Sophomore Pre-AP Summer Assignment 2015
The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
Hi Y’all!
I am super excited to be your sophomore Pre-AP English teacher this coming year. As a result, it is my job to
give you this summer assignment to be completed no later than the 2nd day of school. Those who do not complete the
assignment may be asked to leave the class. Please understand this is absolutely required. I truly believe this piece
will be beneficial as your class explores many common themes within different pieces of literature throughout the
school year. Below are your assignment instructions for The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass.
The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is an exceptional piece of rhetoric. In this piece, Douglass eloquently
relays his story of being born into slavery through his eventual escape to freedom. In addition to answering the
following questions, you are also being asked for each chapter to do the following:
1. Choose a quote from the chapter that struck you as particularly important or meaningful. Write both the quote
and why you believe it to be so important or striking to you. Do not choose any quotes that I have pulled out of
the chapter and about which I have asked a question.
2. Choose for each chapter a literary element Douglass employs to relay these events. This piece is filled with
metaphors, personification, parallelism, rhetorical questioning, allusion, and irony or sarcasm. You may only use
the literary element twice—as shown in the example below-- so choose wisely. Write the literary element and
explain how it is used citing quotes from the chapter to support your answer.
3. The aforementioned items should be completed on a separate piece of paper from the answers to the questions I
am giving you per chapter (See next page). Please be sure to use complete sentences and be thorough in your
answers citing the text to prove your points.
The format for #s 1 & 2 should look like this if below was your paper:
Chapter 1
Quote you chose
Explanation
Metaphor
Quote(s) supporting this literary element
& explanation of the literary element as
well as its affect on the piece.
Chapter 2
Quote you chose
Explanation
Metaphor
Quote(s) supporting this literary element
& explanation of the literary element as
well as its affect on the piece.
& so on…
If you have any questions at all whatsoever on this assignment, please feel free to e-mail me at
[email protected].
Sincerely,
Daniel Swanson
Pre-AP Sophomore English Teacher
Please answer the following questions in complete sentences and cite the text to support each answer.
Preface
1. Summarize the main points in the letters written by William Lloyd Garrison and Wendell Phillips. Compare the
two letters in their ideas and in how they are written. Who were these men and how do you know?
2. Consider the date this narrative was published. What purpose do these writings serve?
Chapter 1
1.
2.
3.
4.
What is the result of removing a child from his/her mother at such a young age?
Why are certain slaves so hated by their mistresses?
What is a master unable to protect his lighter colored slaves from and why can’t he?
What is Douglass trying to convey when he writes, “I wish I could commit to paper the feelings with which I
beheld it”?
Chapter 2
1.
2.
3.
4.
What is the big deal about Baltimore?
How did slaves determine a good overseer from a bad one?
What comment does Douglass make about politicians in this chapter and why do you believe he does so?
What is the significance of Douglass’ discussion of the songs the slaves sang?
Chapter 3
1. What does Douglass say the penalty for telling the truth is and why?
2. Why do slaves argue over who has the better master? What’s the mentality behind this?
Chapter 4
1. Why are people able to murder slaves in cold blood without being accountable for it?
2. What is the significance of Douglass referring to Demby as Mr. Gore’s brother?
Chapter 5
1. Why does Douglass hold being sent to Maryland in such high regard? What is the significance of his being sent
there? To whom does he give credit for this and why?
Chapter 6
1. Describe Sophia’s transformation and explain why it took place.
2. What was the pathway to freedom and why and when does Douglass realize this?
3. Compare city slaveholders to plantation slaveholders and explain why these differences exist.
Chapter 7
1. What does Douglass mean when he writes, “Slavery proved as injurious to her as it did to me”?
2. What did Douglass exchange for his education? Who educated him and how did they feel about slavery?
3. Why does Douglass choose not to reveal the names of these boys and how does he feel about not being able to
reveal their names? How do you know?
4. What does Douglass come to believe about his education and why?
5. How does Douglass learn to write? What does this tell you about him?
Chapter 8
1. Why does Douglass refer to John Greenleaf Whittier as the “slave’s poet”?
2. Why does Douglass write, “At this moment, I saw more clearly than ever the brutalizing effects of slavery upon
both slave and slaveholder”? What does he mean?
Chapter 9
1. Douglass repeatedly refers to his masters and mistresses as “pious”. Why does he do this and what is the tone
as he does so?
Chapter 10
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Why do the slaves refer to Covey as “the snake” and what effect does this behavior have on the slaves?
What does Douglass say about “the power to deceive” and why?
Why did Douglass run and what is the effect of not running on him?
What do the ships on Chesapeake Bay symbolize or Douglass?
What is the turning point in Douglass’ “career as a slave”?
Why does Douglass call time off for slaves during the holidays a “gross fraud”?
Why does Douglass say religious slaveholders are the worst?
What is Douglass’ ultimate goal and how does he begin to attempt to achieve it?
Douglass writes, “In thinking of my life, I almost forgot my liberty.” What does he mean? How does this
happen?
10. Why does Douglass refer to the American Revolution in this chapter?
11. What is the argument of the white ship workers against working with blacks? Of what does this argument
remind you?
12. Why does being associated with abolitionism bring “frightful liabilities”?
Chapter 11
1. Why does Douglass choose not to reveal every detail of his escape?
2. Why does Douglass believe some choose slavery over escape?
3. What does Douglass expect New Bedford to be like and why? What is it actually like and what deceit about
slavery does this reveal?
4. What is the significance of the quote, “It was a severe cross… I felt myself a slave… and the idea of speaking to
white people weighed me down.”
Appendix
1. Analyze the poem by John Greenleaf Whittier. What ideas are put forth and what was the purpose of his writing
this?
2. What is the tone of the parody and what is its significance?
3. What is the overall tone of the narrative? Why does Douglass write the piece as he does as a straightforward
story with many facts?
4. What was the purpose of this piece of writing?