1. Read this excerpt from The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass.

I could not approach her as I was accustomed to approach other white ladies. My early instruction was all out of place. The crouching servility, usually so acceptable a quality in a slave, did not answer when manifested toward her. Her favor was not gained by it; she seemed to be disturbed by it. She did not deem it impudent or unmannerly for a slave to look her in the face. The meanest slave was put fully at ease in her presence . . .

What inference can be drawn about Mrs. Auld in this excerpt?

A. She shows enslaved persons an unfamiliar respect.
B. She does not enjoy speaking with enslaved persons.
C. She offers generous gifts to enslaved persons.
D. She displays her temper when she is upset.

2. Read this excerpt from The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass.

[Mrs. Auld] had bread for the hungry, clothes for the naked, and comfort for every mourner that came within her reach. Slavery soon proved its ability to divest her of these heavenly qualities. Under its influence, the tender heart became stone, and the lamblike disposition gave way to one of tiger-like fierceness. The first step in her downward course was in her ceasing to instruct me.

What inference can be drawn about Mrs. Auld in this excerpt?

A. Her inability to help the poor frustrates her.
B. She is sympathetic to the plight of enslaved persons.
C. Her attitude and behavior change as a slaveholder.
D. She is a strict teacher who does not forgive students.


3. Read this excerpt from The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass.

To use his own words, further, [Mr. Auld] said, "If you give him an inch, he will take an ell. He should know nothing but to obey, to do as he is told to do. Now," said he, "if you teach [him] (speaking of myself) how to read, there would be no keeping him. It would forever unfit him to be a slave. He would at once become unmanageable, and of no value.

What is Mr. Auld’s attitude toward Douglass?

A. He believes Douglass is planning an escape and should be monitored.
B. He believes Douglass is not as capable or as valuable as other enslaved persons.
C. He believes Douglass would be threatening if he knew how to read.
D. He believes Douglass should be taught to read and freed from slavery.

4. Read this excerpt from The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass.

The silver trump of freedom had roused my soul to eternal wakefulness. Freedom now appeared, to disappear no more forever. It was heard in every sound, and seen in every thing. It was ever present to torment me with a sense of my wretched condition. I saw nothing without seeing it, I heard nothing without hearing it, and felt nothing without feeling it. It looked from every star, it smiled in every calm, breathed in every wind, and moved in every storm.

From the attitude Douglass expresses in the passage, the reader can infer that freedom made Douglass feel

A. indifferent.
B. shocked.
C. melancholy.
D. thrilled.