Narrative of the life of Fredric Douglass - Essay Example

Douglass remembers how Aunt Hester was whipped without remorse until blood flowed from her back. This incident terrified Douglass who hid in a closet to avoid the horrible sight. Douglass had lived with his grandmother before coming to work here and now he realized how grisly life was on the plantation. The plantation owned by Colonel Lloyd as Douglass describes was a “great business place” (20). Colonel Lloyd was extremely powerful and authoritative in the area mainly because he kept a large number of slaves ranging between 200 and 300, and he also owned the surrounding farms.

Two of the surrounding farms were Wye Town and New Design. These two farms were overseen by Noah Willis and Mr. Townsend respectively but were ultimately under the control of Colonel Lloyd who advised and managed these farms. This was a place where arguments regarding slaves were resolved and it was also the place where the salves received their quota of food and clothing. A fixed quota of food and clothing was given. The monthly food allowance consisted of 8 pounds of pork or fish and a bushel of corn meal (Douglass, 20).

For clothing, the yearly allowance consisted of 2 linen shirts, 1 pair of trousers and another pair for winters, a jacket, a pair of stockings and shoes. Children’s allowance was paid to their mothers or caregivers. Those children who worked on the farm often got clothes that faded before the year ended. So, most children often had clothes that hardly covered their bodies. Colonel Lloyd replaced Mr. Hopkins with Mr. Austin Gore as the overseer of the farm where Douglass worked. Mr. Gore was a very cruel man which earned him the position of an overseer at Colonel Lloyd’s farms.

Douglass remembers a time when Mr. Gore was punishing a slave named Demby when only after a few lashes, Demby ran into a creek in order to avoid the whipping. Demby was given a warning by Mr. Gore who said that he would be shot if he did not come out in 3 calls. Demby did not and so he was shot by Mr. Gore without a second chance. Douglass was soon sent from the plantation to Baltimore. He describes the moment of freedom as a very happy moment of his life. Douglass no longer had to work for his cruel old master and now he was sent to work for Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Auld who were the in-laws of Colonel Lloyd's son-in-law, Mr.

Thomas Auld. Douglass had to take care of their son, little Thomas. Douglass describes Mrs. Auld as being a very kind and pleasant lady. She was “was entirely unlike any other white woman” Douglass had seen (Douglass, 28). After Douglass arrived at Baltimore to work for them, Mrs. Auld began giving him reading classes. She taught him the alphabets A, B, C, and how to spell a few words. However, Mr. Auld soon found out and stopped her from teaching Douglass. This acted as a cue for Douglass for his journey from slavery to freedom and he appreciated that.

Soon after his arrival in Baltimore, Colonel Lloyd's son, Richard died. Douglass' old master Captain Andrew also died leaving behind only Master Andrew and his sister, Lucretia. Thus, it became extremely important to get a valuation of the property so that the land could be equally divided between the remaining offspring. Douglass was also sent to be valued as a property which stimulated a feeling of dislike within Douglass. All slaves including men, women, and children were valued along with other properties including far