In a 5-paragraph essay, explain what strategies Douglass uses to learn how to read and write?
What sort of audience does Douglass anticipate for his reminiscence? How much does he assume his readers know about the conditions of slavery?
What books seem to matter most to Douglass? Why? What are his motives for want- ing to read and write? For Douglass, what is the relationship between literacy and freedom? How does he move from curiosity to anguish to “eternal wakefulness” in paragraph 6? What is the relationship between learning to read and learning to write?
Examine the nineteenth-century advertisement designed to capture a runaway slave (page 109). In what specific ways does the language of this advertisement reflect the slave owner’s attitude toward the slave? How does this language correspond to Douglass’s description of his life as a slave? Support your answer with specific examples.
Read Azar Nafisi’s excerpt from “Reading Lolita in Tehran” (page 499) and consider Nafisi’s students’ challenges in obtaining an education. What obstacles do the girls overcome to join Nafisi’s class? How do the difficulties Douglass faced in getting an education compare with those of Nafisi’s students
