Vocabulary Power
This word means "cruel and oppressive" – how Douglass describes many slaveholders
What is tyrannical?
Douglass's first master, owner of the home plantation.
Who is Captain Anthony?
The city where Douglass was sent to live with the Aulds
What is Baltimore?
The main institution Douglass critiques throughout his narrative.
What is slavery?
Douglass's approximate age, which he didn't know exactly.
What is he didn't know his exact birthdate?
When Douglass was "bereft" of his grandmother, he experienced this feeling
What is deprived/robbed of something valued?
This cruel overseer whipped Douglass's Aunt Hester.
Who is Mr. Plummer?
This brutal event Douglass witnessed as a child involved his aunt
What is a whipping/beating?
Douglass argues this is used to keep slaves obedient and ignorant.
What is denying education/literacy?
The name of the plantation where Douglass was born
What is Colonel Lloyd's plantation?
Masters used this practice, meaning "deprivation," to keep slaves ignorant.
What is privation?
The "kind and tender-hearted" woman who began teaching Douglass to read
Who is Sophia Auld?
Mrs. Auld's transformation from kind teacher to harsh mistress was caused by this
What is the corrupting influence of slavery?
Douglass shows that slavery corrupts this group of people too.
Who are slaveholders/white people?
Douglass's mother's name
Who is Harriet Bailey?
This word describes the "chattel" status of enslaved people
What is property?
This master forbade his wife from teaching Douglass, saying it would make him unfit to be a slave.
Who is Hugh Auld?
Douglass learned to read by befriending these people
Who are poor white children in the neighborhood?
The "pathway from slavery to freedom" according to Douglass
What is reading/literacy/education?
How often Douglass saw his mother before she died.
What is only a few times/rarely?
Douglass uses "benevolent" to describe this ironic quality some slaveholders claimed
What is kindness/charitable?
The slave trader who bought slaves and took them to the deep South.
Who is Austin Gore (or Mr. Gore)?
This realization came to Douglass after learning to read
What is understanding that knowledge/literacy is the path to freedom?
Douglass uses this rhetorical strategy by showing how slavery dehumanizes both enslaved and enslaver
What is irony/paradox?
The suspected identity of Douglass's father
Who is his white master?