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Reading Check Chapter 1
Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave
- Who was Frederick Douglass’s father?
- Why didn’t Douglass know Harriet Bailey, his mother?
- How did Douglass’s mother visit him?
- When enslaved children were the sons or daughters of the slave owner, were they treated better than the other enslaved children?
- Why did the slave owner whip Aunt Hester?
Reading Check Chapter 2
Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave
- What did the enslaved sailors on the sloop Sally Lloyd get to see that was considered to be a privilege.?
- What did the enslaved children have to wear?
- What happened if their clothes wore out?
- What did the enslaved people do after they worked all day?
- Who replaced Mr. Severe as overseer, and how was the new overseer different from Mr. Severe?
- Did the enslaved people sing because they were happy? Why did they sing?
Reading Check Chapter 4
Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave
- What does Douglass mean when he says “It is better that a dozen slaves should suffer under the lash than an overseer be convicted, in the presence of slaves, of being at fault”?
- Why did Mr. Gore not seem to feel guilty, according to Douglass?
- What did other overseers and slave owners in the community think of Mr. Gore in terms of his abilities as an overseer?
- Why did Mr. Gore say that he had to kill Demby?
- What did Colonel Lloyd and Mr. Gore believe about justice between slaveholders and the people they enslaved?
Reading Check Chapter 5
Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave
- Was Douglass comfortable when he was a child on Colonel Lloyd’s plantation?
- Why did Douglass scrub himself and his clothes thoroughly before going to Baltimore?
- Why did Douglass feel like Colonel Lloyd’s plantation was not his home?
- What was so strange and different about Sophia Auld?
- Looking back, how did Douglass feel about his move to Baltimore?
Reading Check Chapter 7
Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave
- How did owning another person affect Mrs. Auld?
- How did Douglass continue to learn how to read?
- According to Douglass, was “Master Hugh” right about teaching him to read?
- How did Douglass learn about the abolition movement?
- Why didn’t Douglass ask the friendly Irishmen to help him to escape?
- Why did Douglass learn how to forge (imitate) signatures?
- Why did Douglass have penmanship contests using chalk and walls with the poor white boys?
Reading Check Chapter 8
Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave
- What happened after Douglass’s master died without leaving a will?
- What was a valuation of the slaves?
- What did Douglass’s grandmother do for Master Auld while he was alive?
- Why couldn’t Douglass’s grandmother’s family come to care for her in her old age?
- Was Douglass sad to leave the Aulds in Baltimore? Who would he miss?
Reading Check Chapter 10 Part A
Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave
- Why was Douglass “awkward” when he first got to Covey’s?
- How did Covey keep the enslaved people working even when he wasn’t there?
- Why did Covey buy Caroline?
- What did Douglass feel when he saw the boats on the bay?
- Why did Thomas send Douglass back to Covey’s even though Douglass thought Covey might kill him?
- What did Sandy give Douglass? Did it make a difference in the way Douglass saw his world?
- Why didn’t Covey punish Douglass after the fight?
Reading Check Chapter 10 Part B
Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave
- How did the slaveholders use the holidays to keep the enslaved people from wanting their freedom?
- What does Douglass mean by “the mode... to disgust the slave with freedom, by allowing him to see only the abuse of it”?
- How did Douglass feel about religious slaveholders?
- What was “the sweetest engagement with which [Douglass] was ever blessed”?
- What did Auld do to Douglass after the escape attempt?
- What was Douglass’s job in Baltimore?
- Why did the white carpenters stop working?
- What happened to the money Douglass made as a calker?
Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave
Vocabulary Test Chapter 1 Choose the word that best completes each of these sentences.
- When an enslaved person was being whipped, the other slaves would often be forced to watch the scene. a. gaunt b. dory c. gory d. hoary
- The overseer carried a _____, which he used to hurt and intimidate people. a. paintbrush b. branch c. umbrella d. cudgel
- It might be considered for a slave to make eye contact with a slave owner. a. inevitable b. infernal c. pertinent d. impertinent
- The cold weather acted to her enthusiasm about going outside. a. blunt b. blur c. bludgeon d. blot
- That odor coming from the backyard turned out to be a bag of garbage. a. inevitable b. infernal c. infertile d. inverted
- His raised eyebrow gave Marie the that he doubted what he was hearing. a. instigation b. temerity c. intimidation d. intimation
- When Ralph decided to stop going to work, it was that he would be fired. a. infernal b. inevitable c. impertinent d. avoidable
- Most historians agree about the of the treatment of slaves by the slaveholders. a. odiousness b. hideousness c. conjecture d. haggardness
Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave
- Janet’s , based on many years as a horsewoman, is that the mare will deliver her foal tonight. a. contraction b. conjecture c. configuration d. confabulation
- Cathy decided to leave the ceiling and unpainted so that they would look just as they had in the eighteenth century. a. joist b. joust c. cudgel d. jest Write a vocabulary word for each of these definitions.
- Rude, inappropriate
- To make less sharp, deaden
- Unavoidable, sure to happen
- Indirect communication, hint
- Hatefulness
- Short, heavy stick with a rounded end
- Bloody, wounded
- Guess or interpretation made by inference
- A supporting timber in a floor or ceiling
- Suitable to or found in hell, wicked Extra Credit
- Who was Ham and why was his story useful to slaveholders in the nineteenth century?
Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave
- Incapable of being expressed or described a. mute b. effable c. ineffable d. ephasic
- A misdeed; a small offense, less serious than a felony a. sloop b. fib c. misdemeanor d. mishap Write a sentence for each vocabulary word.
- diligently
- rude
- incoherent
- ineffable
- rapturous
- conspire
- esteem
- evince
- obdurate
- jargon
Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave
Vocabulary Test Chapter 3 Circle the word that best completes each of these sentences.
- Stanley sold all his (equipage, reportage) for shining shoes and bought a lawnmower when he moved to the suburbs.
- Cher is an excellent mechanic, but one cruel customer was able to (defuse, defile) her reputation all over town.
- Hannah will (brook, bank) no interruptions when she is painting a portrait.
- Sometimes a police force will use pepper spray to (oppress, suppress) a riot.
- John began to (disintegrate, execrate) his younger brother for being disrespectful to their mother.
- Phyllis’s interest in his coin collection is a clever (stratagem, stratiform) for getting Mario’s attention.
- Because Gabe’s (supposition, imposition) is that Claire will arrive late, he tells her that the train is leaving a half hour before its scheduled departure time.
- A favorite (axon, maxim) of Robert’s is “Seize the day.”
- Cassie began to (imbibe, elude) her older sister’s habit of making her bed every morning.
Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave
Vocabulary Test Chapter 4 Write a sentence for each vocabulary word.
- indispensable
- perpetrator
- impudence
- subversion
- immutable
- grave
- homage
- servile Answer the questions about each vocabulary item. 9. What is a synonym for the word indispensable? 10. What is an antonym for the word indispensable? 11. What is a synonym for the word perpetrator? 12. What is an antonym for the word perpetrator? 13. What is a synonym for the word impudence? 14. What is an antonym for the word impudence? 15. What is an antonym for the word servile? 16. What is an antonym for the word immutable?
Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave
17. What is a synonym for the word immutable? 18. What is a synonym for the word homage? 19. What is a synonym for the word grave? 20. What is a synonym for the word subversion?
