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Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave

by Frederick Douglass

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Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave Questions and Answers

How did Frederick Douglass learn to read?

Who is Frederick Douglass' intended audience in his autobiography, the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass?

What was Douglass's purpose in writing his Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave?

What is Frederick Douglass's overall claim in The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass? What evidence does he use to support his claim?

Explain how Douglass uses literary devices such as imagery, personification, figures of speech, and sounds to make his experiences vivid for his readers in Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas, an American Slave.

How many masters did Frederick Douglass have?

Why do you think it was important for slave owners to keep slaves ignorant about their birthdays and parentage? Douglass opens his story in Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave by telling us that he is troubled by not knowing when he was born. Why is this fact so important to him?

In Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, did the mistress's initial kindness or her eventual cruelty have a greater effect on Frederick Douglass?

I need one literary device for chapters 3 5 6 8-11 if possible a quote for the literary device from the book "Narrative life of Frederick Douglass"

Why were literacy and reading so important to Douglass in Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave?

What does Frederick Douglass mean when he says "Bread of Knowledge"?

What are examples of ethos, logos, and pathos in chapter 11 of The Life of Frederick Douglass?

Why would a slaveholder want to keep a slave ignorant of such a simple thing as his birth date?

What arguments against slavery did Frederick Douglass make in the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass?

What is meant by the quote, "I have shown you how a man was made a slave; now I will show you how a slave was made a man," from Frederick Douglass's "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave"?

What is the setting of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass?

Compare Frederick Douglass's and Harriet Jacobs's lives as slaves.  

What style of writing did Frederick Douglass use in his autobiography?

Compare and contrast the narratives by Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs.

What are the literary devices in Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass?

Does Frederick Douglass use figurative language in Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave?

Identify aspects of slavery that Frederick Douglass consider the worst.

How does Douglass portray the effects of slavery on masters and slaves? On the family? On religion?

What were the most important events that occurred  in Fredderick Douglass's life in Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass?

How do you respond to Douglass's situation and to the portrait he presents of himself as you read it today, more than a hundred and fifty years after it was written? 

In "Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass", how does Frederick Douglass's writing make his audience feel about slavery?

What source does Douglass rely on to learn how to read and write as explained in Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave?

How does learning to read and write change Douglas, as he outlines in Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave?

How did Frederick Douglass describe slave life on Colonel Lloyd’s plantation in his Narrative?

What are the ethos,logos,and pathos of chapters 1-4 in Frederick Douglass, an American Slave  

Analyze the following passage from chapter 7 of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, from "I lived in Master Hugh's family about seven years" to "treating me as though I were a brute." Please identify the main formal features of this passage—its narration, its verb tenses, its patterns such as repetitions, oppositions, and parallels, and any figurative language.

In Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, why does Douglass predict that a "very different-looking" class of slaves is springing up in the South?

Why is Douglass surprised by New Bedford in Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass?

How did Frederick Douglass think religious beliefs affected the way that people treated slaves?  

What did you find to be the most surprising part of Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass? What did you find to be the most surprising part of Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass?

What kinds of conflicts did Frederick Douglass face?

In Ch. 9, how does Douglass come to know the date?

In his Narrative, Frederick Douglass compares his life on a plantation to his life as an urban slave in Baltimore. How were they different?

From what did Frederick suffer the most as a young child in Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave?

What are five reasons why slave narratives are important?

How did Frederick Douglass and the slaves suffer mental and physical abuse in Douglass' narrative?

How does Frederick Douglass establish his identity in the book Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave?

What are five themes in Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave?  

How do the use of Douglass's rhetorical devices seek to create a better effect on the audience in Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass?

What are the major events in Frederick Douglass' life in The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass?

Discuss the following themes in Frederick Douglass's Narrative: home, power, violence, mind, and manhood.

What American values or ethics does Douglass seem to embrace or reject in Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass?

In Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, how is the white man a victim of slavery as well, according to Douglass?

In Frederick Douglass's Narrative, how did slavery impact the author's relationships with his biological family?

Explain Douglass' claim "However long I might remain a slave in form, the day had passed forever when I could be a slave in fact."