Question

Please Help!! There are four questions. Growing up a slave and FD Ch. 3-5

1. Why does Douglass choose to alter his behavior around Sophia Auld? How does he act differently?
2. What prediction did the slave holder make about what would happen if Douglass learned to read? Did it come true? Explain
3. Why does Douglass include the poem by John Greenleaf Whittier after he tells the story about his grandmother?
4. Thomas Auld violates one of the few rules of decency that most slave owners adhere to. What is this unspoken rule, and how does it affect Douglass?

Answer 1

- Douglass watched Mrs. Auld's transformation with a heavy heart. When he first came to her, she did not see him as chattel. She treated him like a human being and took care of his basic needs. Her cessation of instructing Douglass was her first step on the road to ruination. She went above and beyond her husband's request to leave off teaching her slave letters, and soon was most vigilant in making sure Douglass was nowhere near a newspaper. He was watched quite closely, but his own desire to read and write triumphed. Douglass's plan to learn to read centered on making friends with the poor white children of Baltimore and learning from them a little at a time. He used to complete his errands for Mr. and Mrs. Auld quickly, and then meet up with his new friends. He often used to give them bread (as he was actually better off than most of them) for lessons.

- What became clear to Douglass was that his master was right – learning did make slaves intractable and unmanageable. He came to perceive slaveholders as no more than "a band of successful robbers" who had gone to Africa and stolen them from their homes. He felt discontentment surge through him and often wondered if learning to read had been more of a curse than a blessing. His enslavement tormented him unceasingly.

- I don't know

- Not to give a slave enough to eat, is regarded as the most aggravated development of meanness even among slaveholders. The rule is, no matter how coarse the food, only let there be enough of it. This is the theory; and in the part of Maryland from which I came, it is the general practice,—though there are many exceptions. Master Thomas gave us enough of neither coarse nor fine food. There were four slaves of us in the kitchen—my sister Eliza, my aunt Priscilla, Henny, and myself; and we were allowed less than a half of a bushel of corn-meal per week, and very little else, either in the shape of meat or vegetables. It was not enough for us to subsist upon.

I hope that after you read these it will help you answer the questions!

Answer 2

1. Douglass initially has a positive opinion of Sophia Auld. He learns that Mrs. Auld is quite kind and she sees slaves as people. She is interested in their welfare and education. Therefore, Douglass likes spending time with her and feels safe. However, this quickly changes. Mr. Auld convinces Mrs. Auld that she is affecting slaves, and that the right way to treat them is a cruel one. This makes Sophia act cruel as well, which in turn makes Douglass more careful when he is around her.

2. The slaveholder argues that if slaves learn how to read, they become more difficult to control. This is because they learn about the world, and about what they are missing, and this makes their lives intolerable. This is in fact what happens with Douglass. After he learns how to read and write, he thinks about his condition differently, and this causes him enormous pain.

3. Douglass tells us the story of his grandmother, who was left to die alone when she was old. He tells us how his grandmother had many children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren that the slaveowners kept or sold. Douglass uses Whittier's poem to express the pain that his grandmother must have felt when thinking about all her lost relatives.

4. The rule that Thomas Auld violates is that of feeding slaves enough food. This is considered common decency. He does not do so, and in fact, his slaves are always hungry. Douglass suffers from this as well, which causes him to always be looking for an extra piece of bread.