Roller-coaster of Emotions (Douglass Ch. 5 & 6)

       While reading these chapters one is served with a platter of different emotions, but most of all hope for change. There are a myriad of feelings we get from Frederick´s different situations. At first I was shocked and disgusted by the living conditions at Colonel Lloyd´s plantation. Although Douglass had his good share of leisure time he, "suffered much from hunger, but much more from cold. In hottest summer and coldest winter, I was kept almost naked--no shoes, no stockings, no jacket, no trousers, nothing on but a coarse tow linen shirt, reaching only to my knees. I had no bed" ( pg. 39). This made me place myself in his shoes, we give ourselves so many luxuries and often do not appreciate the basic needs that we have while many do not. Another disheartening moment is when we find out that they are fed "like so many pigs"where they must fight for the mush and only few are left satisfied.

       Next I felt joy at the news of his departure from the Colonel Lloyd´s. It could not possibly get worse than the plantation. Because of the conditions he lived in, Douglass makes it seem as if Baltimore was heaven. "The thought of owning a pair of trousers was great indeed!" (pg. 40). Then again, this made me wonder, how can someone be so happy about such simple things? It only shows how those who don´t have appreciate the most, this evidence of the saying "hunger is the best seasoning". 

       "And here I saw what I had never seen before; it was a white face beaming with the most kindly emotions; it was the face of my new mistress, Sophia Auld. I wish I could describe the rapture that flashed through my soul as I beheld it. It was a new and strange sight to me, brightening up my pathway with the light of happiness." I was so eager and excited for this stage of his life, things finally start to go well for Douglass in Baltimore. I also look up to his religious views, he is so glad and thankful to God for giving him this opportunity, but we do not see him whining and blaming God for making him a slave. :;

       I felt so much hope when I realized Douglass actually had a chance. After Mrs. Auld´s attempt to teach Frederick, it is accidentally revealed by Mr. Auld that education is the Key to freedom. "If you teach that nigger (speaking of myself) how to read, there would be no keeping him. It would forever unfit him to be a slave" (pg. 45). This brought a smirk to my face just as much as it did to Douglass. He now knew the secret and was determined to learn.

       At the end of the chapter, I was brought back to sad reality. The sickening treatment of oppressive slave-owners was everywhere, not only in plantations.  Douglass tells us about Henrietta and Mary. " The head, neck, and shoulders of Mary were literally cut to pieces. I have frequently felt her head, and found it nearly covered with festering sores, caused by the lash of her cruel mistress" (pg. 47). This made me so angry that I could feel them lashing at my chest. How could anybody be so inhumane?

VOCABULARY:

1) ell: A former measure of length (equivalent to six hand breadths) used mainly for textiles, locally variable but typically about 45 inches.

2) mange: A skin disease of mammals caused by parasitic mites that causes severe itching, hair loss, and the formation of scabs and lesions.

3) galling: Annoying; humiliating; vexing