Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass and Textual Evidence

Front

Who is the author of the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass?

Back

Frederick Douglass

Front

Why was Douglass “making friends of all the little white boys”?

Back

He knew that they could read and he could not.

Front

Why does Douglass not reveal the names of the boys who taught him to read?

Back

It was illegal to teach slaves to read and he does not want them to get in trouble.

Front

What does the passage reveal about Frederick Douglass's life? "As I read and contemplated the subject, behold! that very discontentment which Master Hugh had predicted would follow my learning to read had already come, to torment and sting my soul to unutterable anguish."

Back

Douglass’s owner had warned him that learning to read would cause him pain.

Front

Which is most closely a central idea of this excerpt?

Back

The process of self-discovery can be a painful one.

Front

Which evidence from the text most strongly supports the idea that self-discovery (learning/bettering oneself) is a painful process?

Back

“As I writhed under it, I would at times feel that learning to read had been a curse rather than a blessing.”

Front

Which of the following inferences is best supported by the text?

• The boys who taught Mr. Douglass to read will be disappointed to see that he does not credit them by name.
• Books gave Mr. Douglass the hope that he could one day obtain his freedom.
• Mr. Douglass learned to read so that he could study a variety of topics.
• Mr. Douglass only thought about freedom when he was reading a book.

Back

Books gave Mr. Douglass the hope that he could one day obtain his freedom.

Front

Which statement from the text most strongly supports that books gave Mr. Douglass the hope that he could one day obtain his freedom?

Back

“The moral which I gained from the dialogue was the power of truth over the conscience of even a slaveholder.”