I can work for a living; I am not afraid of work; I have no Master Hugh to rob me of my earnings”—placed me in a state of independence, beyond seeking friendship or support of any man.
Douglass describes the profound sense of independence and self-worth he gained from earning his own wages after escaping slavery.
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The father might be a white man, glorying in the purity of his Anglo-Saxon blood, and his child ranked with the blackest slaves.
I looked into this kitchen with peculiar interest, and remembered that it was there I last saw my mother.
For the moment the northern lamb was transformed into a lion, and his roar was terrible.