THE NARRATIVE OF THE LIFE OF FREDERICK DOUGLASS

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INSTRUCTIONS FOR WRITING ASSIGNMENT ON THE NARRATIVE OF THE LIFE OF FREDERICK DOUGLASS In your writing assignment on Frederick Douglass’s autobiography, The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, answer the following questions in detail. Short answers of only a few sentences will not suffice. The better your answers are the higher your grade will be. Papers should be printed and double-spaced. First type out a question, then give your answer, followed by the next question, and so forth until you have fully answered all ten. The submission should be about five pages long. QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED: To avoid repeating yourself read through all of the questions before answering. What does Douglass tell us in general about slave life on a large plantation? What does he say about slave childhood? What do we learn about master-slave relations? (Note: The term “relations” is used here in a general sense, not only in regard to sexual contacts.) How does Douglass’s life in Baltimore differ from that on the plantation? Why? How did Douglass learn to read and write, and why did his master say that this would make him miserable, not happy? (Be thorough in your answer.) Why must Douglass return to Great Farm from Baltimore? What does this tell us about the legal system and the position of slaves? Who was Mr. Covey, and what is the importance of Douglass’s fight with him? According to Douglass, why did masters try to get their slaves drunk at Christmas-time? Why does Douglass attempt to escape when he does? How is he able to escape? (Note: He tried to escape twice, but the first time he failed.) In what ways does Douglass view the North as different from the South? What is Douglass’s attitude toward Christianity? Cite the page or pages for your statements. For example: His new mistress was kind—at first. Then she was taught by her husband to be strict with slaves (Douglass, 63). If you quote Douglass give the page number as in the following example: Douglass describes one example of what he calls “the whole system of fraud and inhumanity of slavery” (Douglass, 91). Note that another source you are to use for this assignment, in addition to The Narrative, is a different book by Douglass written four decades later. This one is titled The Life and Times of Frederick Douglass (1882, 1892). It is in this book that Douglass reveals the details of his successful escape from slavery. (He tried to escape twice, but was caught the first time.) Instead of requiring you to buy this book I copied the relevant section and posted it on Blackboard under the title, “How Frederick Douglass Escaped from Slavery.” When you cite or quote from this excerpt, indicate your source as follows: Many years after he wrote The Narrative, Douglass finally revealed the details of his escape and told why he withheld this information earlier: to “prevent the future escape of any who might adopt the same means that I did” (Life and Times). By using this style you will avert confusing the two books. If you quote or use information from the book’s Introduction, cite the author of the Introduction, Peter J. Gomes; if you use information from the Afterword, cite the author of the Afterword, Gregory Stephens. For example: Before the 1960s scholars generally agreed that there existed no “distinct, authentic, written Afro-American voice” on abolitionism (Gomes, 7-8). SAMPLE QUESTION AND ANSWER FOR THE FREDERICK DOUGLASS WRITING ASSIGNMENT Note: This is not a question for the assignment but it serves as an example of what you are supposed to do in answering the actual questions. 11. Why was Douglass beaten at the shipyard, and what lesson did he learn from it? The white carpenters at the shipyard began to see the black workmen, whether free or slave, as competition for jobs that the whites considered to be their own. They threatened to go on strike unless all the blacks were fired. Some of them picked fights with Douglass, which he won, but when they ganged up on him he was severely injured. He was assaulted with men using sticks, rocks and a tool called a handpick. Nevertheless, he held his own against them until one of the men kicked him in the face with a heavy boot, Douglass remembered long after the beating that his eyeball “seemed to have burst” from the blow. “When they saw my eye closed, and badly swollen, they left me.” Recovering some of his strength, Douglass seized the handpick and followed the men for a while but could not catch them. When Master Hugh learned about the attack he wanted to press charges against the attackers, but Douglass realized that it would be impossible to get any of the whites to testify on his behalf, and that the testimony of the black witnesses would not be accepted (Douglass, 102-104.) How to Write a College Paper Write complete sentences. There should be a subject and a predicate. The subject is a noun or pronoun with its modifiers, such as adjectives (“The young man . . . .”). A predicate is a verb and its modifiers, such as adverbs (“. . . ran fast.”). The following is an incomplete sentence: “The man after the dog.” There is no verb. Identify your source or sources for any and all information, whether or not quoted. If you write that slaves worked twelve hours per day, tell me where you found that. Never let anyone copy anything from your paper. Plagiarism is serious. It is a bad idea to loan your paper to anyone, even a close friend. If that person copies anything from your paper and it is discovered, both of you may be penalized. Generally, the penalty is a zero for the assignment, which will mean a lower grade for the course and possible failure. Do not switch tenses. It is better to write in the past tense, for example, “He ran away,” than in the present tense, for example, “He runs away.” Whichever tense you choose, however, stick with it throughout the paper. Do not switch back and forth. For example, “He was beaten, so he runs away.” Make the grammatical number of your verb match that of your subject. For example, consider this sentence: “On many plantations whippings was done in public.” “Whippings” is plural subject, but “was” is a singular verb. It should be either, “On many plantations whippings were done in public,” or, “On many plantations a whipping was done in public.” Do not mix singular and plural pronouns. For example: “The dog was right behind Carl and in a few moments they caught him.” Avoid confusion over personal pronouns. For example: Frederick Douglass also gives an account of Thomas Auld finding God while staying with him, but that did not make him any more caring towards him. There are three possible “hims” in this sentence: Frederick Douglass, Thomas Auld, and God. Here is a better way to write the sentence: Douglass recalls that even after Thomas Auld, ‘found’ God, the master was no more caring toward his slaves than before. Learn the difference between “there,” “their,” and “they’re.” “Consider this example: During the time of slavery their was no legal system for slaves. It should be “there.” “Their” is a possessive adjective: “their car,” “their house,” “their country.” “There” is an adverb: “There is too much humidity in the air for the paint to dry.” “They’re” is a contraction of “they are”: “They’re coming for dinner next Sunday.” Learn the difference between “were,” the plural of the verb “was,” and “where,” usually an adverb: “We were at home last night.” “Home is the place where I belong.” When you quote, use quotation marks; otherwise, it is a form of plagiarism. Note the following example from a Douglass paper by a former student: Our food was coarse meal boiled this was called mush. What is wrong with this sentence? First, even though it is obviously quoted material, there are no quotation marks. Second, it is a run-on sentence. It should be separated into two sentences, or some words should be taken out to make it one sentence. The student carelessly copied the material from page 43 of the book. Here is the way it actually reads, and the way it should be cited: “Our food was coarse corn meal boiled. This was called mush” (Douglass, 43). Here is a better way to treat the same material: Douglass recalled that the slave diet generally consisted of boiled corn meal called mush (Douglass, 43). Why the change? Because the description of the food, although interesting, is not so interesting or well-described as to deserve being quoted. Save your quotations for more exciting or more colorful information, such as the following: Douglass recalled the moment when he first met Sophia Auld, his new mistress in Baltimore, seeing “a white face beaming with the most kindly emotions” (Douglass, 45). This was obviously something very unusual in his young life, a white face smiling at him. Therefore it deserves to be quoted, meaning to use his words. Do not use contractions such as “don’t” for “do not” or “can’t” for “cannot” in college papers. They are too casual for formal writing. How Frederick Douglass Escaped Slavery On page 112 of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Douglass describes his escape from slavery in Maryland, but he omits details because to have done so would put other escaped slaves at greater risk of being captured and returned. At the time of the book’s publication in 1845 slavery was legal in all of the southern states; Douglass wanted to leave the operations of the network of abolitionists working to help slaves reach freedom as vague as possible in the minds of slave-catchers. Details of his escape were later made public, after abolition of slavery. Briefly, Douglass traveled north in the disguise of a free seaman, taking a train from Baltimore to Philadelphia. The story is a fascinating episode in his life, one which he describes in a later book, Life and Times of Frederick Douglass (1882, 1892). When you cite or quote from this excerpt, indicate your source as follows: Many years after he wrote The Narrative, Douglass finally revealed the details of his escape and told why he withheld this information earlier: to “prevent the future escape of any who might adopt the same means that I did” (Life and Times). SECOND PART. CHAPTER I. ESCAPE FROM SLAVERY. Reasons for not having revealed the manner of escape--Nothing of romance in the method-Danger--Free papers--Unjust tax--Protection papers--"Free trade and Sailors' rights"--American eagle--Railroad train--Unobserving conductor--Capt. McGowan--Honest German--Fears--Safe arrival in Philadelphia--Ditto in New York. IN the first narrative of my experience in slavery, written nearly forty years ago, and in various writings since, I have given the public what I considered very good reasons for withholding the manner of my escape. In substance these reasons were, first, that such publication at any time during the existence of slavery might be used by the master against the slave, and prevent the future escape of any who might adopt the same means that I did. The second reason was, if possible, still more binding to silence--for publication of details would certainly have put in peril the persons and property of those who assisted. Murder itself was not more sternly and certainly punished in the State of Maryland than was the aiding and abetting the escape of a slave. Many colored men, for no other crime than that of giving aid to a fugitive slave, have, like Charles T. Torrey, perished in prison. The abolition of slavery in my native State and throughout the country, and the lapse of time, render the caution hitherto observed no longer necessary. But, even since the abolition of slavery, I have sometimes thought it well enough to baffle curiosity by saying that while slavery existed there were good reasons for not telling the manner of my escape, and since slavery had ceased to exist there was no reason for telling it. I shall now, however, cease to avail myself of this formula, and, as far as I can, endeavor to satisfy this very natural curiosity. I should perhaps have yielded to that feeling sooner, had there been anything very heroic or thrilling in the incidents connected with my escape, for I am sorry to say I have nothing of that sort to tell; and yet the courage that could risk betrayal and the bravery which was ready to encounter death if need be, in pursuit of freedom, were essential features in the undertaking. My success was due to address rather than to courage; to good luck rather than to bravery. My means of escape were provided for me by the very men who were making laws to hold and bind me more securely in slavery. It was the custom in the State of Maryland to require of the free colored people to have what were called free papers. This instrument they were required to renew very often, and by charging a fee for this writing, considerable sums from time to time were collected by the State. In these papers the name, age, color, height and form of the free man were described, together with any scars or other marks upon his person which could assist in his identification. This device of slaveholding ingenuity, like other devices of wickedness, in some measure defeated itself--since more than one man could be found to answer the same general description. Hence many slaves could escape by personating the owner of one set of papers; and this was often done as follows: A slave nearly or sufficiently answering the description set forth in the papers, would borrow or hire them till he could by their means escape to a free state, and then, by mail or otherwise, return them to the owner. The operation was a hazardous one for the lender as well as for the borrower. A failure on the part of the fugitive to send back the papers would imperil his benefactor, and the discovery of the papers in possession of the wrong man would imperil both the fugitive and his friend. It was therefore an act of supreme trust on the part of a freeman of color thus to put in jeopardy his own liberty that another might be free. It was, however, not unfrequently bravely done, and was seldom discovered. I was not so fortunate as to sufficiently resemble any of my free acquaintances as to answer the description of their papers. But I had one friend--a sailor--who owned a sailor's protection, which answered somewhat the purpose of free papers--describing his person and certifying to the fact that he was a free American sailor. The instrument had at its head the American eagle, which at once gave it the appearance of an authorized document. This protection did not, when in my hands, describe its bearer very accurately. Indeed, it called for a man much darker than myself, and close examination of it would have caused my arrest at the start. In order to avoid this fatal scrutiny on the part of the railroad official, I had arranged with Isaac Rolls, a hackman, to bring my baggage to the train just on the moment of starting, and jumped upon the car myself when the train was already in motion. Had I gone into the station and offered to purchase a ticket, I should have been instantly and carefully examined, and undoubtedly arrested. In choosing this plan upon which to act, I considered the jostle of the train, and the natural haste of the conductor in a train crowded with passengers, and relied upon my skill and address in playing the sailor as described in my protection, to do the rest. One element in my favor was the kind feeling which prevailed in Baltimore and other seaports at the time, towards "those who go down to the sea in ships." "Free trade and sailors' rights" expressed the sentiment of the country just then. In my clothing I was rigged out in sailor style. I had on a red shirt and a tarpaulin hat and black cravat, tied in sailor fashion, carelessly and loosely about my neck. My knowledge of ships and sailor's talk came much to my assistance, for I knew a ship from stem to stern, and from keelson to cross-trees, and could talk sailor like an "old salt." On sped the train, and I was well on the way to Havre de Grace before the conductor came into the negro car to collect tickets and examine the papers of his black passengers. This was a critical moment in the drama. My whole future depended upon the decision of this conductor. Agitated I was while this ceremony was proceeding, but still, externally at least, I was apparently calm and self-possessed. He went on with his duty--examining several colored passengers before reaching me. He was somewhat harsh in tone and peremptory in manner until he reached me, when, strangely enough, and to my surprise and relief, his whole manner changed. Seeing that I did not readily produce my free papers, as the other colored persons in the car had done, he said to me in a friendly contrast with that observed towards the others: "I suppose you have your free papers?" To which I answered: "No, sir; I never carry my free papers to sea with me." "But you have something to show that you are a free man, have you not?" "Yes, sir," I answered; "I have a paper with the American eagle on it, that will carry me round the world." With this I drew from my deep sailor's pocket my seaman's protection, as before described. The merest glance at the paper satisfied him, and he took my fare and went on about his business. This moment of time was one of the most anxious I ever experienced. Had the conductor looked closely at the paper, he could not have failed to discover that it called for a very different looking person from myself, and in that case it would have been his duty to arrest me on the instant and send me back to Baltimore from the first station. When he left me with the assurance that I was all right, though much relieved, I realized that I was still in great danger: I was still in Maryland, and subject to arrest at any moment. I saw on the train several persons who would have known me in any other clothes, and I feared they might recognize me, even in my sailor "rig," and report me to the conductor, who would then subject me to a closer examination, which I knew well would be fatal to me. Though I was not a murderer fleeing from justice, I felt, perhaps, quite as miserable as such a criminal. The train was moving at a very high rate of speed for that time of railroad travel, but to my anxious mind, it was moving far too slowly. Minutes were hours, and hours were days during this part of my flight. After Maryland I was to pass through Delaware--another slave State, where slave-catchers generally awaited their prey, for it was not in the interior of the State, but on its borders, that these human hounds were most vigilant and active. The border lines between slavery and freedom were the dangerous ones, for the fugitives. The heart of no fox or deer, with hungry hounds on his trail, in full chase, could have beaten more anxiously or noisily than did mine from the time I left Baltimore till I reached Philadelphia. The passage of the Susquehanna river at Havre de Grace was at that time made by ferry-boat, on board of which I met a young colored man by the name of Nichols, who came very near betraying me. He was a "hand" on the boat, but instead of minding his business, he insisted upon knowing me, and asking me dangerous questions as to where I was going, and when I was coming back, etc. I got away from my old and inconvenient acquaintance as soon as I could decently do so, and went to another part of the boat. Once across the river I encountered a new danger. Only a few days before I had been at work on a revenue cutter, in Mr. Price's ship-yard, under the care of Captain McGowan. On the meeting at this point of the two trains, the one going south stopped on the track just opposite to the one going north, and it so happened that this Captain McGowan sat at a window where he could see me very distinctly, and would certainly have recognized me had he looked at me but for a second. Fortunately, in the hurry of the moment, he did not see me, and the trains soon passed each other on their respective ways. But this was not the only hair-breadth escape. A German blacksmith, whom I knew well, was on the train with me, and looked at me very intently, as if he thought he had seen me somewhere before in his travels. I really believe he knew me, but had no heart to betray me. At any rate he saw me escaping and held his peace. The last point of imminent danger, and the one I dreaded most, was Wilmington. Here we left the train and took the steamboat for Philadelphia. In making the change I again apprehended arrest, but no one disturbed me, and I was soon on the broad and beautiful Delaware, speeding away to the Quaker City. On reaching Philadelphia in the afternoon I inquired of a colored man how I could get on to New York? He directed me to the Willow street depot, and thither I went, taking the train that night. I reached New York Tuesday morning, having completed the journey in less than twenty-four hours. Such is briefly the manner of my escape from slavery--and the end of my experience as a slave. Other chapters will tell the story of my life as a freeman.
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