Summary: Chapter VII
Douglass lives in Hugh Auld’s household for about seven
years. During this time, he is able to learn how to read and write,
though Mrs. Auld is hardened and no longer tutors him. Slavery hurts
Mrs. Auld as much as it hurts Douglass himself. The mentality of
slavery strips her of her inherent piety and sympathy for others,
making her hardened and cruel.
However, Douglass has already learned the alphabet and
is determined to learn how to read. He gives bread to poor local
boys in exchange for reading lessons. Douglass writes that he is
now tempted to thank these boys by name, but he knows that they
would suffer for it, as teaching blacks still constitutes an offense.
Douglass recalls the boys sympathetically agreeing that he no more
deserved to be a slave than they did themselves.
At around the age of twelve, Douglass encounters a book
called The Columbian Orator, which contains a philosophical
dialogue between a master and a slave. In the dialogue, the master
lays out the argument for slavery, and the slave refutes each point,
eventually convincing the master to release him. The book also contains
a reprint of a speech arguing for the emancipation of Irish Catholics and
for human rights generally. The book helps Douglass to fully articulate
the case against slavery, but it also makes him hate his masters
more and more. This dilemma is difficult position for Douglass and
often fills him with regret. As Hugh Auld predicted, Douglass’s
discontent is painfully acute now that he understands the injustice
of his situation but still has no means by which to escape it. Douglass
enters a period of nearly suicidal despair.
During this period, Douglass eagerly listens to anyone
discussing slavery. He often hears the word “abolitionist.” In a
city newspaper account of a Northern abolitionist petition, Douglass
finally discovers that the word means “antislavery.”
One day around this time, Douglass kindly helps two Irish
sailors at the wharf without being asked. When they realize that
Douglass is doomed to be a slave for life, the sailors encourage
him to run away to the North. Douglass does not respond to them,
for fear they might be trying to trick him. White men are known
to encourage slaves to escape and then recapture them for the reward
money. But the idea of escape nonetheless sticks in Douglass’s head.
Meanwhile, Douglass sets out to learn how to write. After watching
ships’ carpenters write single letters on lumber, Douglass learns
to form several letters. He practices his letters on fences, walls,
and the ground around the city. He approaches local boys and starts
contests over who can write the best. Douglass writes what he can
and learns from what the boys write. Soon, he can copy from the dictionary.
When the Aulds leave Douglass alone in the house, he writes in Thomas
Auld’s old discarded copybooks. In this painstaking manner, Douglass
eventually learns to write.
