Summary of “Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass” Chapter 11
The final chapter of “Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass”, chapter 11, begins with Frederick Douglass stating that it was this part of his life during which he planned and eventually succeeded in making his escape from slavery. He disapproves of the Western “Underground Railroad” because it is overly publicized and becoming too well-known. Although he honors the good men and women helping the slaves escape via the Underground Railroad, he sees no good in it in the long run, as it will not only make masters become more watchful over their slaves, but also the escaped slaves have no help with making a new life for themselves in the north.
Finally, in early
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He thought that the people in the North would be living in slightly less good conditions than those of the South due to the lack of slavery, and thus, labor. But looking around the area, he was proven wrong.
On the third day of Douglass’s arrival in New Bedford, he found a job on a ship by stowing a sloop with loads of oil. He soon left the job due to the strong prejudice against color among the white caulkers and found a different job. Frederick said that the day he worked on the ship, he worked with a pleasure he’d never experienced, knowing that there was nobody to take away his hard-earned money anymore.
One day in New Bedford, Frederick Douglass came across a young man asking him if he’d like to buy a copy of the newspaper the “Liberator”. He wanted to, but couldn’t as he had no money. Soon, however, he became a subscriber to it and began reading about the anti-slavery reform. He joined the cause joyfully and began attending the meetings. During one meeting in Nantucket on August 11th, 1841, Douglass was urged to speak by Mr. William Coffin, and he reluctantly did so. But he felt pretty alright about it once he spoke, and that was the beginning of his speaking up for the cause of his