Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass Short Summary

This is a memoir by Frederick Douglass, who was a slave in Massachusetts. The book describes his experiences during the time of slavery. The book became published in 1845 by one of the offices of Anti-Slavery. The book shows the life of Douglass and his ambition to be free.

A Flick Through of the Synopsis

He starts by confirming that he does not know the true date of his birth, and he later chose one. His mother passed away when he was seven, and Douglass had only a few memories about her. He believes his father is white and probably his owner. Douglass witnessed his Aunt named Hester getting whipped. He provides details about how slaves were being treated and how they were made to behave in front of the masters. Fear is what kept slaves there, and they were punished for telling the truth.

As a child, he was spared from beatings. Douglass only met his mother a few times before she passed away. He was not even allowed to attend the burial. However, since he is young, he does not know that this was not normal.

He later gets sent to Baltimore to work under new masters. Douglass has several new experiences, but the most important thing he learned was the power that came with education. The wife of his master teaches him to read, and she gets in trouble for it. Douglass starts teaching himself. He begins suspecting that if slaves get educated, their masters could not stop their freedom.

Douglass starts fighting for his freedom when he turns into a man. He talks back to his master, and this results in Douglass being sent to Cover, known for breaking the Slave spirit. Covey tries to break Douglass. He is successful for some time, and Douglass gets reduced to the state of an animal. Another important moment of his life is when Douglass decides that he will die first than be treated like a slave again. When Covey attempts to whip Douglass, he stands his ground. A fight ensues and lasts at least two hours. Covey lets him be. Douglass decides he will never get whipped again.

Douglas is moved across different masters while always keen to find freedom. He fails in an attempt to escape, but on the next, he manages to reach New York. He gets free, but the journey is not over for him. He has a goal to ensure that all slaves get their freedom.