Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass Chapter 6 Summary

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an autobiography written by Frederick Douglass and published in 1845, tells the story of a former slave who emerges as a passionate abolitionist and advocate for the end of American slavery. The purpose of the narrative is to describe the obstacles Douglass faced as a slave in America and to uncover the mental and physical abuse he suffered. Through these experiences, Douglass highlights the venoms of slavery, suggesting that the mere ownership of slaves can poison even the most kindhearted person. In chapter six, Douglass focuses his narrative on his new slave owner Sophia Auld and also introduces two mistreated slaves, Mary and Henrietta, to support his central claim that slavery can deteriorate a person’s character and physical body. Douglass opens chapter six with the introduction of Sophia Auld to depict how slavery can corrupt a person’s nature. Sophia, Hugh Auld’s wife and Douglass’ new mistress, has never owned a slave before. Therefore, she does not understand the slave owning world. Sophia is described as a kind, caring woman with a, “face made of heavenly smiles,” (Ch 6; 19). This description emphasizes Sophia’s joyful personality and pure heart. Her kindness is best illustrated in a nurturing gesture to Douglass, who
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass serves as an emotional, revealing literary piece that exposes slavery as a destructive system. Ultimately, Douglass’ narrative presents a powerful political message to our society. Educating those who play a part in this society about the consequences and damaging nature of slavery inspires civilians to make a change in the community, thus making Douglass’ memoir an effective representative of American abolitionist