Transcript Slide 1

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Meredith Miller
Megan Furman
Mattie Wasiak
Lydia Sambuco
Passage Chapter: 6
Page:34-35
Very soon after I went to live with Mr. and Mrs. Auld, she very kindly commenced to teach me the A, B, C
[1]. After I had learned this, she assisted me in learning to spell words of three or four letters. Just at this
point of my progress, Mr. Auld found out what was going on, and at once forbade Mrs. Auld to instruct me
further, telling her, among other things, that it was unlawful, as well as unsafe, to teach a slave to read. To
use his own words, further, he said, "If you give a nigger an inch, he will take an ell. A nigger should know
nothing but to obey his master—to do as he is told to do. Learning would spoil the best nigger in the
world. Now," said he, "if you teach that nigger (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 to his master. As to himself, it could do him no good, but a great deal of harm. It would make him
discontented and unhappy." [2] These words sank deep into my heart, stirred up sentiments within that
lay slumbering, and called into existence an entirely new train of thought. [3] It was a new and special
revelation, explaining dark and mysterious things, with which my youthful understanding had struggled,
but struggled in vain. I now understood what had been to me a most perplexing difficulty—to wit, the white
man's power to enslave the black man. It was a grand achievement, and I prized it highly. From that
moment, I understood the pathway from slavery to freedom. It was just what I wanted, and I got it at a
time when I the least expected it. Whilst I was saddened by the thought of losing the aid of my kind
mistress, I was gladdened by the invaluable instruction which, by the merest accident, I had gained from
my master. [4] Though conscious of the difficulty of learning without a teacher, I set out with high hope,
and a fixed purpose, at whatever cost of trouble, to learn how to read. [5] The very decided manner with
which he spoke, and strove to impress his wife with the evil consequences of giving me instruction, served
to convince me that he was deeply sensible of the truths he was uttering. [6] It gave me the best
assurance that I might rely with the utmost confidence on the results which, he said, would flow from
teaching me to read. What he most dreaded, that I most desired. What he most loved, that I most hated.
That which to him was a great evil, to be carefully shunned, was to me a great good, to be diligently
sought; and the argument which he so warmly urged, against my learning to read, only served to inspire
me with a desire and determination to learn. [7] [8]In learning to read, I owe almost as much to the bitter
opposition of my master, as to the kindly aid of my mistress. I acknowledge the benefit of both. [9]
Annotation 1
“Very soon after I went to live with Mr. and Mrs. Auld, she very kindly
commenced to teach me the A, B, C.”
This sentence uses inverted syntax to enhance the second half of the
sentence because the reader is more likely to remember the last
thing they read and in this case, that portion is more influential
than the beginning half. This shows that Douglass was very
focused on learning to read so that he may excel from being an
ordinary slave. This desire to read heightens his desire to be free
The informal diction that Douglass uses when he refers to the alphabet
(A,B,C) demonstrates his lack of education. This relates to the
overall theme of disdaining slavery because he was defying the
normal characteristics of a slave.
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Annotation 2
“ ‘If you give a nigger an inch, he will take an ell. A nigger should know nothing but to
obey his master—to do as he is told to do. Learning would spoil the best nigger in the
world. Now,’ said he, ‘if you teach that nigger (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 to his master. As to himself, it could do him no
good, but a great deal of harm. It would make him discontented and unhappy.’”
This part of the passage establishes irony. If Douglass
was able to read then he would use it to his
advantage rather than it making him “discontented
and unhappy.” Also in the passage, Mr. Auld is
referring to how he will use his ability to read and
write to defy slavery which in the end, Douglass
contributes to the abolitionist movements by
publishing a newspaper that talks about the
inhumanity of slavery.
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Annotation 3
“These words sank deep into my heart, stirred up sentiments within that lay
slumbering, and called into existence an entirely new train of thought.”
This portion of the passage incorporates climax. The three events of the
sentence builds up to the final idea that Douglass’ entire ideology
changed. In the beginning sequential events happened that lead up to
him thinking about using his knowledge towards defying slavery. This
contributes to the overall theme because it was the turning point where
Douglass really decided to defy slavery and run away.
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Annotation 4
“Whilst I was saddened by the thought of losing the aid of my kind mistress, I
was gladdened by the invaluable instruction which, by the merest accident, I
had gained from my master.”
This sentence incorporates a change in Douglass’
tone. In the beginning he is sad that he may not
see his mistress any longer because he is losing a
teacher just as he is sad about his condition as a
slave before he learned how to read. In the
second half of the sentence he is glad that he has
gained the education from his master and
mistress, making him glad that he has gained an
ability to defy slavery.
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Annotation 5
“I set out with high hope, and a fixed purpose, at whatever cost of trouble, to
learn how to read.”
The parenthesis in this sentence shows how
Douglass was determined to learn how
to read, no matter the punishment that
could come from his actions. It
emphasizes his will to defy slavery and
support the abolitionist movements as
referred to by the “fixed purpose”.
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Annotation 6
“The very decided manner with which he spoke, and strove to impress his wife
with the evil consequences of giving me instruction, served to convince me
that he was deeply sensible of the truths he was uttering.”
In this sentence, Douglass uses parenthesis,
including the detail that Mr. Auld was trying to
convince his wife that teaching the slaves was
detrimental to their condition. He also includes
the additional idea to show that their masters
had no purpose for the action they take but to
enhance their appearance so that the slaves
would fear them and refrain from defying them.
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Annotation 7
“It gave me the best assurance that I might rely with the utmost confidence on the
results which, he said, would flow from teaching me to read. What he most dreaded, that
I most desired. What he most loved, that I most hated. That which to him was a great
evil, to be carefully shunned, was to me a great good, to be diligently sought; and the
argument which he so warmly urged, against my learning to read, only served to inspire
me with a desire and determination to learn.”
This passage uses irony because Mr. Auld feared
that teaching Douglass to read and write would
cause him to act out and over rule slavery;
however Douglass never had the idea to use his
knowledge for a higher purpose until Mr. Auld
mentioned it, making him desire what Mr. Auld
most feared. In the end Douglass becomes a
major influence to the abolition movement, that
helps to end slavery.
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Annotation 8
“What he most dreaded, that I most desired. What he most loved, that I most hated.
That which to him was a great evil, to be carefully shunned, was to me a great good, to
be diligently sought; and the argument which he so warmly urged, against my learning to
read, only served to inspire me with a desire and determination to learn.”
The series of antithesis in this passage shows
Douglass’ contradictory ideas to that of Mr. Auld.
While Mr. Auld thinks that teaching slaves will
corrupt them from being manageable and ruin
the system of slavery, Douglass thinks that it will
allow him to pursue his dreams and that the end
of slavery is good for everyone. The opposition
from Mr. Auld fuels his desire to become free.
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Annotation 9
“In learning to read, I owe almost as much to the bitter opposition of my
master, as to the kindly aid of my mistress. I acknowledge the benefit of both.”
Douglass uses antithesis to compare the effect
of both his master and mistress to his
character. While Mrs. Auld was comforting
and supportive of him, giving him the
courage to defy slavery, Mr. Auld drove his
fight by giving him the harsh experience of
slavery, making him want to leave and
abolish it.
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Syntax
• Inverted syntax: reversal of the basic subject-verb order
of a sentence.
• Climax: consists of arranging words, clauses, or
sentences in the order of increasing importance, weight,
or emphasis.
• Parenthesis: Consists of a word, phrase, or whole
sentence inserted as an aside in the middle of another
sentence.
• Antithesis: Establishing a clear, contrasting relationship
between two ideas by joining them together or
juxtaposing them, often in parallel structure.
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Irony
A state of affairs or an event that seems
deliberately contrary to what one expects and
is often amusing as a result.
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Vocabulary
Discontented: (adj.) dissatisfied, especially
with one's circumstances
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Vocabulary
Perplexing: (adj.) completely baffling; very
puzzling.
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Vocabulary
Merest: (adj.) - that is solely or no more or better
than what is specified
- the smallest or slightest
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