Vocabulary
This word means something you cannot do without.
indispensable
After killing Demby, this overseer faces no punishment and continues working.
Mr. Gore
“I would at times feel that learning to read had been a curse…”
Douglass envying ignorant slaves
Douglass’s time with this man involved brutal labor and punishment.
Mr. Covey
Slavery weakened families by doing this to children and mothers.
separating them early
This word means enough to meet a need.
sufficient
Slaves often lied about kind masters mainly to avoid punishment and this consequence.
being sold away from family
“I have often wished myself a beast.”
his desire to escape painful awareness
Covey refuses to report Douglass’s resistance because he fears losing this.
his reputation as a slave breaker
Douglass hesitates to join abolitionists because he lacks this confidence.
confidence in his speaking ability
This word means to stop something from being expressed.
suppress
Douglass viewed literacy as powerful because it gave him hope for freedom but also this painful realization.
awareness of his oppression
“The more I read, the more I detested my enslavers.”
literacy increasing his hatred of slavery
Douglass is surprised in New Bedford by this reality.
prosperity without slavery
Encouragement from abolitionists helps Douglass realize this about his story.
his experiences are powerful and important
This word means to argue or state strongly.
contend
This book taught Douglass arguments about freedom and justice
The Columbian Orator
This quote shows literacy revealed his suffering without giving him freedom.
view of wretched condition without remedy
His fight with Covey restores this internal quality.
self-respect/manhood
Slaveholders maintained power using violence, fear, and this tactic.
keeping slaves uneducated
This word means to take something away from someone
deprive
After Captain Anthony’s death, slaves were divided and treated like this.
property (ranked with animals)
These quotes together show literacy created this emotional conflict.
hope mixed with despair
In the appendix, Douglass separates true Christianity from this corrupted version.
slaveholding religion
The most important theme of Douglass’s narrative is this struggle.
the fight for freedom and human dignity