The Narrative of Frederick Douglass: Chapter 9 Summary & Analysis

At this point, Douglass can now give accurate dates when describing his experience. He left Baltimore and arrived at St. Michael’s in March of 1832. It has been seven years since Douglass lived with Master Thomas Auld, and Douglass is soon reminded of the cruel spirit of Thomas and his wife. Thomas does not adequately feed his slaves. Douglass and the other slaves—his sister, Eliza; his aunt, Priscilla; and a woman named Henny—are forced to beg and steal in order to subsist. While the slaves starve, the Aulds’ storeroom overflows with bounty, and they pray for still more.

Thomas Auld is particularly mean and immoral because he gained his slaves by marriage. He attempts to adopt the mannerisms of people who were brought up owning slaves, but ends up relating to his slaves in an awkward and inconsistent manner. Because of this, the slaves hold him in contempt, and do not even address him as “master.”

In August of 1832, Thomas Auld goes to a Methodist camp-meeting and returns with strong religious faith. Douglass hopes that this faith might make Thomas emancipate his slaves, or at least treat them more humanely, but Thomas instead becomes a crueler man. Thomas now uses religion to justify owning slaves, and prays enthusiastically.

Preachers routinely come to Thomas Auld’s house, and eat well while the slaves starve. However, not all of the white people Douglass meets are unkind: one of the preachers, Mr. Cookman, is sympathetic to the slaves, and the slaves respect him for it. Another white man named Mr. Wilson sets up a Sabbath school to teach the slaves to read the new testament, but the school meets only three times before it is broken up by some of the most pious men in the town who dislike the idea of slaves learning to read anything, and who storm in wielding sticks.

Master Thomas is particularly abusive to Henny, whose deformed arms prevent her from doing any work but bearing burdens. He brutally whips Henny and then quotes scripture to justify his actions.

Douglass and Master Thomas do not get along, because Thomas thinks Douglass’s city upbringing has made him headstrong. Douglass regularly lets Thomas’s horse escape so that he can go to a neighboring farm and get something to eat. Thomas tries to discipline Douglass, but his whippings fail. Thomas decides to lend Douglass for a year to a farmer named Edward Covey, who is known for his ability to break slaves. Douglass is once again glad to for the change in ownership, as he hears that Covey will feed him well.