CliffsNotes on

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

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About the Author

About the Book

Brief Synopsis
List Of Characters

Summaries and Commentaries

Garrison's Preface
Letter From Wendell Phillips, Esq.
Chapter I
Chapter II
Chapter III
Chapter IV
Chapter V
Chapter VI
Chapter VII
Chapter VIII
Chapter IX
Chapter X
Chapter XI
Appendix

Critical Essays

"The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro"
The Autobiography as Genre, as Authentic Text
Slavery as a Mythologized Institution
Slavery in The United States
The Fugitive Slave Act
Slavery in Maryland
Douglass' Canonical Status and The Heroic Tale
Douglass' Other Autobiographies

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Quiz
Essay Questions

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Quiz

1:  William Lloyd Garrison suggests than an oppressed person may

a. believe oppression is acceptable

b. rise up against his tormentors

c. lose all reasoning power

d. oppress others
2:  Wendell Phillips suggests that people are less concerned with slavery than with

a. the availability of silk

b. the price of sugar

c. the abolition movement in Britain

d. the need to track down fugitives
3:  Douglass believes his father was

a. a field hand

b. a wealthy landowner in Africa

c. a plantation overseer

d. a white slave owner
4:  Being chosen to serve Colonel Lloyd

a. instills tremendous fear

b. is considered a great honor

c. means sleeping without a blanket

d. results in being shipped to Baltimore
5:  Colonel Lloyd talks to slaves on his plantation because he

a. feels a kinship with them

b. needs someone to manage his horses

c. is trying to avoid fistfights

d. wants to trap them
6:  Douglass describes that, in Maryland, a slave owner who kills a slave is

a. not punished at all

b. trained in how to treat slaves

c. censured by the community

d. tried for murder
7:  Douglass says that in cities, slaves are

a. allowed to vote

b. routinely taught to read and write

c. treated better than plantation slaves

d. kept cold and fed poorly
8:  Douglass begins to develop his ideas about emancipation and human rights from

a. plantation slaves

b. poor white children

c. Irish Catholics

d. Norwegian Lutherans
9:  After years of service to Captain Anthony, Douglass’ grandmother is

a. sent to Georgia

b. allowed to work as an indoor servant

c. whipped for resisting rape

d. left to die in the woods
10:  While whipping slaves, Thomas Auld

a. quotes scriptures

b. invokes witchcraft

c. complains about laziness

d. asks Covey for advice
11:  After Douglass fights with Covey, Douglass is

a. sent to prison

b. brutally whipped

c. left alone

d. taught how to read
12:  Douglass’ plan to steal a canoe and row up the Chesapeake Bay fails because

a. the canoe cracks

b. a slave betrays him

c. the master’s son comes forward

d. he gets in a fight at the shipyard
13:  Why can’t Douglass find work as a ship caulker?

a. The boat business is suffering hard economic times.

b. Northern businessmen do not hire runaway slaves.

c. The task is difficult to learn, and Douglass is unskilled.

d. The white caulkers will not work with blacks.



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