Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave: Chapters 6 and 10 - Analysis

Themes

·       Slavery as corrupting the slave-owner

“The fatal poison of irresponsible power was already in her hands, and soon commenced its infernal work. That cheerful eye, under the influence of slavery, soon became red with rage”

·       Literacy makes slaves rebel

“if you teach that nigger (speaking of myself) how to read, there would be no keeping him. It would forever unfit him to be a slave. He would at once become unmanageable, and of no value to his master. As to himself, it could do him no good, but a great deal of harm. It would make him discontented and unhappy.”

·       Epiphany

“I now understood what had been to me a most perplexing difficulty--to wit, the white man's power to enslave the black man. It was a grand achievement, and I prized it highly. From that moment, I understood the pathway from slavery to freedom.”

·       Whipping

“During the first six months, of that year, scarce a week passed without his whipping me. I was seldom free from a sore back. My awkwardness was almost always his excuse for whipping me.”

·       Overworking

“We were worked fully up to the point of endurance. Long before day we were up, our horses fed, and by the first approach of day we were off to the field with our hoes and ploughing teams”

·       Deception of the slaves by the slaveowner

“Mr. Covey's FORTE consisted in his power to deceive. His life was devoted to planning and perpetrating the grossest deceptions. Every thing he possessed in the shape of learning or religion, he made conform to his disposition to deceive. He seemed to think himself equal to deceiving the Almighty.”

·       Slavery crushes slaves' spirits

“I was somewhat unmanageable when I first went there, but a few months of this discipline tamed me. Mr. Covey succeeded in breaking me. I was broken in body, soul, and spirit”

·       Contemplating suicide

“I was sometimes prompted to take my life, and that of Covey, but was prevented by a combination of hope and fear”

·       Hope

·       Excess of good thing makes it a bad thing

·       Religious people make the worst slavedrivers

Places and People

·       Mr. & Mrs. Auld

·       Baltimore

·       Mrs. Hamilton

·       Philpot Street

·       Henrietta

·       Mary

·       Richmond

·       Chesapeake Bay

·       St. Michael's

·       Mr. Covey

·       Master Thomas

·       Mr. Freeland

·       Reverand/Mr./Rigby Hopkins

·       Henry Harris

·       John Harris

·       Sandy Jenkins

Frederick Douglass