The father-and-son pair of slaves who maintain Colonel Lloyd’s stable represent the unpredictable and unreasonable demands slaveholders make of their slaves. The Barneys are held accountable for everything that displeases the Colonel, and cannot speak up to defend themselves or their conduct.
Old Barney and Young Barney Quotes in The Narrative of Frederick Douglass
The The Narrative of Frederick Douglass quotes below all refer to the symbol of Old Barney and Young Barney. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 3
Quotes
On Old Barney and Young Barney: “No excuse could shield them, if the colonel only suspected any want of attention to his horses—a supposition which he frequently indulged, and one which, of course, made the office of old and young Barney a very trying one. They never knew when they were safe from punishment. They were frequently whipped when least deserving, and escaped whipping when most deserving it.”
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Old Barney and Young Barney Symbol Timeline in The Narrative of Frederick Douglass
The timeline below shows where the symbol Old Barney and Young Barney appears in The Narrative of Frederick Douglass. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 3
...also kept a luxurious stable, under the care of a father-and-son team of slaves named Old Barney and Young Barney . Whenever the Colonel notices the slightest problem with his riding equipment, he blames the...
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