My Bondage and My Freedom, Chapter 15: samenvatting

Wat er gebeurt

1. On January first, 1834, the narrator walks from St. Michael’s to Covey’s home under Thomas Auld’s orders.
2. Untrained oxen overturn his cart and destroy a gate; Covey answers his account of these accidents with a brutal beating.
3. Covey uses weekly whippings, exhausting labor, and hidden watching to keep the workers afraid and working.
4. The narrator contrasts Covey’s prayers and hymns with his practice of forcing Caroline and Bill Smith together to produce children.
5. During his first six months, the narrator loses strength, intellectual energy, and his desire to read.
6. Watching ships on the bay, he voices plans for escape, but remains caught between hope, despair, and exhaustion.

In dit hoofdstuk

Waar je op kunt letten

The sentence states the combined physical and mental effects of Covey’s treatment. It marks the collapse of the narrator’s earlier resilience.

Korte controle