Does any book make a better case for the relationship between learning to read and freedom?

The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: Discussion Topics

(originally created for an 11th grade class in American literature, AP-level)

1. What are some things that you take for granted that Douglass was deprived of while growing up?
2. In the early chapters, how does Douglass bring alive the horrors of slavery?
3. What were some of the “techniques” used by the slave holders to dehumanize the slaves? What are Douglass’s insights about the effect of the institution of slavery on the masters?
4. Famous for his eloquence, Douglass was a master of classical rhetorical devices. Notice his use of chiasmus* and parallel structure** in the first three paragraphs of Chapter IV. What is the effect of this language? How would you describe the language and tone of the rest of the chapter (beginning “His savage barbarity”)? What is Douglass’s “rhetorical strategy” in these paragraphs?
5. Douglass believed that, although he remained a slave, being sent to live in Baltimore with Mr. Hugh Auld was an instance of good fortune and a turning point in his life. Discuss.
6. Why was learning to read so important to Douglass? How did he learn to read? Who were some of the authors he read and how may they have influenced his writing and speaking style and ideas?
7. How might Chapter X be considered the climax of the narrative? Notice the heightened language of the apostrophe (addressing of a personified thing) to the ships on the Chesapeake Bay (“You are loosed from your moorings,” etc.), the effect of Mr. Covey’s especially malicious treatment of his slaves, Douglass’s fight with Covey, and his insights about slave “holidays.”
8. How does Douglass’s life change during his employment with Mr. Freeland? How is it that improvements in his life increased his desire to escape to freedom?
9. How does Douglass get his name? Why is this so significant a moment in the narrative?
10. What is the overall shape of the narrative?

*chiasmus: from the Greek letter chi (X). A verbal pattern in which the second part of a statement or thought echoes the first part in reverse; for example, JFK’s “My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”

**parallel structure: a succession of two or more phrases or clauses that have the same grammatical structure; for example, “I came, I saw, I conquered.”