Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass · Character

Captain Thomas Auld

A slaveholder who never learned to command, Thomas Auld finds religion and uses it to sanctify cruelty rather than renounce it.

supporting

Also known as Captain Thomas Auld, Captain Auld, Thomas, Master Thomas Auld, Master Thomas

First appearance: Chapter I

As a supporting figure in Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Captain Thomas Auld is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

Douglass's master, who sends him to Covey and later to St.

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Douglass's master in St. Michael's, Auld is awkward and fretful, unable to make his slaves call him master and humiliated by their quiet defiance. His Methodist conversion raises Douglass's hopes of kindness or emancipation, but instead Auld becomes harsher, praying morning and night while starving his slaves and stuffing visiting preachers. He embodies the book's charge that American Christianity can be twisted into a shield for slavery.

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See Captain Thomas Auld in Chapter I

Character Web

15 connections

A slice of how Captain Thomas Auld sits in the book — open the reader for the full interactive map.

Relationship types

Family
Professional
Other

Character groups

Cruel Overseers and Masters
Key Figures in Douglass's Life

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.

Setup
Breaking point
Aftermath
Closing

This chapter marks the dramatic climax because it captures the emotional and psychological peak of Douglass’s…

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Relationships

Cousin Tom
family · negative
Captain Thomas Auld is Cousin Tom's master and relative, treating him with the same… How this plays out →
William Gardner
professional · ambivalent
Lucretia Auld
family · ambivalent

Relationship notes

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See Captain Thomas Auld in Chapter I

In the story

Captain Thomas Auld appears across 7 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
Douglass's master, who sends him to Covey and later to St. Michael's.
Chapter I
Referred to as 'Captain Anthony' in the text; Douglass's first master who cruelly whips Aunt Hester.
II
Son-in-law of Colonel Lloyd and master of the sloop Sally Lloyd; part of the master's family.
Chapter IV
Referred to as 'my old master'; present when Mr. Gore was questioned about Demby's murder.
Chapter VIII
Marries Rowena Hamilton and takes Douglass from Master Hugh to live with him in St. Michael's.
Chapter IX
Douglass's new master in St. Michael's; mean, cruel, and hypocritical; his religious conversion made him more brutal.
Chapter XI
Mentioned as the master to whom Douglass paid his weekly wages.

Chapter companion notes

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See Captain Thomas Auld in Chapter I

See Captain Thomas Auld in Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass