The Lost Letters of Frederick Douglass

The first person to help Douglass learn to read was

• another slave.

• His Master

• The wife of his Master

• a white boy from the street.

Why does Douglass say that learning to read was a curse rather than a blessing?

• It showed his horrible situation, but not how to escape it.

• No books were available to him so he had nothing to read.

• He was upset that his slave owners would be angry with him.

• The young boys who helped him learn could get in serious trouble.

The more Douglass read books such as "The Columbian Orator," the more he

• enjoyed to read.

• became hopeful for his future.

• realized his value to his master.

• came to hate his enslavers.

What is Douglass's most likely purpose for writing his autobiography?

• to make readers agree that reading is important

• to inform readers about the life of a slave

• to express feelings about Master Hugh

• to tell an interesting story from his past

Which is an example of a cause-and-effect relationship?

• Douglass comes to consider reading both a blessing and a curse.

• Douglass gave bread to young boys and they helped him learn to read.

• Douglass considers his mistress to be kind and later she is cruel to him.

• Douglass was twelve years old and did not want to be a slave for life.

What steps did Douglass take to continue learning to read after his mistress stopped teaching him? SELECT TWO.

• took his book, ran errands quickly, and found time for a lesson

• carried bread for the young boys who agreed to teach him

• ran errands quickly and stopped by the library

• asked his master to continue teaching him

• asked other slaves who knew how to read

The selection can best be identified as an autobiography because

• it is told in first person about actual events

• it has historical figures in authentic settings

• it is told in third person with accurate facts

In paragraph 2, Douglass calls his mistress tigerlike to emphasize how

• threatening she became when she decided to deny him an education

• forceful she was when it came to caring for the hungry or needy

• angry she became when she witnessed her husband mistreating the slaves

The word commanded comes from a Latin root word that means to? (She was not satisfied with simply doing as well as he had commanded; she seemed anxious to do better.)

• trust

• order

• join

• call

What is the most likely reason the author (Frederick Douglass) included paragraph 5 in the selection?

*This is the paragraph about the fiction book he read where the slave talked his master into setting him free.

• To show that reading is an important step in gaining knowledge

• To suggest that a book gave him hope that someday he could be free

• To show that he was thinking about running away from his master

• To suggest that he could converse with his master if he were well-read