Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

==Synopsis==

==Synopsis==

{{Long plot|date=February 2024}}

{{Long plot|date=February 2024}}

Douglass begins by explaining that he does not know the date of his birth (in his third autobiography, he wrote, "I suppose myself to have been born in February 1817"<ref>[https://archive.org/details/lifeandtimesfre00douggoog/page/n24/mode/2up ''The Life and Times of Frederick Douglass'', p. 2]</ref><ref>In ''Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom'', p. 9, [[David W. Blight]] writes that, in 1980, Dickson J. Preston, in ''Young Frederick Douglass'', p. 36, revealed that "a handwritten inventory of slaves, kept by his owner at birth, Aaron Anthony, recorded 'Frederick Augustus, son of Harriet, Feby. 1818.'"</ref>), and that his mother died when he was 7 years old. He has very few memories of her (children were commonly separated from their mothers), only of the rare nighttime visit. He thinks his father is a white man, possibly his owner. At a very early age, he sees his Aunt Hester being whipped. Douglass details the cruel interaction that occurs between slaves and slaveholders, as well as how slaves are supposed to behave in the presence of their masters. Douglass says that fear is what kept many slaves in servitude, for when they told the truth they were punished by their owners.[[File:Sketchofdouglass.jpg|thumb|right|Frontispiece of Douglass from the first edition]]

Douglass begins by explaining that he does not know the date of his birth (in his third autobiography, he wrote, "I suppose myself to have been born in February 1817"<ref>[https://archive.org/details/lifeandtimesfre00douggoog/page/n24/mode/2up ''The Life and Times of Frederick Douglass'', p. 2]</ref><ref>In ''Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom'', p. 9, [[David W. Blight]] writes that, in 1980, Dickson J. Preston, in ''Young Frederick Douglass'', p. 36, revealed that "a handwritten inventory of slaves, kept by his owner at birth, Aaron Anthony, recorded 'Frederick Augustus, son of Harriet, Feby. 1818.'"</ref>), and that his mother died when he was 7 years old. He has very few memories of her (children were commonly separated from their mothers), only of the rare nighttime visit. He thinks his father is a white man, possibly his owner. At a very early age, he sees his Aunt Hester being whipped. Douglass details the cruel interaction that occurs between slaves and slaveholders, as well as how slaves are supposed to behave in the presence of their masters. Douglass says that fear is what kept many slaves in servitude, for when they told the truth they were punished by their owners.[[File:Frontispiece of Frederick Douglass in Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (1845).jpg|thumb|right|Frontispiece of Douglass from the first edition]]

Douglass is moved to [[Baltimore]], Maryland. He believes that if he had not been moved, he would have remained a slave his entire life. He starts to hope for a better future. He discusses the wife of his new owner, Sophia Auld, who initially is kind to him but later turns cruel. Initially, she teaches Douglass the alphabet and how to spell small words, but her husband, Hugh Auld, disapproves and states that if slaves could read, they would not be fit to be slaves, being unmanageable and sad. (Anti-literacy laws also prohibited teaching antebellum slaves to read and write.)<ref>[https://oaklandliteracycoalition.org/literacy-by-any-means-necessary-the-history-of-anti-literacy-laws-in-the-u-s/#:~:text=Anti%2Dliteracy%20laws%20made%20it,color%20to%20read%20or%20write "Literacy By Any Means Necessary: The History of Anti-Literacy Laws in the U.S."]</ref> Upon hearing why Hugh Auld disapproves of slaves being taught how to read, Douglass realizes the importance of reading and the possibilities that this skill could help him. He takes it upon himself to learn how to read and does so by playing games with white neighboring children. Douglass then gains an understanding of the word ''abolition'' and develops the idea to run away to the North. He also learns how to write and how to read well.

Douglass is moved to [[Baltimore]], Maryland. He believes that if he had not been moved, he would have remained a slave his entire life. He starts to hope for a better future. He discusses the wife of his new owner, Sophia Auld, who initially is kind to him but later turns cruel. Initially, she teaches Douglass the alphabet and how to spell small words, but her husband, Hugh Auld, disapproves and states that if slaves could read, they would not be fit to be slaves, being unmanageable and sad. (Anti-literacy laws also prohibited teaching antebellum slaves to read and write.)<ref>[https://oaklandliteracycoalition.org/literacy-by-any-means-necessary-the-history-of-anti-literacy-laws-in-the-u-s/#:~:text=Anti%2Dliteracy%20laws%20made%20it,color%20to%20read%20or%20write "Literacy By Any Means Necessary: The History of Anti-Literacy Laws in the U.S."]</ref> Upon hearing why Hugh Auld disapproves of slaves being taught how to read, Douglass realizes the importance of reading and the possibilities that this skill could help him. He takes it upon himself to learn how to read and does so by playing games with white neighboring children. Douglass then gains an understanding of the word ''abolition'' and develops the idea to run away to the North. He also learns how to write and how to read well.