Douglass is surprised at the apparent wealth in new

Douglass is surprised at the apparent wealth in New Bedford.
The people appear to be in good health and seem stronger
than the people in Maryland. Douglass notes that even black
people live well in New Bedford; they live comfortably and look
out for one another. Douglass is unable to find work as a
caulker—too many whites refuse to work with black men—but
he is able to find a job loading oil on a ship.
Four months after arriving in New Bedford, Douglass begins
reading the newspaper the Liberator, which he very much
enjoys. He attends antislavery meetings, including one in
Nantucket in 1841, where he is encouraged to speak. He does
so reluctantly, as it is his first time speaking in front of white
people, but his brief speech is well received. From that point
forward, Douglass is engaged in "pleading the cause of my
brethren."
In an appendix to the narrative, Douglass explains his religious
beliefs. His criticisms apply only to the "slaveholding religion" of
the land, not to Christianity proper. One is as "good, pure, and
holy" as the other is "bad, corrupt, and wicked." He abhors the
hypocrites who hold a whip during the week and attend church
on Sunday and who preach against theft and adultery while
dealing in the sale of slaves.
Analysis
The system of slavery in the American South was an economic
issue as well as a moral one. Southern plantation owners
utilized blacks as an unpaid workforce, which enabled the
owners to increase profits. As seen with Mr. Covey earlier in
the narrative, slaves are a commodity used for economic gain.
How appropriate, then, that economics is what incites
Douglass to enact his escape plan. Douglass makes a sound
and profitable economic decision when he escapes the chains
of slavery.
When Hugh Auld gives Douglass money, Douglass prefers not
to keep it; he does not want to assuage Hugh Auld's guilt.
Unlike many other slaves and former slaves, Douglass shows

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass Study Guide Quotes 23
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himself equally adept at the mind games that slaveholders play
with their slaves. He cannot be bought off with a weeklong
drunken bender. Douglass has a sense of his own value.
Money and economics continue to motivate Douglass on his
arrival in New Bedford. He is surprised at the wealth that exists
in the town. Even the home of Mr. Johnson, a laborer, is better
than those of "nine tenths of the slaveholders in Talbot County
Maryland," and the black residents also live well. But just as in
Baltimore, whites in New Bedford refuse to work with blacks.
While Douglass spends little time on this fact, it leaves the
reader wondering just how different the North is from the
South. In the South, there is slavery, and in the North, prejudice.
Douglass does not provide the details of his escape, and for
good reason. He hopes slaveholders will be confused and
uncertain about whether or not their slaves might escape. He
does not want to give away any information about escape
routes or how slaves might escape. He also wants to protect
those who help slaves escape.