Slavery and Identity

The narrative of Frederick Douglass - Texte

La vie de Frederick Douglass, ancien esclave et abolitionniste éminent, est marquée par une ignorance profonde de son identité et de son passé. Douglass a été séparé de sa mère à un jeune âge et a grandi sans connaître son âge exact ni l'identité de son père. Dans ce chapitre, issu de son autobiographie, Douglass relate cette enfance ancrée dans le Sud esclavagiste au XIXe siècle.

CHAPTER I.

I was born in Tuckahoe, near Hillsborough, and about twelve miles from Easton, in Talbot county, Maryland. I have no accurate knowledge of my age, never having seen any authentic record containing it. By far the larger part of the slaves know as little of their ages as horses know of theirs, and it is the wish of most masters within my knowledge to keep their slaves thus ignorant. I do not remember to have ever met a slave who could tell of his birthday.

They seldom come nearer to it than planting-time, harvest-time, cherry-time, spring-time, or fall-time. A want of information concerning my own was a source of unhappiness to me even during childhood. The white children could tell their ages. I could not tell why I ought to be deprived of* the same privilege. I was not allowed to make any inquiries* of my master concerning it. He deemed all such inquiries on the part of a slave improper and impertinent, and evidence of a restless spirit. The nearest estimate I can give makes me now between twenty-seven and twenty-eight years of age. I come to this, from hearing my master say, some time during 1835, I was about seventeen years old.

My mother was named Harriet Bailey. She was the daughter of Isaac and Betsey Bailey, both colored, and quite dark. My mother was of a darker complexion than either my grandmother or grandfather.

My father was a white man. He was admitted to be such by all I ever heard speak of my parentage. The opinion was also whispered that my master was my father; but of the correctness of this opinion, I know nothing; the means of knowing was withheld from me*.

My mother and I were separated when I was but an infant--before I knew her as my mother. It is a common custom, in the part of Maryland from which I ran away, to part children from their mothers at a very early age.

Frequently, before the child has reached its twelve month, its mother is taken from it, and hired out on some farm a considerable distance off, and the child is placed under the care of an old woman, too old for field labor. For what this separation is done, I do not know, unless it be to hinder* the development of the child's affection toward its mother, and to blunt and destroy the natural affection of the mother for the child. This is the inevitable result.

F. Douglass (1845), "The Narrative of Frederick Douglass", Chapter I.

Vocabulary tips:

why I ought to be deprived of: pourquoi je devrais être privé de
to make any inquiries: demander des renseignements, enquêter
was withheld from me: m'a été refusé, m'a été caché
hinder: entraver, empêcher

The narrative of Frederick Douglass - Questions

What did you understand fromThe narrative of Frederick Douglass? Answer the following questions.

1.Where and when was Frederick Douglass born?

2.Why did he not know his exact age?

3.What was his mother’s name?

4.What does he suspect about his father’s identity?

5. Why were slaves often unaware of their birthdays?

6.How were children and mothers separated, and why?

7.Who usually took care of the children when their mothers were taken away?

8.How did Douglass feel about not knowing his age?

9.What was the attitude of the slave owners towards slaves asking about their age?

10.Based on the excerpt, what emotions do you think Douglass wants to convey about slavery?

Slavery and Identity

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A strong feeling of moral indignation - Questions

The narrative of Frederick Douglass

The narrative of Frederick Douglass - Texte

The narrative of Frederick Douglass - Questions