Frederick Douglass, in the last two chapters of his autobiography,
details the final years of being a slave. Douglass recalls the time
where he was a slave under Covey, which he believes to be his hardest
time as slave. Covey is described to be the worst master Douglass has
been enslaved by, as Covey overworks slaves, punishes unjustly, and uses
religion as a means to justify the practice of slavery. Covey often
whipped Douglass for Douglass's supposed awkwardness. In the short time
he was enslaved by Covey, Douglass's spirit was broken, and he no longer
had a desire to learn. He felt dehumanized and, contemplated either
killing himself or Mr. Covey, but ultimately decided against it with
fear and hope in his mind. It was not until Douglass decided to fight
back, where he began to feel like a man again. A scuffle between the two
saw Douglass triumphant, and he explains that as the turning point in
his time with Mr. Covey. The defeated Covey no longer touched Douglass
for the rest of the year, and Douglass began to regain spirit and the
resolve to escape slavery. As Douglass's year with Covey comes to a
close, Douglass begins to describe the holiday traditions of slaves. He
explains that slaveholders make their slaves drunk during the holidays
as a means of keeping them enslaved, making the believe that the free
life is unappealing. After his time with Covey ends, Douglass is sent to
work for a slaveholder named William Freeland, who is described as the
fairest and best slaveholder Douglass has worked under. Though Douglass
appreciates the fairness of Mr. Freeland's treatment, he would much
rather be a free man, and devises a plan to escape with other slaves.
The plan is eventually compromised, which ended in Douglass's and the
other slaves' arrest. The arrest ends in Douglass being sent back to
Hugh Auld in Baltimore. Douglass is apprenticed to a shipbuilder, which
ends in Douglass being beat up by four other white apprentices. He is
then put to work for Auld's shipyard, where he needs to turn in all his
wages to Thomas Auld. Bothered by the fact that he must turn in all his
wages, Douglass complains to Auld who in turn allows him to seek his own
work, with the condition that Douglass must pay Auld three dollars each
week. At one point, Douglass misses his pay to Auld, which causes the
freedom Douglass was given to be taken away. As Douglass is working for
Auld, he resolves to escape, though he does not detail the means he used
to escape. When he finally escapes to New York, he grows anxious to the
fact that he does not know the city or the people.
Douglass's accounts of his time and life as a slave serves the
purpose of informing readers of the daily hardships that a slave will
face throughout their lifetime. The purpose at the time Douglass wrote
this was to expose the dehumanization of blacks in America. First hand
accounts of being a slave were rare at the time Douglass wrote this book
as African Americans very rarely possessed the ability to read and
write. This book revealed the truth of what most, if not all, slaves
will go through in their life, with the hope that this may add fuel to
the abolitionist movement. His autobiography was also an optimistic
memoir that can be used as a tool to motivate other African Americans to
rebel the system of slavery. The accounts of his hardships and eventual
triumph may inspire other enslaved people who may get their hands on
the book to not give into their oppressors, and to seek their freedom.
Today, the autobiography can be used as a reminder of what our country
once was, and what a large portion of our population had to struggle
through in order to gain their own independence.
In class, we read an article by an expert on Frederick Douglass that
answered various questions surrounding Douglass. Through this reading,
we are reminded of Douglass's support of womans suffrage after gainig
his freedom, as well as his support for the 15th amendment. The reading
also detailed Douglass's supposed fued with William Lloyd Garrison and
John Brown, his disapproval of the election of Lincoln as president as
well as his eventual support, and the faith Douglass holds to his own
writing. He believed his writing, such as the book we read for class,
was important for the abolitionist movement. Through this fact, we can
see that Douglass wrote his autobiography in hopes that it would further
the movement.
In class, we discussed various aspects of slavery that were detailed
in the book. One question brought up by the teacher was what we thought
Douglass was most frustrated with. We believed that Douglass felt the
most frustration with slaveholders who were "false Christians". Those
slaveholders who used religion and the bible to justify their own
actions were the worst in Douglass's eyes. We also explored how his
autobiography can be used as an "optimistic memoir". We said that since
Douglass was able to create a life for his own through the plentiful
hardships of slavery, it can be viewed optimisitcally by other slaves
who are ready to give up. It can be used as inspiration for slaves to
seek out a better life.
The only thing that I am left wondering following the reading and
discussion of the book is how was Frederick Douglass able to escape?
