Frederick Douglass Study Guide, Chapters 6-11 – Flashcards
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What are two ways that Sophia Auld demonstrates her inexperience in owning slaves?
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She is uncomfortable with "crouching servility," and thinks it acceptable for a slave to look her in the eye
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Why are both Mr. and Mrs. Auld credited by Douglass for his learning to read?
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Mrs. Auld teaches Douglass his letters, and how to read three- and four-letter words, and Mr. Auld teaches Douglass that learning to read is his avenue out of slavery
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Who else helped Douglass learn to read?
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The boys on the streets of Baltimore were as much to thank as the Aulds
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What does Douglass learn about the white man's power to enslave the black man in Chapter 6?
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Douglass learns that the white man can keep the black race as slaves only if the slaves are kept illiterate
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How does Mr. Auld's opinion of blacks learning to read further the knowledge of Douglass and his feelings of self-respect and racial pride?
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Because Mr. Auld says that teaching blacks to read will mean that there is no keeping them, Douglass understands that blacks are as capable of learning to read as whites are, and only lack the opportunity to learn
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How is life in the city better than life on the plantations for the slaves?
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The slaves in the city have better clothes and more food, and white people in the city feel a sense of shame making cruelty toward slaves less commonplace
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What two examples does Douglass give in Chapter 6 to describe the experiences of slaves?
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Mr. and Mrs. Auld deny slaves the chance to learn to read and write, and Mrs. Hamilton is physically and emotionally abusive to her female slaves
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What emotions is Douglass trying to evoke from his readers from his descriptions of slavery?
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There is a sense that Douglass causes his readers to sympathize with the slaves in the incidents he describes, and come to understand that slavery is inhuman even if slaves are treated well
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Why does Douglass give such different accounts of the type of treatment slaves were subjected to in Chapter 6?
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He is emphasizing the diversity of the types of cruelty to which slaves are subjected
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What training does Sophia Auld receive in "irresponsible power" in Chapter 7, changing her naturally kind disposition?
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She stops teaching Douglass to read, and denies him access to newspapers and books, and then goes even further than her husband in her belief that reading is not good for slaves or slaveholders
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Douglass reads about a conversation between a slave and his master in "The Columbian Orator"--what moral does this story teach him?
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Douglass learns "the power of truth over the conscience of even a slaveholder," and how the slave in the book is freed from bondage as a result of his argument
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What does Douglass learn from Sheridan's speech, which is discussed in Chapter 7?
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Sheridan's speech gives a "denunciation of slavery, and a powerful vindication of human rights," showing him that slavery is wrong
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Why does Douglass find himself "regretting" his own existence in Chapter 7?
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He is tormented because he now understands his life as a slave, but does not know how to remedy his situation
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How does hearing about abolitionists confuse Douglass?
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He doesn't understand the words "abolition" and "abolitionist"
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How do the Irishmen he meets in Chapter 7 try to help Douglass with his escape?
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The Irishmen suggest that Douglass try to escape to the North
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Why does Frederick Douglass suffer more anxiety than other slaves during the division of the state in Chapter 8?
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He has known kindness, and it's harder for him to endure the possibility of belonging to a cruel master
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How are his memories an indication of the intelligence of Frederick Douglass?
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Douglass left the plantation when he was a child and didn't return for five years, yet he remembers it very well--his good memory is one indicator of intelligence
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Why does Douglass acknowledge his "grandmother" as the source of all of his old master's wealth?
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She peopled the plantation with slaves and thereby enabled his master to work his farms
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What happens to his grandmother in Chapter 8 that fills Douglass with "unutterable loathing of slaveholders"?
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His grandmother is taken to the woods and made to live alone in a hut because she is too old to work--she must gather her own food, and is denied the comfort of her children and grandchildren
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Why does Douglass regret not trying to escape while living with the Aulds?
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It is much harder to escape when one lives in the country than when one lives in the city
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What prevents Douglass from escaping from the Aulds?
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He is sent to live in St. Michael's, away from Baltimore, and misses his opportunity
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What does it mean by the statement that Captain Auld "was a slaveholder without the ability to hold slaves"?
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Captain Auld doesn't understand how to treat slaves, is mean and cruel, doesn't give them enough to eat, and doesn't know how to gain their respect
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Why does Captain Auld not know how to manage slaves?
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He acquired his slaves through marriage, and lacks the authoritative characteristics of an effective master
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How does Captain Auld use religious sanction in Chapter 9 to support his slaveholding cruelty?
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Captain Auld repeatedly beats a crippled young woman and justifies his behavior by quoting a passage of Scripture
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What is the piece of Scripture quoted by Captain Auld that he uses to justify his beating of the slave?
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"He that knoweth his master's will, and doeth it not, shall be beaten with many stripes."
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What does Douglass do that angers Captain Auld enough to send him to live with Mr. Covey for a year?
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Douglass deliberately lets Captain Auld's horse escape because the horse always returns to his father-in-law's farm, where slaves are well-fed
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Why are slaves sent to Mr. Covey?
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Mr. Covey is known for "breaking" slaves, and he "trains" them for a year on his own farm before sending them back to their owners
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Despite Mr. Covey's reputation as a hard master, why does Douglass go willingly to work on his farm?
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Douglass is not getting enough food, and he believes he will be well fed on Covey's farm
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Why do we find that Covey whips Douglass at least once a week for the first six months he is working for him?
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Chapter 10 shows us that Douglass is new at doing field-hand work, and makes many mistakes, so Covey uses the whip to punish him for his mistakes
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Why do slaves continue to do their work in Chapter 10 for Mr. Covey even if Mr. Covey is absent?
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Covey surprises his workers by crawling on his hands and knees in the grass, like a snake, to catch them when they are not working
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What evidence do we find in Chapter 10 that Covey believes himself to be a religious man, but is deceiving himself and trying to deceive God?
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Mr. Covey conducts prayer services and appears devotional, while forcing his slave, Caroline, to commit adultery, making her conceive a child so he can populate his farm with slaves
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Why does Douglass believe Covey is successful in breaking him and turning him into a brute?
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After six months, the natural elasticity of Douglass was crushed, his intellect languished, and his disposition to read had left him
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What do the ships on the Chesapeake represent to Douglass?
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The ships represent freedom
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Why does the writing of Douglass changes from a narrative of his life to a dramatic "apostrophe to the moving multitude of ships" in Chapter 10?
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Douglass seems to be trying to engage the emotions of the reader in the same way a speaker might try to move an audience with a dramatic reading
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Who is Sandy Jenkins?
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An older slave with a free wife, Sandy convinces Douglass that he will avoid any kind of beating by white folk if he keeps a specific kind of root on the right side of his body
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Why does Douglass come to believe in the superstition of Sandy Jenkins in Chapter 10?
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Mr. Covey speaks kindly to Douglass the next time they meet, instead of beating him for running away
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Why is the battle with Mr. Covey in Chapter 10 such a turning point for Douglass?
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Douglass wins the battle with Mr. Covey, and it restores his sense of manhood, self-confidence, and the determination of Douglass to be free
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Why does Mr. Covey no take Douglass to the constable to be whipped?
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It would ruin Covey's reputation for anyone to find out he couldn't handle a slave
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Why do the masters want their slaves to drink whiskey over the holidays?
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The masters think a slave who chooses to work during his time off doesn't deserve the time off, and a slave who doesn't work to save enough throughout the year to buy whiskey for the holidays is considered lazy
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In what way are the holidays given to the slaves "part and parcel of the gross fraud, wrong, and inhumanity of slavery," according to Frederick Douglass?
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Without the holidays, the slaves would revolt, and the slaves get a holiday because it is unsafe for the masters to deny it--not because they think the slaves deserve a break
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Why does Douglass think religious slaveholders are the worst?
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He believes that slaveholders in the South use religion as a means to justify the barbaric treatment of slaves
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What tells us in Chapter 10 that Douglass has a strong sense of racial pride?
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He runs a school on the Sabbath for other slaves to teach them how to read and write
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Does Douglass indulge occasionally in making a pun?
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Yes, he says he "began to want to live upon free land as well as with Freeland"
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Does Douglass make another allusion in Chapter 10?
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Yes, he refers to Shakespeare's Hamlet to explain why slaves are reluctant to escape
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How has Douglass learned the value of aggressive behavior?
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By resisting Covey, who backs down, Douglass realizes he has power, and then lets it be known that anyone who wants to whip him is going to have to kill him first
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How do the men know that their plot to escape has been betrayed?
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Though Douglass never tells us who or why, he and Sandy can just feel that they have been betrayed by someone
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How do we know that Douglass knows how the betrayer was?
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He writes, "We found the evidence against us to be the testimony of one person; our master would not tell who it was; but we came to a unanimous decision among ourselves as to who their informant was"
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Why does Captain Auld send Douglass back to Baltimore?
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Auld fears the community will kill Douglass because of its great prejudice toward any slaves who try to escape
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Why are there no arrests made when Douglass is assaulted by four white workmen at the shipyard?
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White witnesses will not testify, and the testimony of black witnesses is unacceptable in a court of law
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Is there an example of sarcasm used in Chapter 10 by Douglass?
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Yes, he refers to the "Christian city of Baltimore," but accuses the citizens to be guilty of un-Christian acts
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What kind of freedom does Douglass have over his own employment after learning to calk ships?
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He can find his own employment, make his own contracts, and collect his own wages--earning as much as nine dollars per week--but must give all the money to his master
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Why does Douglass decide not to tell us the details of his escape?
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He doesn't want to cause problems for the people who were willing to help him, and he doesn't want to reveal details that might help white slaveholders learn how to foil such attempts at escape
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What issue does Douglass have with the Underground Railroad?
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Though he is glad they help some slaves escape, he worries that this method is too public, and does nothing toward enlightening the slave
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Does Douglass believe that people should be responsible for their own happiness?
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Douglass plans to make money so he can eventually escape, so it would seem that he wants to take responsibility for his own future
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Why does the privilege of hiring his own time help Douglass?
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Because he agrees to pay Master Hugh three dollars each week, Douglass can choose employment that allows him to keep any extra money he can make
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Why does Douglass believe that more slaves don't try to escape?
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They find it difficult to leave their friends and loved ones behind
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Why does Douglass adopt the motto "Trust no man!" during his escape for freedom?
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He can trust no one, white or black, with the knowledge that he is an escaped slave
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How does Mr. David Ruggles help Douglass?
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He takes Douglass to his boarding house and helps him get to New Bedford where he can find work as a calker
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How does the Rev. J.W.C. Pennington help Douglass?
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He performs the marriage ceremony between Douglass and Anna
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How does Mr. Nathan Johnson help Douglass?
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An abolitionist, he helps Douglass and his wife by offering them hospitality in New Bedford and by paying their debt to the stagecoach line--he also helps him select the name of "Douglass"
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Why is Douglass surprised at the appearance of New Bedford?
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He is surprised that the North prospers without slaves, thinking that anyone who does not have slaves is poor
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What surprises Douglass about the other free blacks he meets in New Bedford?
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They live in finer houses and have more comforts than the slaveholders of the South
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How does the anti-slavery convention in Nantucket change Douglass?
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For the first time, he speaks out publicly against slavery, with the encouragement of Mr. William C. Coffin
