“My Bondage and My Freedom” is an autobiographic account told by Frederick Douglas himself, in which he is the narrator.
The narrator starts his story with the description of his mother town, which was poor and rather ruined. First his years lived with his grandparents, other grandchildren also lived there. Their home was a log hut built of clay, wood, and straw. As years passed young Frederick was told that he did not belong to his mother or grandmother, he belonged to a person referred to as “old master” and when he was old enough he would go to him and live there.
When he turned seven years old his grandmother took him to the farm of the old master and left there. There also lived his sisters and brothers, and many other children but they all were stranger. When the narrator realized that his grandmother had left him he started sobbing bitterly. Thus the realities of slavery opened before him.
There on the plantations he met his mother, but she died soon so he never really felt any affection to her. The narrator portrays the life of a slave and relationships established between slaveholders and slaves. No sympathy was ever showed towards a slave from the behalf of a slaveholder or an overseer. The narrator had seen himself a scene when a young woman was tied and bitterly beaten by Capt. Anthony because she dared to fall in love with another slave man and answered for his courtings.
The occasions of severe beating, flogging, whipping were an ordinary thing on the plantations, as anything might make the overseer angry, even if a slave did not hear what he said, it was a reason to beat him as it was considered as an instance of impudence.
Along with the beatings there happened murders as well. The narrator tells about instances of killing of slaves. One girl was killed by her mater’s wife because she did not hear at night the cries of the baby of the master. Another man was killed as did not hear the call from the overseer when he was in the river. He was shot right in the water and only a blood mark was left after him. The murderer were never punished as it was always a slave who was guilty.
When the narrator turned 10 years old he was sent to Baltimore to the family of Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Auld. In their family he had to look after their son. In Baltimore the narrator witnesses a completely different life of a slave, as in the big city a person who treats his slaves badly is not respected, so in a new family the narrator is rather warmly accepted and treated. Along with the treatment as a slave he is treated as a child. Mrs. Hugh even starts him teaching reading. When her husband finds it out he prohibits her to continue the studying as an educated slave is dangerous. The narrator overhears this conversation and at that moment understood that the ability of reading and writing is his path to freedom. He secretly managed to continue studying and some boys on the streets who were free helped him to learn both writing and reading. He kept it in secret.
Soon his master died and the narrator was sent for to come back to the plantation to be divided between the children of Capt. Anthony. Only two of these were alive – Mrs. Lucretia and master Andrew. The narrator, as well as many other slaves, was afraid to become the property of Andrew as he was very cruel. Fortunately he became the property of Lucretia and soon returned to Baltimore. But his joy was not long as soon Lucretia died as well and her husband Thomas demanded the narrator back.
In few years he master Thomas married another woman, Rowena, who was very cruel and starved the slaves. These years were for the narrator very bitter. But the narrator master has noticed that he was somehow different from the other slaves as time after time would resist the very ideas of slavery and the idea that it was God’s wish that slaves stay slaves. It is where the narrator failed hiding his knowledge of reading and writing, so the master decided to rent him for one year for fields. The narrator’s new master was called Mr. Covey, and he was the most cruel and awful man the narrator has ever met.
Mr. Covey would whip the narrator as well as the other slaves profoundly once a week, and time after time occasional floggings would appear as means of education of obedience. Six months of such a situation have passed.
Once in the summer when all the slaves were working in the fields, the narrator felt very sick because of fatigue and heat. He simply could not continue his work so had to lie down under the tree. Mr. Covey saw it and came to make him work. But as the narrator could not even stand up Mr. Covey whipped him severely as did not believe in sickness of the narrator and considered it as a simple excuse for escaping from work. But the narrator stayed still under the tree so Mr. Covey left him alone. Some time passed and the narrator decided to go to Mr. Thomas Auld and tell him of the injustice and cruel treatment on the side of his new master. But when he came Mr. Thomas said that he probably deserved the beating as did not want to work, and there was nothing he could do as Mr. Covey had hired him for one year and during this year he could do anything with him he thought necessary.
The narrator was obliged to return to Mr. Covey, and he understood that even severer treatment would follow his attempt to complain. Coming to the gate of Mr. Covey’s house he saw the master from far and turned his path to the forests as could not face him; Mr. Covey saw him but did not follow, he understood that sooner or later he would come back, hunger would make him return.
In the forests the narrator met another slave called Sandy, who was going to his wife living on the other side of the forest. Sandy was a good fellow and took the narrator with him to his wife who was a free woman. There they thought what could be done for the narrator but nothing came to their minds. Sandy himself was considered obtaining supernatural powers form African ancestors, these powers were not developed, but still there were things he knew. He said that the narrator should carry by him the roots of a herb which can be found in these forests, and these roots would help him avoid beating. The narrator accepted the offer which much doubt as did not believe that a herb can help in avoiding beating, but did not want to affend Sandy so agreed.
Next morning he went to the farm of Covey and to his surprise the master did not tell a word to him, only made orders. The narrator thought it was only because it was Sunday and the master with his wife were going to church. This assumption was right as on the next day the master tried to catch and tie the narrator, but he failed as the last resisted strongly and there was nobody to help Mr. Covey as other slaves refused to help him saying they had another work. Thus the narrator was never flogged again, this resistance performed helped.
As a year passed the narrator returned to Mr. Thomas and then was again hired by another farmer – Mr. Freeland. Mr. Freeland was a very good person and treated his slaves better that any slaveholder the narrator has ever met, but notwithstanding he was still a slaveholder. During this year an idea of escaping entered the narrator’s mind more often.
Few other slaves and he had come up with a plan of escape, but at the very last moment they were caught and put into jail. After few days all his friends were released but he himself was still kept, as it was the narrator who was the instigator. After few weeks Mr. Thomas released the narrator and told him he would send him to Baltimore and when the narrator turned twenty-five his master would emancipate him. The narrator believed it but little, but still it was a ray of hope which warmed him a little.
The narrator was really sent to Baltimore and lived with his former master Mr. Hugh. He was sent to study calking and later went to work on the ship. All his earned money the master took from him, so another stream of discontent and feeling of injustice started rising within him. Besides all the whites he had to deal with treated him really badly, he was often beaten by groups. All this made him consider running away more seriously. And he did. The narrator did not dwell on details of his escape, but assumed that in a week he appeared in New York safe and sound.
Many troubles he had come through, but even in New York good people could be found to help him. He was directed to New Bedfort and there started working and earning for living. The narrator had been working at different works, but it did not matter as the money paid belonged only to him.
With time he started visiting different meeting of abolitionists and later became one of them. They were traveling around states with their lectures, but the audience did not believe that the narrator was a fugitive slave as he was well educated and talked too well for a slave. Another reason for their disbelief was the fact that he did not tell names of his masters, or places where he came from. The narrator understood that this information would make him no good as still he was a slave who escaped and any moment he could be recaptured.
His friends, and he had obtained a lot of friends among both whites and black people, decided to send him to England where he would be in safe from slavery, as they understood as well that for him there is no lawful way to stay free in America. So the narrator went there and held fruitful activity in public lecturing. He made there a lot of new friends as well and they helped him to collect money to buy him out from slavery, so when he returned to America he was a free man.
On his return to motherland the narrator started a newspapers devoted to ideas of abolitionism, and continued him combat against slavery in every possible way.
