Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave
Frederick Douglass
Book Club
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave
8 ways to start a deeper conversation.
Contains spoilers for the entire book.
Discussion topics
Topic 01 of 08
Not knowing
What does it mean for Douglass not to know his birthday, or for certain who his father was?
Keep the conversation going
- How did his separation from his mother shape him?
- What does the narrative show slavery took from children?
There is no single right answer. Bring your own reading.
Discussion topics
What does it mean for Douglass not to know his birthday, or for certain who his father was?
Keep the conversation going
- How did his separation from his mother shape him?
- What does the narrative show slavery took from children?
Why does Douglass describe the whipping of his Aunt Hester as his entrance into slavery?
Keep the conversation going
- How did you respond to that scene?
- Why do you think he tells it so plainly?
Why is learning to read so dangerous, and so important, to Douglass?
Keep the conversation going
- What did he learn from Mr Auld's objection?
- How does reading change him?
What does Sophia Auld's change from kindness to cruelty show about slavery?
Keep the conversation going
- What does slavery do to the enslavers?
- Who else is changed by it?
How does Douglass describe the religion of the slaveholders, and how does he distinguish it from Christianity?
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- Why are the 'religious' masters the worst, in his account?
- What did you make of his appendix?
What changes in Douglass when he fights back against Mr Covey?
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- What does he mean by 'how a slave was made a man'?
- Why does Covey not report him?
Why does Douglass refuse to tell how he escaped?
Keep the conversation going
- What did his first failed attempt cost him?
- What did freedom feel like at first?
What does Douglass's narrative ask of its readers, then and now?
Keep the conversation going
- How does it change your sense of the history of slavery?
- What part of his story stays with you most?
There is no single right answer. Bring your own reading.