The Narrative Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, published in 1845. 

1. Who are some of the people Douglass describes in detail during his lifetime as slave? Why do you think these people are important to mention and what relationship do they have to Douglass?
2. Douglass experienced both city life and plantation life. How did they differ?
3. What are two different ways slave owners try to control slaves? How do these methods change the slaves according to Douglass and how did he feel personally about being controlled?
4. What does Douglass think about education? How does he become educated when slaves were prohibited from learning how to read or write?
5. What does Douglass think of religion in the South and its relationship with slavery? Why does Douglass have to clarify his position at the end of his work?

1. The people Douglas explains in detail.
2. Differences between city life and plantation life.
3. How slaves were controlled by slave owners.
4. Education.
5. Religion.

Step-by-step explanation

MRS Sophia Auld- She's the mistress of Douglas and she's important because through her, Douglas learns the alphabet and how to spell small words. This later helped Douglas as he was able to read and write.

MR Covey- The master of Douglas. His importance is that he made Douglas bold, strong and brave through his harsh acts of whipping and beating him to exhaustion. Douglas fought back and defeated Covey and from that time he was not punished again. Conquering his master strengthened him and this aspect helped him during his escape.

William Freeland- This master is peaceful and Douglas is in a position to befriend other slaves and teach them how to read.

Master Hugh- As a master of Douglas, he refuses to let him return to the shipyard where he was beaten by white apprentices. He even tries to find a lawyer for Douglas. He's important because he protected Douglas against further violence by white apprentices.

• In the city, the conditions are harsh and cruel for example being beaten while in plantations, there is relative peace and friendly people.

• There is a cruel interaction between slaves and slave holders and this causes fear among the slaves as they are afraid of being punished. Slaves are not allowed to read and write as they would not be fit to be slaves after learning. Douglas feels that he should run away to avoid being controlled. He develops hatred towards slavery because slaves are valued along with livestock.

• Douglas realizes the importance of reading and the possibilities that the skill could help him. He takes it upon himself to read and learn and is helped by MRS Sophia to achieve reading and learning.

• Religious people like Master Thomas Auld and Covey are cruel and abusive while non-religious people like William Freeland are peaceful despite being secular. Douglas does not give details of how he escapes in order to protect those who helped him and allow other slaves to escape through similar means.