Slavery and Douglass

FREDERICK DOUGLASS QUESTIONS 1. Who was Frederick’s father? Who was his mother and did he really have a relationship with her? Pages 16-17 Frederick’s father was a white man.

Interestingly, Frederick’s father was also his slave master. His father did not acknowledge him as his son. His mother was named Harriet Bailey. Harriet was the daughter of Isaac and Betsey Bailey, who were both colored. Frederick never really saw his mother. The only time he did see her was at night and only for a short period of time.

She worked for Mr. Stewart, whose home was about 12 miles away.Each time she visited Frederick she had to walk the distance to reach him. Frederick even claims that very little communication ever took place between them.

She died when Frederick was seven years old. He was not allowed to be present during her illness, death, or burial. Frederick compared his mother’s death to that of a stranger’s death. The relationship between Frederick and his mother oddly can be related to relationships seen today in single-parent families. Douglass’ mother had no way of supporting her son and at the time, she was enslaved on a ranch not within short walking distance.Douglass’ was greatly inhibited by the lack a motherly figure in his life.

If his father had been a different kind of man who was willing to love and appreciate his son, then he could have made a huge difference in Douglass’ life. The fact that Douglass’ father was emotionally absent from his life put all of that weight onto his mother’s shoulders. Single-parent families today suffer similar struggles. Single-parenting today unfortunately comes with financial stress, pressure, and a lack of support.

Poverty and crime are statistically two common outcomes resulting from single parent families. . What does Frederick say about miscegenation? Page 22 Douglass is an avid supporter of miscegenation. He is quoted saying, “The future of the Negro therefore is . .

. that he will be absorbed, assimilated, and it will only appear finally . . . in the features of a blended race.

” He does not see the difference in race, and assumes that eventually all races will become blended. In other words, we are all one. This topic directly corresponds with ignorant comments regarding mixed couples today. Surprisingly, people have still not accepted interracial couples.

Some people actually claim that they are not racist; they simply do not think it is right to put a black person and a white person together. This is an absurd statement, along with absurd it is in fact, very racist. 3. What did Douglass say about the singing of slaves? Page 26 Douglass states that even as a slave himself, he has never understood the meaning of those ‘rude’ songs.

He finds slave songs incredibly depressing and unbearable to witness. Douglass even claims that he has found himself almost in the midst of tears while listening to the slaves sing.I find it rather interesting that the slave songs depress Douglass; I had always assumed slave songs were performed in order to help motivate the slaves in their work and push through the long day. Douglass describes how the slaves only sing of their woes. Each song involved some sort of prayer or complaint. These songs were a plea for freedom.

Every word and tone was a testimony against slavery. These songs begged for freedom and prayed for release from their everyday anguish. Instead of being encouraged by the words of each song, Douglass felt as if his spirit was depressed each and every time he heard any slave song.One of the most powerful statements Douglass makes regarding slave songs is when he describes how he feels writing about it in his actual narrative. Douglass says, “The mere recurrence to those songs, even now, afflicts me; and while I am writing these lines, an expression of feeling has already found its way down my cheek”. This is a profound statement.

Douglass, even as he is writing this very narrative, finds himself crying over the mentioning of these powerful slave songs. Slave songs were a strong, yet not always acknowledged form of fighting for abolition.Douglass’ first conception of how dehumanizing slavery can be for one’s character occurred to him while hearing one of these slave songs. The oral testimonies of slavery follow Douglass throughout his life and never leave his mind.

An example of figurative language from this selection is in the quote I mentioned above. “An expression of feeling has already found its way down my cheek”, this statement personifies emotions and describes them as if they are able to transport themselves almost like a human. The song was so emotional to Douglass that the emotion actually crawled down to his cheek, forcing tears to fall down his cheek.This selection from the text I felt directly related to most peoples’ perception of slavery today. The public school system leaves so much out of the curriculum on the topic of slavery.

I never would have known the real meaning behind slave songs had it not been for Douglass’ narrative. The public school system portrays slave songs as a hopeful and uplifting theme for slaves to get by on. This is not the case at all. 4. Why were slaves afraid to talk about their misgivings with slavery? Page 31 Slaves were punished for speaking the truth.

When a slave is inquired as to the condition of their masters, almost all slaves claim they are happy with the conditions. The slave holders have a history of sending in spies to record the slaves’ opinions. The masters would punish the slaves after finding out the results of the inquiry. The motto of the slaves was a still tongue makes a wise head. Another reason slaves would keep quiet about the condition of their masters was to keep the peace among all slaves. Douglass recalls a time when Mr.

Jepson’s slaves joined the ranch and how it caused a quarrel. He even stated that these quarrels almost always ended in a fight.This concept of superior slave owners relates to light skinned vs. dark skinned African Americans today. There appears to be a divide between the two. This a continuous racial issue among the black community.

Stereotypes and accusations are made between the two, thus separating them more. There truly is no difference between the two other than the amount of melanin pigment; just as there was never any difference between Mr. Jepson’s slaves and Lloyd’s slaves. 5. Who was Mr.

Gore? What did he do to a slave named Demby? Page 35 Mr. Gore was Lloyd’s overseer. His name is certainly no coincidence. Mr.Gore was described by Douglass as a persevering, cruel man. One day Mr.

Gore began to whip one of Colonel Lloyd’s slaves named Demby. Demby was so severely beaten that he rushed into the water to cool off his battle wounds. Demby refused to get out after being called twice, and on the third call Mr. Gore shot him to death.

Douglass uses personification when he states that Mr. Gore was “obdurate enough to be insensible to the voice of a reproving conscience. The most relevant current day event that comes to mind is the continuous act of police brutality. Several acts of police brutality have been committed, recently.Incidents involving King, Louima, and several others have shocked the public, yet it has not been fully stopped.

Police brutality is a heartless act. It takes a stubborn, conscience-free individual to beat a person to death. 6. Why did Douglass look upon his going to Baltimore as evidence of good luck and divine providence? Pages 39-42 Douglass considered Baltimore one of the most interesting trips of his life.

He felt privileged because over all the other slaves he was chosen. Douglass even considered himself to be somewhat superstitious about the trip. He felt a great amount of confidence and luck entering into his new living conditions.Douglass had a new hope for Baltimore, but he was still not a free man. This introduction to a new farm and master seemed like a new chance for Douglass, but at the same time it was still another factor in his life keeping him from freedom. This concept is similar to the current day topic of orphans.

Orphans can be sent all over the place, but never really find a home. Foster parents are not always reliable or a good impact on the children. Regardless of where a child is sent it can still be mistreated. No matter where you send a slave, they are still considered a slave. They still do not know of freedom.

7.Who was Sophia Auld and what did slavery do to her personality? What was the slaveholder’s attitude about teaching a slave? What inspired Douglass to want to learn? Pages 44-45 Sophia Auld was his new slavemaster’s mistress. She was a kind woman in the beginning. She had kind eyes, and she did not treat the slaves as inferiors, which baffled Douglass. After Hugh Auld had spoken to her a few times, Douglass began to notice a drastic change in Sophia. Her eyes were filled with rage instead of kindness, her gestures were quick and violent, instead of helpful and reassuring.

Douglass blamed this change on the influence of slavery.Hugh Auld believed that it was unlawful, as well as unsafe, to teach a slave. Auld claimed that teaching a slave something would only spoil them. He also stated that if you teach a slave that he becomes useless to the master. Auld even went farther by saying that it would only make Douglass angry to be educated. Douglass wanted to learn because he finally realized it was his only way of escaping slavery.

The path way from slavery to freedom was simply education. This particular topic relates to Gay Rights in our country today. Obviously it is not as drastic of a topic, but marriage is considered an unlawful possibility for the gay community.It seems impossible to say that things that are considered to be rights, could even be considered unlawful. 8.

What was the difference in treatment of the city slave as opposed to the country slave? Page 45 A city slave was almost considered a freeman according to Douglass. City slaves are fed better and clothed better. City slaves even enjoy privileges that were unknown to Douglass. Douglass depicts the city as a competitive slave market.

Slave masters wanted the public to know that they fed and clothed their slaves well. It was a sense of pride for the masters.Although Douglass believes the city slaves to be of better treatment and conditions, he specifically states that this is only in comparison with the plantations he had previously experienced. The city slaves were seen as superiors in a sense, but in reality they were really no different. This idea once again brings up the topic of light skinned vs. dark skinned.

There truly is no difference in the two, they are one, yet there is still a distinction amongst the black community. Tu Wa Moja! 9. How did Douglass go about learning how to read and write? What started to happen inside of Douglass after he learned how to read? Pages 48-52Douglass learned to read by making friends with the little white boys. He would meet them in the street and turn them into teachers. Sometimes he would insist he was a better writer than the other boys, and they would challenge him, eventually teaching Douglass. Douglass would take Sophia’s child’s writing book and practice with it.

Douglass uses personification when he says “They gave tongue to interesting thoughts of my own soul,”. He was learning from documents. Douglass was being enlightened but he was also beginning to detest his enslavers. The reading of the documents enabled him to speak his mind and fight against slavery.

He even considered learning to read a curse instead of a blessing at times. It had opened his eyes to his current condition and it disgusted him because he had no remedy. 10. When did Douglass see the most brutal effects of slavery? How did his grandmother fit into this picture? Page 57 Douglass here is describing the death of his grandmother.

She had raised her children and kept them by her side her entire life. When she was at her time of death she was left in the woods to die, much like an animal. Douglass is a lyricist in this part of the text. He perfectly describes the sorrow of this event.His grandmother’s tragic end relates to nursing home conditions today. The elderly are mistreated and abused.

At the end of one’s life they should be surrounded by loved ones, not sent off to a nursing home only to be forgotten about. The condition of some nursing homes is absolutely unacceptable. 11. How is Thomas Auld described? Why did he send Douglass to Mr.

Covey? Pages 60-65 Thomas Auld is described as an equally mean and cruel man. He did not give his slaves enough food, which is even regarded as unacceptable to most slave owners. Douglass recalls having several hunger pains continuously while on Thomas Auld’s farm.The slaves on Thomas Auld’s farm were so deprived of the necessities that the slaves had to resort to stealing from their neighbors in order to survive.

Thomas Auld sent Douglass to Mr. Covey to ‘straighten’ him out. He found Douglass useless. He even claimed that Douglass’ city life had spoiled and ruined his character as a slave. This event in the book brings up thoughts of reform schools.

Plenty of people send their children off every year to reform school. In some cases, it seems relevant to blame the parents instead of the actual child. The parent should take responsibility for their child and their child’s actions.Thomas Auld should have considered that maybe he was the reason as to why Douglass was acting out and not fulfilling his duties. 12.

What characterized Covey’s personality? Why was Covey the turning point for Douglass? According to Douglass what may have kept Covey from retaliating against him? What is the significance of the root? 13. According to Douglass, how does a slaveholder discourage a slave’s wish for freedom? 14. What does Douglass say about slaveholders and religion? 15. Why did Douglass not reveal his method of escape? What did he say about the underground railroad?