dubious at first, but he accepted the root.

==PART 9==

^^When he returned to the farm, Covey confronted him and began beating him. Douglass chose to resist this time, and the men engaged in fight for more than two hours.^^ Douglass did not fight Covey, but he did physically oppose his attacks. Douglass was finally set free after Covey backed down. Covey did not touch Douglass for the remainder of his stay on the farm, and Douglass believes it was his desire to protect his reputation that kept him from turning him in. This was the pivotal event in Douglass' life; he saw it as the point at which he transitioned from being a slave to a man.

==PART 10==

^^After a year with Covey, Douglass left and moved to William Freeland's farm. 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 grew increasingly aware as time went that he was growing older and that he was still a slave. He resolved to design an escape strategy. Several of his comrades opted to join him in the attempt to flee, even though they were all aware of the potential hazards they would face.

==PART 11==

The plot was discovered, however, and the attempted escape was confronted. Douglass' spirits were severely low after he and his friends were imprisoned. ^^He was eventually returned to Hugh Auld's custody in Baltimore. He was allowed to be hired out to learn calking when he returned to the city (waterproofing a ship).^^ His initial encounter resulted in him being attacked by a group of white males who were frightened of losing their employment to free blacks. Douglass moved on to another shipyard and worked hard. He was soon exacting great wages, but he was resentful that he had to pass over nearly all of them to Master Hugh.

==PART 12==

^^To avoid raising his master's suspicions, he worked diligently on his calking. He dreaded leaving his friends in Baltimore, but he believed the time had come for him to attempt to go to the north.^^ Finally, he was able to escape; however, he did not provide any details in the Narrative so as not to put those who assisted him or others who were still enslaved in harms way.

==PART 13==

^^He was overjoyed at his independence when he landed in New York. But he felt lonely and bewildered in the city almost immediately.^^ He would have had a lot more difficult time if it hadn't been for David Ruggles, a man who was extremely helpful to both slaves and free blacks. He was able to marry his sweetheart, Anna, in New York, and the two opted to go to New Bedford, which was safer. Douglass found work there and relished the opportunity to keep all his earnings and fulfill the duties of an independent man. He even changed his name from Frederick Bailey to Frederick Douglass, after a friend who had just finished reading "Lady of the Lake" suggested it.

==PART 14==

^^Working in New Bedford, Douglass encountered some prejudice. He also began reading The Liberator, a renowned abolitionist newspaper, and was astonished by its impassioned condemnations of slavery.^^ @@He was called to speak at an anti-slavery convention in Nantucket one day. He approached the platform and, despite his nervousness, was able to convey his story.@@ ^^The Narrative^^ ^^concludes with his explanation that he has been doing this very thing ever since that fateful day.^^

==CONCLUSION:==

%%Conclusively Douglass' criticisms of slaveholders' Christianity are clearly set out in the autobiography's Appendix, which clearly explains that Douglass is merely critical of that very hypocritical sort of religion, not religion generally. He locates authentic Christianity in the black community.%%