Reference no: EM133992945

Assignment:

Frederick Douglass

Discussion questions

1. Why does Douglass believe "Slavery proved as injurious to [his master's wife] as it did to [him]"?

2. After his confrontation with Mr. Covey, what does Douglass mean when he writes "however long I might remain a slave in form, the day had passed forever when I could be a slave in fact"?

3. When Douglass writes, "You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man," what does he understand a man to be?

4. Douglass describes knowledge as "valuable bread" and the Liberator, an anti-slavery paper, as his "meat and drink". How does literacy sustain him? That is, what is the relationship between literacy and his self-concept that Douglass explores in his narrative?

5. How is Douglass able to maintain his religious faith when that of his owners is used to justify their treatment of him?

6. How is Douglass's Narrative a double-voiced text? Explain.

7. Read the opening paragraph. What does it accomplish? How does the rest of the narrative reinforce the opening paragraph?

8. Is Douglass' text in the tradition of the Bildungsroman (a coming of age story)? If so, how?

9. How is manhood/masculinity being defined in Douglass' narrative? In what way does his re-memory affect his self-definition?

10. What are the qualities of a leader that Douglass exemplifies in his text? Point to specific places where he expresses these qualities.