Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass Text-Dependent Questions (accessible)

Created Feb. 7, 2024 by MSDE Admin, Jessica Wlotzka

“Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave”

Directions: After reading, please follow each set of directions below. You will end up answering six text-dependent questions. Be sure to answer using textual evidence!

Choose ONE of the questions below to answer:

  1. Why is Douglass specific about making friends with “little white boys”?
  2. Douglass is describing events from the past. These “boys” are now adult

men, so why would he avoid giving their names?

Choose ONE of the questions below to answer:

  1.  What is the horrible pit? Why does Douglass envy someone’s stupidity?
  2. Why is freedom tormenting Douglass?

Choose TWO of the questions below to answer:

  1.  Which of these meanings of “trouble” is Douglass using? Why did he choose this word? How would the meaning have changed if he had chosen the word “anger”?
  2. Why does Douglass describe the master’s response as both “desired” and “unexpected”? Why the contrast between these two words?
  3. When Douglass says, “They gave tongue to interesting thoughts,” how is he using the word “tongue”?
  4. How does the word “enable” change the meaning of the line it appears in? How can documents “enable” him to “utter [his] thoughts” or write?

Choose TWO of the questions below to answer:

  1.  How did Douglass learn how to read when running errands?
  2. In what ways does Douglass’ life differ from the white boys’ lives?
  3. What moral did Douglass learn from these books?
  4. In what ways is Douglas saying slaveholders are like robbers? Find and explore the structure of the sentence that gives voice to this idea most clearly.
  5. What prediction did Douglass’ owner make about what would happen if he learned to read? Did it come true? Why or why not?
Return to top