Explore topic-wise InterviewSolutions in Current Affairs.

Frederick Douglass has never seen any authentic record of his age in his life.

The dreadful experience of slavery starts the very minute a child is born. The child is separated from the mother in its infancy, breaking the bond between the mother and the child. Even after that, the mother is not allowed to meet the child often, and this again goes against the possibility of establishing an emotional bond. The child has to suffer the psychological impact of not knowing who the father is. Worse still are the whispers and speculations about who the possible father is. These emotional problems are compounded with physical harassment. The slaves are constantly whipped by not only their slave masters but also others such as overseers and the slave master’s white children.

The women are in an even worse situation. We can see that they are used by white men to fulfil their lust. Their plight as field hands is pitiable. They can move out only after nightfall and have to be back at work at dawn unless they have permission from their masters. The fact remains that their cruel masters do not easily give them such liberty. The references to the women who have had their heads slashed and body completely bruised with the beatings given with the cow skin are a testimony to the inhuman treatment meted out to the slaves by their masters.

Thus, the lesson, which is a first-hand narration of Frederick Douglass, makes the readers aware of the heart-wrenching plight of the slaves.

One of the things that sustained Douglass during the darkest hours of slavery was his deep conviction and spirit of hope that he would certainly come out of slavery someday.

The mistress always found fault with the slaves, particularly the mulatto children, and ensured that they came under the lash. Whenever she suspected her husband of showing extra favours to his mulatto children which he withheld from other black slaves, her anger was even more and she compelled her husband to sell this class of slaves. If he didn’t, the master had to whip such slaves himself or see one of his sons tie up and beat up his brother. Thus we see that the slaves suffered unbearable hardships at the hands of the slaveholder and his mistress, and if the master happened to be the father of the slave, the plight of such a slave was even worse.

It was whispered that Douglass’ master was his father.

The master considered the enquiries improper and impertinent, and evidence of a restless spirit.

First of all, the slave masters preferred it that the black children didn’t know their date of birth. Secondly, the children were separated from their mothers as infants and hence lost the chance of getting information about their birth from their mothers.

Frederick Douglass’ mother Harriet Bailey was the daughter of Isaac and Betsey Bailey.

The dreadful experience of slavery starts the very minute a child is born. The child is separated from the mother in its infancy, breaking the bond between the mother and the child. Even after the mother is not allowed to meet the child often, and this again goes against the possibility of establishing an emotional bond. The child has to suffer the psychological impact of not knowing who the father is. Worse still are the whispers and speculations about who the possible father is. These emotional problems are compounded with physical harassment. The slaves are constantly whipped by not only their slave masters but also others such as overseers and the slave master’s white children. Those slaves who are mulatto children of the white master face worse problems because their white master’s wife becomes their arch enemy. Suspecting her husband’s favouritism towards his mulatto children, the wife pressurises the master to sell these slaves.

The women are in an even worse situation. We can see that they are used by white men to fulfil their lust. Their plight as field hands is pitiable. They can move out only after nightfall and have to be back at work at dawn unless they have permission from their masters. The fact remains that their cruel masters do not easily give them such liberty. The references to the women who have had their heads slashed and body completely bruised with the beatings given with the cow skin are a testimony to the inhuman treatment meted out to the slaves by their white masters.

Thus, the lesson, which is a first-hand narration of Frederick Douglass, makes the readers aware of the heart-wrenching plight of the slaves.

The white masters want their slaves to be totally ignorant of their parentage. They hide their date of birth and seal the prospects of the slave children knowing who their fathers are. The slave children seldom come nearer to their birthday than planting-time, harvest-time, cherry-time, spring¬time, or fall-time. It is as if the society of the whites has a conspiracy of emotionally depriving the black children of a sense of belonging. The slave children cannot cling to any root and are forced to be with their masters. This ploy on the part of the white masters must have been to ensure that the slave children grew up with no self-confidence. Such a meek existence would ensure that the children .did not rebel against the injustice meted out to them in any way.

Captain Anthony possessed about thirty slaves.

The slaves remembered their birthdays by recalling a day that was nearer to seasonal events like planting-time, harvest-time, cherry-time, spring-time or fall-time.

To please his wife and also to avoid whipping them himself or see his white son whipping them.

Slavery is referred to as ‘foul embrace’ by Douglass.

That he did not know how old he was.

A distance of twelve miles, which meant walking 24 miles.

The child with a black mother and a white father is referred to as mulatto.

Harriet Bailey.

A white man who was the master of Douglass was rumoured to be his father.

Captain  Anthony.

Douglass received the news of his mother’s death with the same emotion as he would have probably felt on knowing about the death of a stranger.

Mr Plummer was a miserable drunkard, a profane swearer and a savage monster, according to Frederick Douglass.

The story of Douglass is the pitiable story of man’s cruelty scheming against the natural ways of nature. Douglass narrates to the readers as to how the selfish people who employed children as slaves systematically cut the children from their roots.

He knows that his mother was a black woman named Harriet Bailey from whom he was separated when he was an infant. He adds that it was the common custom in that part of Maryland that the children were thus separated from their mothers, hindering the natural bond between the mother and the child.

He had seen his mother only four or five times when she met him after walking twelve miles from Mr Stewart’s place where she worked as a field hand, and each of these times was very short in duration and at night. She had to be back in the field before the sunrise if she had to escape the penalty of whipping from the slave master. This left the mother and child very little time and scope for communication. She would lie down with him, and get him to sleep, but long before he woke she was gone. He does not remember having ever seen his mother by the light of the day. The sad outcome of this is that he does not remember much about his mother and when he lost her when he was around seven, he didn’t feel the usual emotions of sorrow.

This is a very sad outcome indeed when we consider the fact that the bond between a mother and a child is the strongest and the most beautiful bond of all and it is unnatural for the son not to feel grief at the loss of the mother. Douglass thus proves that the repercussions of serfdom are more than what meets the eye and the psychological dimensions are far worse than the economic implications.

When he was an infant.

About seven years old.

Douglass’ mother was able to meet him only at Night.

He separated the child from the mother in its infancy and blunted the natural affection of the mother for the child.

Mr  Stewart.

An overseer.

Mr Plummer was the overseer of Captain Anthony.

To hinder the child’s affection toward its mother, and to blunt the natural affection of the mother for the child.

Mr Plummer was so ruthless that Captain Anthony, who himself was a cruel slaveholder, was enraged by the cruelty of Plummer. Mr Plummer, as the overseer, was in charge of the farm and the slaves and exploited the situation fully to torment the slaves. He went around with not only the cowskin but also a heavy cudgel and cut and slashed women’s heads horribly. Mr Plummer comes out as a man who took sadistic pleasure in hurting others.

The strong sense of regret lies in the fact that he did not know who his father was and that he was separated from his mother as an infant. What makes the situation worse is that there is the common speculation that his father is a white man, and that his master is his father. He knows that his mother was a black woman named Harriet Bailey from whom he was separated because it was the common custom in that part of Maryland that the children were thus separated from their mothers, hindering the natural bond between the mother and the child. He had seen his mother only four or five times when she met him after walking twelve miles from Mr Stewart’s place where she worked as the field hand.

She had to be back in the field before the sunrise if she had to escape the penalty of whipping from the slave master. This left the mother and child very little time and scope for communication. The sad outcome of this is that when he lost her when he was around seven, he didn’t feel the usual emotions of sorrow. The sudden death of the mother put an end to whatever chance the author had of knowing who his father was. Thus, we see that a slave child is an emotionally deprived child.

Frederick Douglass was a mulatto child. Children who have one black and one white parent are called mulatto children. Such mulatto children are born to white slaveholders who very often keep their black women slaves as their mistresses.

According to Frederick Douglass, such slaveholders are compelled to sell their mulatto children because such slaves invariably suffer greater hardships than others. They are a constant offence to their white mistress (wife of the white master). She is ever disposed to find fault with them; they can seldom do anything to please her; she is never better pleased than when she sees them under the lash, especially when she suspects her husband of showing to his mulatto children favours which he withholds from his black slaves. Consequently, the master is frequently compelled to sell his mulatto slaves for two reasons – out of deference to the feelings of his white wife as well as on humanitarian grounds. If he does not do so, he would be forced to not only whip them himself but must also stand by and see a white son tie up his brother, who is of a few shades darker complexion than himself, and ply the gory lash to his naked back.

Douglass was born in Maryland.

The author comes out as an optimist who, in spite of horrible hardships, still has the hope of coming out of the bondage of slavery. He thanks God for giving him this tenacity. But, we can see that it is the inner strength of the speaker who opposes the injustice of not only his state but also the plight of all slaves. Being a witness to the tragic plight of his mother and the horrible state of his aunt must have strengthened his resolve to come out of the noose of slavery. It is because of such people who fought against all odds that the slaves got freedom from serfdom.