Frederick Douglass

Typical slaves work on cotton plantations, are uneducated, and do not receive special treatment. This does not describe the life of the slave, Frederick Douglass. He is not your typical slave. He wrote this narrative in order to share his life, and discuss how slavery is harmful to not only the slaves, but also to their owners. He shares many similar aspects of a normal slave, but we can also see that he was not treated like most slaves during this time. We see how Frederick Douglass shares his interesting and different experience and how the relationship between him and his owners differed than most. Frederick Douglass was unsure of year he was born, as most slaves were not allowed to know their age. His mother was slave, but was sold while Frederick was young and he did not know his mother well. Also, it was not known who his true father was, but it was to be believed that it might be his first owner, Captain Anthony. This was not that different because many slave owners would sexual assault their female slaves in order to add to their slave population. Captain Anthony was a clerk for Colonel Lloyd, who had own hundreds of slaves. On this plantation, they grew tobacco, rice and wheat, when most slaves usually work on cotton plantations. On the plantation, Douglass had it easier than most slaves. Being young, he did not have to work in the fields with most of the slaves, but instead, he was able to work inside the household. The first seven years of Frederick Douglass’s life was spent on that plantation. He was then given to Hugh Auld, in the city of Baltimore. Slaves in the city were different than slaves on plantations. They were given leisure time and the owners would not appear cruel towards their slaves. The better treated the slaves were, the better the owners looked. He did not mind leaving the plantation because he did not have any family that he was leaving behind like most people did. Douglass keeps a positive attitude throughout the hardships