Name: Date:

Reading Check Chapter 1

Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

1. Who was Frederick Douglass’s father?

2. Why didn’t Douglass know Harriet Bailey, his mother?

3. How did Douglass’s mother visit him?

4. When enslaved children were the sons or daughters of the slave owner, were they treated
better than the other enslaved children?

5. Why did the slave owner whip Aunt Hester?

 Name: Date:

Reading Check Chapter 2

Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

1. What did the enslaved sailors on the sloop Sally Lloyd get to see that was considered to be a
privilege.?

2. What did the enslaved children have to wear?

3. What happened if their clothes wore out?

4. What did the enslaved people do after they worked all day?

5. Who replaced Mr. Severe as overseer, and how was the new overseer different from Mr. Severe?

6. Did the enslaved people sing because they were happy? Why did they sing?
 Name: Date:

Reading Check Chapter 3

Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

1. Why did the colonel tar the fence around the orchard?

2. How did Colonel Lloyd judge whether or not his horses were well cared for?

3. Why did the enslaved people praise their “masters”?

4. Why did the enslaved people on one farm quarrel with the slaves who were owned
by another?
 Name: Date:

Reading Check Chapter 4

Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

1. What does Douglass mean when he says “It is better that a dozen slaves should suffer
under the lash than an overseer be convicted, in the presence of slaves, of being at
fault”?

2. Why did Mr. Gore not seem to feel guilty, according to Douglass?

3. What did other overseers and slave owners in the community think of Mr. Gore in terms of
his abilities as an overseer?

4. Why did Mr. Gore say that he had to kill Demby?

5. What did Colonel Lloyd and Mr. Gore believe about justice between slaveholders and the
people they enslaved?
 Name: Date:

Reading Check Chapter 5

Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

1. Was Douglass comfortable when he was a child on Colonel Lloyd’s plantation?

2. Why did Douglass scrub himself and his clothes thoroughly before going to Baltimore?

3. Why did Douglass feel like Colonel Lloyd’s plantation was not his home?

4. What was so strange and different about Sophia Auld?

5. Looking back, how did Douglass feel about his move to Baltimore?
 Name: Date:

Reading Check Chapter 6

Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

1. What does Douglass mean by “crouching servility”?

2. Why did Mr. Auld tell Mrs. Auld to stop teaching young Douglass how to read?

3. What did Douglass realize when he heard the slave owner explain why slaves
should not be taught to read?

4. Why did crowded conditions in the city affect the way enslaved servants were treated by their
“masters” in public?
 Name: Date:

Reading Check Chapter 7

Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

1. How did owning another person affect Mrs. Auld?

2. How did Douglass continue to learn how to read?

3. According to Douglass, was “Master Hugh” right about teaching him to read?

4. How did Douglass learn about the abolition movement?

5. Why didn’t Douglass ask the friendly Irishmen to help him to escape?

6. Why did Douglass learn how to forge (imitate) signatures?

7. Why did Douglass have penmanship contests using chalk and walls with the poor white boys?
 Name: Date:

Reading Check Chapter 8

Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

1. What happened after Douglass’s master died without leaving a will?

2. What was a valuation of the slaves?

3. What did Douglass’s grandmother do for Master Auld while he was alive?

4. Why couldn’t Douglass’s grandmother’s family come to care for her in her old age?

5. Was Douglass sad to leave the Aulds in Baltimore? Who would he miss?
 Name: Date:

Reading Check Chapter 9

Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

1. How did Thomas Auld’s slaves get enough food to survive?

2. What did Douglass hope for when Master Thomas “experienced religion”?

3. Why did Mr. Wilson start the Sabbath School? What happened to it?

4. What did we learn in Chapter 6 that would explain what happened to the Sabbath School?

5. Why was Thomas Auld so cruel to Henny?

6. How did Auld justify his cruelty to his slaves after he “experienced religion”?

7. Why did Auld want to send Douglass to Covey?.

8. Why was Douglass glad to go to Covey’s?

 Name: Date:

Reading Check Chapter 10 Part A

Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

1. Why was Douglass “awkward” when he first got to Covey’s?

2. How did Covey keep the enslaved people working even when he wasn’t there?

3. Why did Covey buy Caroline?

4. What did Douglass feel when he saw the boats on the bay?

5. Why did Thomas send Douglass back to Covey’s even though Douglass thought Covey
might kill him?

6. What did Sandy give Douglass? Did it make a difference in the way Douglass saw his
world?

7. Why didn’t Covey punish Douglass after the fight?

 Name: Date:

Reading Check Chapter 10 Part B

Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

1. How did the slaveholders use the holidays to keep the enslaved people from wanting
their freedom?

2. What does Douglass mean by “the mode . . . to disgust the slave with freedom, by
allowing him to see only the abuse of it”?

3. How did Douglass feel about religious slaveholders?

4. What was “the sweetest engagement with which [Douglass] was ever blessed”?

5. What did Auld do to Douglass after the escape attempt?

6. What was Douglass’s job in Baltimore?

7. Why did the white carpenters stop working?

8. What happened to the money Douglass made as a calker?

 Name: Date:

Reading Check Chapter 11

Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

1. Why doesn’t Douglass tell us his means of escape?

2. What did Douglass think of the Underground Railroad?

3. What was the deal Douglass made with Hugh so that he could make money to escape?

4. How did Douglass feel about leaving Baltimore?

5. Why did Douglas adopt the motto, “Trust no man” in New York?

6. Where did the name “Frederick Douglass” come from?

7. Why did Douglass think that the people in New Bedford would be poor?

8. How were the lives of Black people different in New Bedford than in the South?
Were there similarities as well?
 Name: Date:

Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

Vocabulary Test Chapter 1

Choose the word that best completes each of these sentences.

1. When an enslaved person was being whipped, the other slaves would often be forced to watch
the scene.
a. gaunt b. dory
c. gory d. hoary

2. The overseer carried a _____, which he used to hurt and intimidate people.
a. paintbrush b. branch
c. umbrella d. cudgel

3. It might be considered for a slave to make eye contact with a slave owner.
a. inevitable b. infernal
c. pertinent d. impertinent

4. The cold weather acted to her enthusiasm about going outside.

a. blunt b. blur
c. bludgeon d. blot

5. That odor coming from the backyard turned out to be a bag of garbage.
a. inevitable b. infernal
c. infertile d. inverted

6. His raised eyebrow gave Marie the that he doubted what he was hearing.
a. instigation b. temerity
c. intimidation d. intimation

7. When Ralph decided to stop going to work, it was that he would be fired.
a. infernal b. inevitable
c. impertinent d. avoidable

8. Most historians agree about the of the treatment of slaves by the slaveholders.
a. odiousness b. hideousness
c. conjecture d. haggardness
 Name: Date:

Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

9. Janet’s , based on many years as a horsewoman, is that the mare will deliver her foal
tonight.
a. contraction b. conjecture
c. configuration d. confabulation

10. Cathy decided to leave the ceiling and unpainted so that they would look just as they
had in the eighteenth century.
a. joist b. joust
c. cudgel d. jest

Write a vocabulary word for each of these definitions.

11. Rude, inappropriate

12. To make less sharp, deaden

13. Unavoidable, sure to happen

14. Indirect communication, hint

15. Hatefulness

16. Short, heavy stick with a rounded end

17. Bloody, wounded

18. Guess or interpretation made by inference

19. A supporting timber in a floor or ceiling

20. Suitable to or found in hell, wicked

Extra Credit
21. Who was Ham and why was his story useful to slaveholders in the nineteenth century?
 Name: Date:

Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

Vocabulary Test Chapter 2

Choose the word that best completes each of these sentences.

1. Hardened in wrongdoing, stubborn

a. obdurate b. obstinate
c. obedient d. obsidian

2. Incoherent talk; also, the specialized language of a particular group

a. gobbledygook b. jargon
c. dialect d. jugular

3. Lack of cultivation or familiarity with civilization, savagery

a. biliousness b. bombast
c. barbarity d. hilarity

4. To value greatly
a. astern b. estimate
c. evince d. esteem

5. To show clearly
a. evince b. obdurate
c. obviate d. envision

6. To plan secretly
a. conspire b. contract
c. conscript d. aspire

7. Extremely wicked or cruel

a. ineffable b. fiendish
c. squeamish d. inconsiderate

8. Expressing overwhelming emotion

a. sentimental b. rabid
c. incoherent d. rapturous
 Name: Date:

Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

9. Incapable of being expressed or described

a. mute b. effable
c. ineffable d. ephasic

10. A misdeed; a small offense, less serious than a felony

a. sloop b. fib
c. misdemeanor d. mishap

Write a sentence for each vocabulary word.

11. diligently

12. rude

13. incoherent

14. ineffable

15. rapturous

16. conspire

17. esteem

18. evince

19. obdurate

20. jargon
 Name: Date:

Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

Vocabulary Test Chapter 3

Circle the word that best completes each of these sentences.

1. Stanley sold all his (equipage, reportage) for shining shoes and bought a lawnmower when he
moved to the suburbs.

2. Cher is an excellent mechanic, but one cruel customer was able to (defuse, defile) her
reputation all over town.

3. Hannah will (brook, bank) no interruptions when she is painting a portrait.

4. Sometimes a police force will use pepper spray to (oppress, suppress) a riot.

5. John began to (disintegrate, execrate) his younger brother for being disrespectful to their
mother.

6. Phyllis’s interest in his coin collection is a clever (stratagem, stratiform) for getting Mario’s
attention.

7. Because Gabe’s (supposition, imposition) is that Claire will arrive late, he tells her that the
train is leaving a half hour before its scheduled departure time.

8. A favorite (axon, maxim) of Robert’s is “Seize the day.”

9. Cassie began to (imbibe, elude) her older sister’s habit of making her bed every morning.
 Name: Date:

Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

Choose the definition that best matches each vocabulary word.

10. defile a. A rule of conduct expressed as a saying or

proverb
11. suppress
b. To denounce, to declare to be hateful
12. supposition
c. Equipment, materials, often for military
13. execrate purposes
d. An assumption, something supposed
14. stratagem
e. Clever scheme for achieving an objective
15. brook
f. To pollute, make filthy
16. imbibe g. Put up with, tolerate
h. To drink, to take in
17. equipage
i. To put down, especially by force
18. maxim
 Name: Date:

Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

Vocabulary Test Chapter 4

Write a sentence for each vocabulary word.

1. indispensable

2. perpetrator

3. impudence

4. subversion

5. immutable

6. grave

7. homage

8. servile

Answer the questions about each vocabulary item.

9. What is a synonym for the word indispensable?

10. What is an antonym for the word indispensable?

11. What is a synonym for the word perpetrator?

12. What is an antonym for the word perpetrator?

13. What is a synonym for the word impudence?

14. What is an antonym for the word impudence?

15. What is an antonym for the word servile?

16. What is an antonym for the word immutable?

 Name: Date:

Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

17. What is a synonym for the word immutable?

18. What is a synonym for the word homage?

19. What is a synonym for the word grave?

20. What is a synonym for the word subversion?

 Name: Date:

Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

Vocabulary Test Chapter 5

Numbers 1 to 9. Use the vocabulary words in the list below to complete the story.

ecstasy eloquent severe

fluent galling providence

consolation egotistical ridicule

Paolo was tired of being the subject of at his cousins’ home because they spoke Spanish,
and he did not. Paolo was an extremely young man, and his cousins’
laughter had caused damage to his self-esteem. The fact that he was in
English was no either.

Then one day, delivered Paolo away from his predicament and toward the of
romantic love. A young Spanish-speaking woman began to visit his cousins’ house when he
was there and to use Spanish language in praise of him. At first he could take no
from these speeches because he did not understand them. Soon, however, because
of his growing affection for her, he began to learn and to speak her language.

Choose the word that best completes each of these sentences.

10. My terrier bounces in (ecstasy, excision) when he sees me come in the door.

11. With trees falling and shutters banging, we knew the storm was (revere, severe) without the
weather report.

12. In Titanic, the heroine stands with arms outstretched on the (bow, brow) of the ship.

13. A cup of water and a gentle voice will give the child some (insulation, consolation) after the
loss of her pet.

14. One of Lincoln’s most (elegant, eloquent) speeches, though a very short one, was the
Gettysburg Address.
 Name: Date:

Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

15. A group of dolphins leapt and danced (daft, aft) of the boat in her wake.

16. A language instructor once said that one has to be raised in France in order to be a
(fluent, fluid) French speaker.

17. A violin out of tune is a (galling, gelling) sound to a musician’s ears.

18. With the gift of (prudence, providence), Melinda and Charlie started a successful bed and
breakfast at Melinda’s mother’s birthplace.

19. Muhammad Ali was quite (egotistical, elyptical) during the height of his boxing career, but his
confidence probably helped him succeed.

20. Clarence had to put up with (reticule, ridicule) from his classmates when he rode the unicycle
to school.
 Name: Date:

Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

Vocabulary Test Chapter 6

Write a definition for each of these vocabulary words.

1. impudent, adjective

2. tranquil, adjective

3. accord, noun

4. discord, noun

5. perplexing, adjective

6. shun, verb

7. vestige, noun

8. lacerated, past participle

9. odium, noun

10. emaciated, adjective

Write either a synonym or an antonym for each of these vocabulary words.

11. impudent 17. vestige

12. tranquil 18. lacerated

13. accord 19. odium

14. discord 20. emaciated

15. perplexing

16. shun
 Name: Date:

Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

Vocabulary Test Chapter 7

Choose the word that best completes each of these sentences.

1. A dog may allow itself to be treated like (chattel, chatter), but a cat belongs to itself.

2. The virtue most valued by a banker is (impudence, prudence).

3. When she found that wealth did not give her the happiness she craved, the young teacher
chose to (invest, divest) herself of all her property and join the Peace Corps.

4. Despite his (abdication, apprehension), Michael’s manuscript was accepted, and he became a
published poet.

5. Sondra is an (apt, arid) medical student, but she is having trouble paying her tuition.

6. In The Prince and the Pauper, an (urgent, urchin) changes places with a young royal to
whom he bears a strong resemblance.

7. We were able to (console, conceal) Bonnie by allowing her to audition for the play.

8. After three days, the blizzard raged on (unindented, unabated) in northern Kentucky.

9. By the end of the winter, Penelope had begun to (abate, abhor) her daily oatmeal with raisins.

10. Both of our cats (soothe, loathe) the water, but they will play in the sand near the shoreline.

11. One day, Marisa dumped a can of thick, dark green paint on her head, and she was completely
(wretched, wrecked).

12. With ice all over them, the steep marble steps were (treacherous, tremulous).
 Name: Date:

Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

Answer the questions about each vocabulary word.

13. What is an antonym of the word divest?

14. What is an antonym of the word apprehension?

15. What is a synonym of the word apt?

16. What is a synonym of the word prudence?

17. What is an antonym of the word console?

18. What is a synonym of the word unabated?

19. What is an antonym of the word loathe?

20. What is an antonym of the word wretched?

 Name: Date:

Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

Vocabulary Test Chapter 8

Choose the word that best completes each of these sentences.

1. Cheryl will try one more (entreaty, entrail), and then she will give up on getting permission to
drive a motorcycle.

2. Because he is a (bounteous, righteous) man, Karl would not allow the others to tease the
new student.

3. On first seeing her long-lost sister, Millie’s emotions were (unalterable, unutterable).

4. Tim is known for his late nights at expensive clubs, and his (dissertation, dissipation) makes
him very popular with the waiters.

5. Because of his (profligate, proletariat) spending, we decided not to send Jordan to buy supplies
for the stage set.

Answer the questions about each vocabulary word.

6. What is an antonym for the word profligate?

7. What is a synonym for the word profligate?

8. What is a synonym for the word entreaty?

 Name: Date:

Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

9. What is an antonym for the word dissipation?

10. What is a synonym for the word unutterable??

11. What is a synonym for the word righteous?

12. What is an antonym for the word righteous?

13. What is a synonym for the word dissipation?

14. What is an antonym for the word unutterable?

 Name: Date:

Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

Vocabulary Test Chapter 9

Choose the word that best completes each sentence.

1. Because of the long absence of the men during the war, thousands of women and children
became (dissolute, destitute).

2. Upperclassmen enjoy the opportunity to express their (content, contempt) for those in
younger classes.

3. If Miguel were not so (frigid, rigid) about his diet, it would be much more pleasant to share
meals with him.

4. If you write a check for money that is not in your bank account, you are
committing bank (fraud, laud).

5. Melinda has always been a (frightful, fretful) person, and now that she really has something to
worry about, she seems no more anxious than usual.

6. Our swimming coach does not allow (lagging, lax) behavior such as breaking out of lanes or
stopping short of the end of the pool.

7. Her (sanctity, sanction) against sloppy swimming is ten minutes out of the pool.

8. Benjamin Franklin and Sojourner Truth were both known for their (sagacity, acidity).

9. Carrie’s (intention, pretension) to being a camper got her a night of shivering and scratching
under the stars.

10. A praying mantis does not actually feel (piety, parity) when it puts its front legs together.

11. A bull in a china shop would be extremely (propitious, pernicious).

 Name: Date:

Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

Choose the definition that best matches each vocabulary word.

a. A deception deliberately practiced to secure
12. pernicious
unfair or unlawful gain
13. sagacity b. Soundness of judgment, wisdom

c. Destructive
14. piety
d. Authoritative permission or approval
15. pretension
e. Religious devotion; the desire to perform
16. sanction religious duties

f. Lacking in rigor, not strict

17. fretful
g. Marked by worry or distress
18. fraud
h. A feeling that something or someone is inferior
19. contempt or worthless; scorn

i. A doubtful claim
20. lax
 Name: Date:

Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

Vocabulary Test Chapter 10 Part A

Choose the word that best completes each of these sentences.

1. Leadership has always been Shayla’s (forte, ford), and she doesn’t do well taking direction
from others.

2. Dallas spends a lot of time in quiet meditation, and his (lofty, drafty) dreams make him smile.

3. Gerald will (quote, quail) if he sees Monica scowling because he knows how hot her temper is.

4. People in love often believe that theirs is a (singular, sanguine) experience which will never
happen again and has never really happened before.

5. If you don’t shake the orange juice, the (drills, dregs) will gather at the bottom of the
container.

6. The white tiger was stunning as it crouched in the (hungering, lingering) rays of moonlight.

7. All of the huskies are (yoked, yanked) in pairs except the lead dog, who is harnessed alone.

8. Do not (tussle, trifle) with Dale’s affections, because his heart has been broken recently.

9. With charm and (dunning, cunning), Anthony lured his customer into a huge purchase of
clothing and makeup.

10. The male African lion is known for his (languor, anger), while the female is the hunter in
the family.

11. After the match, the boxer was in a (stupor, supine) for several hours.
 Name: Date:

Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

Write a definition for each of these vocabulary words.

12. dregs, noun

13. lofty, adjective

14. languish, verb

15. defiance, noun

16. feeble, adjective

17. comply, verb

18. turbid, adjective

19. gallant, adjective

20. apostrophe, noun

 Name: Date:

Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

Vocabulary Test Chapter 10 Part B

Choose the definition that best matches each vocabulary word.

1. imbue, verb a. Serious, sober, marked by self-restraint

b. Open revolt against civil authority

2. propriety, noun
c. Kindness
3. redress, noun
d. That which is proper or socially acceptable
4. visaged, adjective e. Communication of and agreement in actions

or beliefs
5. indignation, noun
f. Compensation for a wrong, loss, or injury
6. concert, noun
g. Anger provoked by injustice or wrongdoing

7. staid, adjective h. To inspire or influence; to permeate or saturate

i. To irritate or torment persistently

8. insurrection, noun
j. Capable of being accomplished, possible
9. benevolence, noun
k. Faced; from the noun visage, meaning “face”

10. harass, verb l. Passionately, enthusiastically

m. To justify, to clear of blame, or to prove the

11. feasible, adjective
worth of
12. digress, verb
n. An extraordinary disaster causing great loss

13. ardently, adverb or grief

o. To turn aside from the main subject of a conver-

14. vindicate, verb
sation or argument
15. calamity, noun
 Name: Date:

Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

Write a sentence for each vocabulary word.

16. defiance

17. imbue

18. redress

19. propriety

20. indignation
 Name: Date:

Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

Vocabulary Test Chapter 11

Answer the questions about each vocabulary word.

1. What is an antonym for the word imputation?

2. What is a synonym for the word imputation?

3. What is an antonym for the word exculpate?

4. What is a synonym for the word exculpate?

5. What is a synonym for the word commensurate?

6. What is an antonym for the word commensurate?

7. What is a synonym for the word exhort?

8. What is a synonym for the word perseverance?

9. What is a synonym for the word wrath?

10. What is a synonym for the word erroneous?

11. What is an antonym for the word erroneous?

12. What is a synonym for the word dilapidated?

13. What is an antonym for the word dilapidated?

14. What is a synonym for the word scathing?

15. What is an antonym for the word scathing?

 Name: Date:

Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

Write a sentence for each vocabulary word.

16. erroneous

17. exculpate

18. commensurate

19. scathing

20. dilapidated
 Name: Date:

Final Test, Part 1 – Objective Questions

Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

1. Irene Morgan did not allow the Virginia police to her right to ride the bus to Balti-
more in 1944.
a. emaciate b. suppress
c. provide d. strategize

2. A line from Woody Guthrie’s song “This Land Is Your Land” became a to the popular
movement toward peace and equality during the late 1960s.
a. gory b. brook
c. rapture d. maxim

3. Frederick Douglass’s first master was .

a. Captain Anthony b. Master Tuckahoe
c. his mother d. the captain’s wife

4. Each enslaved adult received per year.

a. 2 linen shirts, one pair of linen trousers, one pair of stockings
b. 4 linen shirts, one pair of linen trousers, two pair of stockings
c. 4 woolen shirts, one pair of linen trousers, two pair of stockings
d. 4 cotton shirts, one pair of linen trousers, three pair of stockings

5. According to Douglass, why did the enslaved workers sometimes praise their masters?
a. They were loyal to their masters who fed and clothed and housed them.
b. They were human, so they preferred their masters to masters they did not know.
c. They did not know any life different to what they had and assumed their masters were good
people.
d. If they did not praise their masters, they and their families would be beaten or sold away.

6. What did Mr. Gore believe about the punishment of slaves?

a. He believed it was a necessary but unpleasant task to punish them.
b. He believed it was better to punish ten innocent slaves than accuse one master of making
a mistake.
c. He believed all the slaves he accused were guilty of the things he accused them of.
d. He believed slaves should be tried first and then punished if necessary.
 Name: Date:

Final Test, Part 1 – Objective Questions

Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

7. Why did Douglass want to leave Baltimore, even though he felt freer than he had on the plan-
tation and liked his Baltimore street friends?
a. His main goal was to further his education in a free state.
b. He wanted to escape slavery by getting out of the slaveholding states, including Maryland.
c. He was not liked at the place where he worked, and his master was taking advantage of him.
d. He wanted to marry a free woman, so he had to go to a free state.

8. How did his faith in God allow Douglass to remain peaceful, even under impossible
conditions?
a. He believed that he would be released from slavery one day by God.
b. He knew that if he asked through his church, he would find an abolition sympathizer to
help him.
c. He knew that the master was religious and his own faith made the master want to help him.
d. He prayed for willingness to keep quiet and obedient until God told him how to escape.

9. What did Douglass realize when he heard the master explain why slaves should not be taught
to read?
a. He realized that his master was right and that the slaves were not happy when they learned
more from books.
b. He realized that reading was his key to freedom.
c. He realized that his master was was confused about the intelligence of black people.
d. He realized that his master was jealous of the time he had been spending with Mrs. Auld.
10. How did Mrs. Hamilton treat Mary and Henrietta?
a. She fed them well and treated them like family.
b. She beat them, but made sure they were well fed.
c. She never hit them, but she didn’t give them enough to eat.
d. She beat them and starved them.
 Name: Date:

Final Test, Part 2 – Objective Questions

Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

1. Candice had to Phillip after his dog got sick.

a. wretch b. fret
c. staid d. console

2. When Rachel does not with her mother’s rules, she and her mother have to stop
everything until they reach peaceful agreement.
a. abate b. utter
c. visage d. comply

3. What was one of the publications Douglass found that revealed to him there were people who
opposed slavery?
a. Mrs. Auld’s Bible
b. Master Auld’s diary
c. A speech by Richard Sheridan to support Catholic emancipation from England
d. An underground railroad guidebook

4. Frederick Douglass’s grandmother had .

a. been given a value so she could be sold off at auction.
b. been a cruel drunkard who mismanaged the slaves.
c. cared for the sick owner from his childhood to old age and at his deathbed.
d. disliked Douglass’s mother and taken Douglass away from his brother.

5. What was considered the meanest thing to do to a slave by the slaveholders?

a. Starving them
b. Teaching them to read
c. Selling them off to another farm
d. Beating them

6. What did Douglass do to Hughes and Covey?

a. He showed them beautiful sailing ships.
b. He gave each of them a root to keep it in his pocket.
c. He kicked Hughes in the chest and then beat Covey in a fight.
d. He exposed their cruelty to his master.
 Name: Date:

Final Test, Part 2 – Objective Questions

Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

7. What did the masters MOST want the slaves to do at Christmastime?

a. dance b. drink whisky
c. wrestle d. sing songs together

8. What did Douglass want more than a kind master and a comfortable place to work and study?
a. to live upon free land as well as with Freeland
b. to help escaping slaves
c. to punish those who were involved with the Railroad
d. to leave his Baltimore friends.

9. What did Douglass NOT find in New Bedford, Massachusetts?

a. sailing ships in the harbor
b. clean warehouses of brick
c. well-kept gardens, and workers not being whipped or yelled at.
d. slaves working happily on the waterfront

10. When she first met Douglass, Mrs. Auld had warm kind feelings toward slaves because .
a. she had never had a slave and had earned her own living as a weaver.
b. she wanted to be a teacher and liked his intelligence.
c. she was a good Christian woman.
d. she lived in the city where the appearance of kindness toward slaves was respected.
 Name: Date:

Final Written Test Part 1

Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

Write 2-3 complete sentences in response to each of the following questions.

1. During the mid 1800s slaveholders in Maryland bred and kept enslaved people in the manner
that ranchers kept cattle in the west. They separated the young from their mothers, they fed
them from a trough like pigs, and they grouped them with their own children to bond them
in slave/master relationship from an early age. How did Douglass’s own early life develop as
each of these things was done to him?

2. Why did the slaves not rebel during the holidays, and how did the slave owners manage to
keep them from rebelling during the holiday season? Give specific activities the masters in-
sisted the slaves do over the holidays.
 Name: Date:

Final Written Test Part 1

Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

3. How did Mr. Severe cause the slaves to live in terror?

4. How did Douglass manage to fool his coworkers and his masters so no one would suspect he
was about to escape? (Bonus: Use the word perseverance in your answer.)

5. Write about Mrs. Auld’s treatment of Douglass and compare it to the treatment he received
from Mr. Auld. How was her treatment of him more cruel than her husband’s?
 Name: Date:

Final Written Test, Part 2

Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

Write an opinion paragraph explaining how one of the events from the timeline below might have affected
the slaves in Maryland and West Virginia, where Douglass was a slave.

1. 1846 Douglass slave narrative published

Douglass European tour

1851 Akron Convention for Women’s Rights Sojourner Truth speaks

1852 Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin published

1857 Dred Scott decision, free states must return escaped slaves to masters in slave states

1859 John Brown’s raid, attack on armory to steal weapons for use in escape from slaveholders

Write 2-3 complete sentences in response to each of the following questions.

2. Frederick Douglass had a goal of living on free land and living with freed slaves. Name three
strategies he used to accomplish this goal.

3. Why did Douglass have penmanship contests using chalk and walls with the poor white boys
in his neighborhood? Give the reason that relates to his goal of escape, and also give the rea-
sons that were personal to him.
 Name: Date:

Final Written Test, Part 2

Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

4. After he became knowledgeable about slaveholders, why was Douglass unwilling to be submis-
sive toward them? Give an example from the text that shows clearly what happened and how
Douglass learned of the slaveholders’ weakness.

5. In New York, there was great danger to escaping slaves. Why? (Bonus: Use a form of the word
sanction in your answer.)
Guided Reading Questions Answer Key Teacher Guide
Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

Chapter 1
1. Douglass’s father was a white man, possibly the slave owner--the man Douglass calls the
“master.”
2. Shortly after Douglass’s birth, Harriet Bailey was hired out to another slave owner who
lived twelve miles away. It was the custom in Maryland to keep enslaved women from
caring for their children
3. She walked twelve miles to see him after sunset when her work was done, and then
walked back so she would arrive in time to be working in the fields by sunrise.
4. No. Often the enslaved children of the slave owner were treated worse. They were a
“constant offence” to the slave owner’s wife, and were often sold to another slave
owner.
5. Aunt Hester would visit her boyfriend, Lloyd’s Ned and that made the slave owner
mad.

Chapter 2
1. They were allowed to see Baltimore.
2. The children had two coarse linen shirts per year, nothing else.
3. They went naked until next allowance day.
4. They prepared the field for the coming day. They did their washing, mending, and cooking.
Their bed was the “cold, damp floor,” with “miserable blankets” to cover them.
5. Mr. Hopkins replaced Mr. Severe. Mr. Hopkins wasn’t as cruel as Mr. Severe.
6. People thought the songs were a sign of the slaves being content and happy, but the
songs “represent[ed] the sorrow of his heart.” The songs helped relieve the enslaved
people’s pain.

Chapter 3
1. The bountiful garden was a temptation to the hungry. The colonel tarred the fence to
identify anyone who tried to “steal” the produce, and anyone caught with tar on them was
severely whipped by the chief gardener.
2. Colonel Lloyd was most particular about the care of his horses, and the slaves who cared for
them were frequently whipped when they did not deserve to be, based on the appearance and
movement of the horses rather than on what the colonel had observed the slaves doing or not
doing to the animals.
3. They would be seized and sold away from their families if they spoke against their masters, so
they always praised them.
4. They would fight to prove that their owner was superior to the other owners. “[T]he
greatness of their masters was transferable to themselves.”
Guided Reading Questions Answer Key Teacher Guide
Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

Chapter 4
1. The overseer is always right, and if a slave says something against him, even if it is to help
out, or to defend himself against false accusations, the slave must be punished because it
looks like the slave is saying that the overseer is wrong in front of other slaves.
2. He did not feel guilty because he didn’t think he did anything wrong. He had no
conscience.
3. Mr. Gore was famous as a great overseer. The slave owners and other overseers
respected him.
4. Demby didn’t obey him. Mr. Gore had to kill Demby so that the other enslaved
people would always obey him.
5. The slave owners were the “masters” and therefore had all the power. It wasn’t a crime
to maim or kill an enslaved person. Slave, however, would be punished for the smallest
thing, even if it was something the owner or overseer only thought happened.

Chapter 5
1. No. He was given very little to eat and only a shirt to wear, and slept on the cold floor.
2. Mrs. Lucretia told him the people were clean in Baltimore and he wanted to fit in.
Plus, Mrs. Lucretia told him that if he were clean enough, she would give him a
pair of trousers.
3. He had no family there and was treated badly, so it wasn’t any different from anywhere
else.
4. She looked like she would be kind to him.
5. He felt like it changed the path of his life. He feels that he might still be a slave if he had
not gone to Baltimore.

Chapter 6
1. The enslaved people on the plantation were always afraid, cringing because they expected
to be beaten, so they would try to please the “masters” as much as they could.
2. Teaching enslaved people to read was illegal, and it would make them discontented. Being
able to read would “spoil” him as a slave.
3. Douglass heard Mr. Auld say that learning to read would make him “unfit as a slave.“
He realized that reading could be a “pathway to freedom.”
4. City slave owners were shamed if their neighbors saw them beating or starving their
slaves.

Chapter 7
1. At first, she was kind and wanted Douglass to learn to read like any child. When her
husband told her that was wrong, she tried to keep him from learning. She lost her
kindness.
2. He gave the poor white boys in the neighborhood bread so that they would teach him.
3. “Master Hugh” had said that learning to read would ruin Douglass as a slave. Douglass
realized that Hugh was right, because Douglass now realized how wrong slavery was.
That knowledge made him hate his “enslavers.”
Guided Reading Questions Answer Key Teacher Guide
Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave
4. He read the city newspaper which had printed northern petitions to free the District of
Columbia slaves and abolish the trade of slaves between the states of the United States.
5. He didn’t trust the Irishmen. They could be pretending to encourage him to run away so
that they catch him for the reward.
6. He wanted to escape and if he could write himself a pass, he would have an easier time
traveling.
7. He had to trick boys into penmanship contests to learn more letters. He had only chalk and
walls, no pen or paper.

Chapter 8
1. Because there was no will, a monetary value had to be placed on the property so the
inheritors, Lucretia and Andrew, would each inherit half. Because Douglass was property,
he was sent back to the plantation.
2. Since the slaves were property, like furniture or livestock, they had to have a price put on
them.
3. She had served her master from his infancy through his dying day. He had taken her many
offspring to work on his plantation throughout his life. She was now very old.
4. The family was sold away and couldn’t come back to care for her.
5. The Aulds in Baltimore had changed and were no longer kind. He would miss his
friends, the poor white boys.

Chapter 9
1. They begged and stole food from their neighbors.
2. He hoped that Master Thomas would set his slaves free, or at least be kinder to them.
3. Mr. Wilson wanted to teach the enslaved people to read the New Testament. They were
driven away from the school by other religious men.
4. Teaching enslaved people to read was against the law.
5. She was crippled and therefore unable to do a lot of work. Master Thomas felt that he
should not have to support her.
6. He justified his actions with the Bible verse that says someone who doesn’t do his
master’s will shall be beaten until their skin is striped with blood.
7. Douglass was “ruined” by his life in Baltimore, so Auld sent him to Covey’s to “break” him.
8. He would get enough to eat.
Guided Reading Questions Answer Key Teacher Guide
Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

Chapter 10 PART A
1. He had never been a “field hand” before, and all the work was new to him.
2. He would sneak up on them and surprise them.
3. Covey bought Caroline as a breeder. She was to bear children that he would use
as his slaves.
4. He felt despair at his condition; they made him long for freedom.
5. Auld had made a contract with Covey and Douglass had to fulfill it or Thomas would lose
money.
6. Sandy gave him a root from the woods. It gave him confidence that he wouldn’t be
whipped.
7. Covey was known as a slave breaker. It would ruin his reputation if it was known that a
slave had beat him in a fight.

PART B
1. The slaveholders encouraged the enslaved people to drink to excess, so that they would
be drunk or sick the whole time, and be relieved to get back to work.
2. The slaveholders would give the enslaved people more of something than was
healthy or that they could handle, like whisky, or molasses, so that they wouldn’t
want it anymore.
3. He thought the slaveholders used their religion to justify their cruelty.
4. Teaching his fellow slaves at the Sabbath School.
5. Auld sent him back to Baltimore, to his former master, Hugh.
6. He built war ships for a ship builder.
7. The white carpenters felt the black carpenters and enslaved people were taking their jobs.
8. He had to give it to Hugh.
.

Chapter 11
1. It could hurt the people who helped him, and would alert slaveholders to the route.
2. He respected them for their daring, but thought they called too much attention to themselves,
therefore making it more difficult for the enslaved people to escape to freedom.
3. He proposed a deal where he would sell his own time and pay Master Hugh for his
room and board.
4. He was torn between wanting freedom, and leaving his loved ones.
5. He could be kidnapped and sent back to slavery.
6. Mr. Johnson of New Bedford was reading “The Lady of the Lake” and took the name
from there
7. Douglass thought that the people in the north would be like the people who didn’t own
slaves in the South--poor. He thought that if people didn’t own slaves, they could not
be rich.
8. The Black people were able to earn a living and some were quite comfortable. They stood
Guided Reading Questions Answer Key Teacher Guide
Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave
up for each other and protected each other. There was still prejudice, however. Douglass
could not get a job as a calker because of the prejudice of the white calkers, much like the
white carpenters in Baltimore who wouldn’t work as long as the shipbuilders hired
enslaved workers.
9. .
Final Test Answer Key Teacher Guide
Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

Final Test #1 Answer Key

1. b
2. d
3. a
4. a
5. d
6. b
7. b
8. a
9. b
10. c

Final Test #2 Answer Key

1. d
2. d
3. c
4. c
5. a
6. c
7. b
8. a
9. d
10. a
Vocabulary Test Answer Key Teacher Guide
Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

Chapter 1

1. *c. gory

2. *d. cudgel

3. *d. impertinent

4. *a. blunt

5. *b. infernal

6. *d. intimation

7. *b. inevitable

8. *a. odiousness

9. *b. conjecture

10. *a. joist

Write a vocabulary word for each of these definitions.

11. [impertinent]
12. [blunt]
13. [inevitable]
14. [intimation]
15. [odiousness]
16. [cudgel]
17. [gory]
18. [conjecture]
19. [joist]
20. [infernal]
Vocabulary Test Answer Key Teacher Guide
Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

Chapter 2

1. *a. obdurate

2. *b. jargon

3. *c. barbarity

4. *d. esteem

5. *a. evince

6. *a. conspire

7. *b. fiendish

8. *d. rapturous

9. *c. ineffable

10. *c. misdemeanor

Write a sentence for each vocabulary word.

11. diligently [Raya is not as creative as Raoul, but she works far more diligently.]

12. rude [We slept in a rude cottage in Utah, but the neighbors were generous.]

13. incoherent [Because of her early life in a Peruvian village, Marika was incoherent to everyone
except her mother until she was about five years old.]

14. ineffable [When Charlie reached the top of Mount Everest, his reaction was ineffable.]

15. rapturous [With one rapturous swan dive, Marina began her summer vacation.]

16. conspire [No matter how carefully we conspire, Jacques always knows when we’re planning a
surprise party for him.]
Vocabulary Test Answer Key Teacher Guide
Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

17. esteem [The teacher Kevin and Mina esteem highest is the one who spends most time with
them and enjoys their company.]

18. evince [Chloe can evince misery when she is perfectly calm and content.]

19. obdurate [Because no one had ever confronted him, Kyle was an obdurate bully by the time he
was in the eighth grade.]

20. jargon [When Jordan uses basketball jargon, Shelly’s ears perk up, and she listens very
carefully.]
Vocabulary Test Answer Key Teacher Guide
Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

Chapter 3

Choose the word that best completes each of these sentences.

1. Stanley sold all his ([equipage,] reportage) for shining shoes and bought a lawnmower when he
moved to the suburbs.

2. Cher is an excellent mechanic, but a neurotic customer was able to (defuse, [defile]) her repu-
tation all over town.

3. Hannah will ([brook,] bank) no interruptions when she is painting a portrait.

4. Sometimes a police force will use pepper spray to (oppress, [suppress]) a riot.

5. John began to (disintegrate, [execrate]) his younger brother for being disrespectful to their
mother.
6. Phyllis’s interest in his coin collection is a clever ([stratagem,] stratiform) for getting Mario’s
attention.

7. Because Gabe’s ([supposition,] imposition) is that Claire will arrive late, he tells her that the
train is leaving a half hour before its scheduled departure time.

8. A favorite (axon, [maxim]) of Robert’s is “Seize the day.”

9. Cassie began to ([imbibe,] elude) her older sister’s habit of making her bed every morning.

Choose the definition that best matches each vocabulary word.

10. defile [f ]

11. suppress [i]

Vocabulary Test Answer Key Teacher Guide
Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

12. supposition [d]

13. execrate [b]

14. stratagem [e]

15. brook [g]

16. imbibe [h]

17. equipage [c]

18. maxim [a]

Vocabulary Test Answer Key Teacher Guide
Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

Chapter 4

Write a sentence for each vocabulary word.

1. indispensable [A guide is indispensable on an Arctic expedition.]

2. perpetrator [The perpetrator of the crime was swiftly arrested.]

3. impudence [Lisa had the impudence to tell the class the teacher was an idiot.]

4. subversion [After Karl’s subversion of authority on the hiking trip, he realized he actually
needed the counselors’ leadership.]

5. immutable [Gravity is an immutable force.]

6. grave [It would be a grave mistake to drink salt water to quench one’s thirst.]

7. homage [The Andean people pay homage to the sun with a celebration called Inti Raymi,
which is held at the summer solstice in June.]

8. servile [Miranda is embarrassed by Susan’s servile manner and insists she stop calling everyone
Sir and Madam.]

Answer the questions about each vocabulary item.

9. What is a synonym for the word indispensable? [essential]

10. What is an antonym for the word indispensable? [dispensable]

11. What is a synonym for the word perpetrator? [criminal]

Vocabulary Test Answer Key Teacher Guide
Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

12. What is an antonym for the word perpetrator? [victim]

13. What is a synonym for the word impudence? [insolence]

14. What is an antonym for the word impudence? [respect]

15. What is an antonym for the word servile? [confident]

16. What is an antonym for the word immutable? [mutable]

17. What is a synonym for the word immutable? [unchangeable]

18. What is a synonym for the word homage? [honor]

19. What is a synonym for the word grave? [somber]

20. What is a synonym for the word subversion? [corruption]

Vocabulary Test Answer Key Teacher Guide
Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

Chapter 5

Numbers 1 to 9. Use the vocabulary words in the list below to complete the story.

Ecstasy
Severe
Consolation
Fluent
Eloquent
Galling
Providence
Egotistical
Ridicule

Paolo was tired of being the subject of [ridicule] at his cousins’ home because they spoke
Spanish, and he did not. Paolo was an extremely [egotistical] young man, and his cousins’
[galling] laughter had caused [severe] damage to his self-esteem. The fact that he was [fluent]
in English was no [consolation] either.

Then one day, [providence] delivered Paolo away from his predicament and toward the
[ecstasy] of romantic love. A young Spanish-speaking woman began to visit his cousins’ house
when he was there and to use [eloquent] Spanish language in praise of him. At first he could
take no [consolation] from these speeches because he did not understand them. Soon, how-
ever, because of his growing affection for her, he began to learn and to speak her language.

Choose the word that best completes each of these sentences.

10. My terrier bounces in ([ecstasy,] excision) when he sees me come in the door.

11. With trees falling and shutters banging, we knew the storm was (revere, [severe]) without the
weather report.

12. In Titanic, the heroine stands with arms outstretched on the ([bow,] brow) of the ship.

13. A cup of water and a gentle voice will give the child some (insulation, [consolation]) after the
loss of her pet.
Vocabulary Test Answer Key Teacher Guide
Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

14. One of Lincoln’s most (elegant, [eloquent]) speeches, though a very short one, was the Get-
tysburg Address.

15. A group of dolphins leapt and danced (daft, [aft]) of the boat in her wake.

16. A language instructor once said that one has to be raised in France in order to be a ([fluent,]
fluid) French speaker.

17. A violin out of tune is a ([galling,] gelling)sound to a musician’s ears.

18. With the gift of (prudence, [providence]), Melinda and Charlie started a successful bed and
breakfast at Melinda’s mother’s birthplace.

19. Muhammad Ali was quite ([egotistical,] elyptical) during the height of his boxing career, but
his confidence probably helped him succeed.

20. Clarence had to put up with (reticule, [ridicule]) from his classmates when he rode the uni-
cycle to school.
Vocabulary Test Answer Key Teacher Guide
Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

Chapter 6

Write a definition for each of these vocabulary words.

1. impudent, adjective [Disrespectful]

2. tranquil, adjective [Composed, calm, free from anxiety]

3. accord, noun [Agreement, harmony]

4. discord, noun [Lack of agreement or harmony]

5. perplexing, adjective [Confusing, puzzling]

6. shun, verb [To purposefully avoid or keep away from]

7. vestige, noun [A visible trace, evidence, or sign of something that once existed]

8. lacerated, past participle [Torn, mangled, or wounded]

9. odium, noun [A state of disgrace resulting from hateful conduct]

10. emaciated, adjective [Bony; very thin, especially from starvation]

Write either a synonym or an antonym for each of these vocabulary words.

11. impudent [rude, respectful]

12. tranquil [calm, turbulent]

13. accord [agreement, disagreement]

14. discord [disagreement, agreement]

15. perplexing [confusing, understood]

Vocabulary Test Answer Key Teacher Guide
Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

16. shun [reject, accept]

17. vestige [trace, entirety]

18. lacerated [torn, healed]

19. odium [disgrace, celebrity]

20. emaciated [thin, obese]

Vocabulary Test Answer Key Teacher Guide
Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

Chapter 7

Choose the word that best completes each of these sentences.

1. A dog may allow itself to be treated like ([chattel,] chatter), but a cat belongs to itself.

2. The virtue most valued by a banker is (impudence, [prudence]).

3. When she found that wealth did not give her the happiness she craved, the young teacher
chose to (invest, [divest]) herself of all her property and join the Peace Corps.

4. Despite his ([abdication, [apprehension]), Michael’s manuscript was accepted, and he became
a published poet.

5. Sondra is an ([apt,] arid) medical student, but she is having trouble paying her tuition.

6. In The Prince and the Pauper, an (urgent, [urchin]) changes places with a young royal, to
whom he bears a strong resemblance.

7. We were only able to ([console,] conceal) Bonnie by saying that she could still audition for
the role of the murderess.

8. After three days, the blizzard raged on (unindented, [unabated]) in northern Kentucky.

9. By the end of the winter, Georgia had begun to (abate, [abhor]) her daily oatmeal with raisins.

10. Both of our cats (soothe, [loathe]) the water, but they will play in the sand near the shoreline.

11. One day, Marisa dumped a can of paint on her head, which was thick and dark green, and she
was completely ([wretched,] wrecked).

12. With ice all over them, the steep marble steps were ([treacherous,] tremulous).

Answer the questions about each vocabulary word.

13. What is an antonym of the word divest? [collect]

Vocabulary Test Answer Key Teacher Guide
Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

14. What is an antonym of the word apprehension? [anticipation]

15. What is a synonym of the word apt? [clever]

16. What is a synonym of the word prudence? [caution]

17. What is an antonym of the word console? [upset]

18. What is a synonym of the word unabated? [continuous]

19. What is an antonym of the word loathe? [adore]

20. What is an antonym of the word wretched? [joyful]

Vocabulary Test Answer Key Teacher Guide
Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

Chapter 8

Choose the word that best completes each of these sentences.

1. Cheryl will try one more ([entreaty,] entrail), and then she will give up on getting permission
to drive a motorcycle.

2. Because he is a (bounteous, [righteous]) man, Karl would not allow the others to tease the
new student.

3. On first seeing her long-lost sister, Millie’s emotions were (unalterable, [unutterable]).

4. Tim is known for his late nights at expensive clubs, and his (dissertation, [dissipation]) makes
him very popular with the waiters.

5. Because of his ([profligate,] proletariat) spending, we decided not to send Jordan to buy
supplies for the stage set.

Answer the questions about each vocabulary word.

6. What is an antonym for the word profligate? [conservative]

7. What is a synonym for the word profligate? [wasteful]

8. What is a synonym for the word entreaty? [plea]

9. What is an antonym for the word dissipation? [development]

10. What is a synonym for the word unutterable? [unspeakable]

11. What is a synonym for the word righteous? [honorable]

12. What is an antonym for the word righteous? [dishonorable]

13. What is a synonym for the word dissipation? [profligacy]

14. What is an antonym for the word unutterable? [describable]

Vocabulary Test Answer Key Teacher Guide
Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

Chapter 9

Choose the word that best completes each sentence.

1. Because of the long absence of the men during the war, thousands of women and children
became (dissolute, [destitute]).

2. Upperclassmen enjoy the opportunity to express their (content, [contempt]) for the younger
classes.

3. If Miguel were not so (frigid, [rigid]) about his diet, it would be much more pleasant to share
meals with him.

4. If you write a check for money that is not in your bank account, you are committing bank
([fraud,] laud)

5. Melinda has always been a (frightful, [fretful]) person, and now that she really has something
to worry about, she seems no more anxious than usual.

6. Our swimming coach does not allow (lagging, [lax]) behavior such as breaking out of lanes or
stopping short of the end of the pool.

7. Her (sanctity, [sanction]) against sloppy swimming is ten minutes out of the pool.

8. Benjamin Franklin and Sojourner Truth were both known for their ([sagacity,] acidity).

9. Carrie’s (intention, [pretension]) to being a camper got her a night of shivering and scratch-
ing under the stars.

10. A praying mantis does not actually feel ([piety,] parity) when it puts its front legs together.

11. A bull in a china shop would be extremely (propitious, [pernicious]).

Vocabulary Test Answer Key Teacher Guide
Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

Choose the definition that best matches each vocabulary word.

12. pernicious [c]

13. sagacity [b]

14. piety [e]

15. pretension [i]

16. sanction [d]

17. fretful [g]

18. fraud [a]

19. contempt [h]

20. lax [f ]
Vocabulary Test Answer Key Teacher Guide
Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

Chapter 10 Part A

Choose the word that best completes each of these sentences.

1. Leadership has always been Shayla’s ([forte,] ford), and she doesn’t do well taking direction
from others.

2. Dallas spends a lot of time in quiet meditation, and his ([lofty,] drafty) dreams make him
smile.

3. Gerald will (quote, [quail]) if he sees Monica scowling because he knows how hot her
temper is.

4. People in love often believe that theirs is a ([singular,] sanguine) experience which will never
happen again and has never really happened before.

5. If you don’t shake the orange juice, the (drills, [dregs]) will gather at the bottom of the con-
tainer.

6. The white tiger was stunning as it crouched in the (hungering, [lingering]) rays of moonlight.

7. All of the huskies are ([yoked,] yanked) in pairs except the lead dog, who is harnessed alone.

8. Do not (tussle, [trifle]) with Dale’s affections because his heart has been broken recently.

9. With charm and (dunning, [cunning]), Anthony lured his customer into a huge purchase of
clothing and makeup.

10. The male African lion is known for his ([languor,] language), while the female is the hunter in
the family.

11. After being punched in the head, the boxer was in a ([stupor,] supine) for several hours.

Write a definition for each of these vocabulary words.

12. dregs, noun [The bottom part of a liquid, containing sediment that has settled; the least desir-
able portion]
Vocabulary Test Answer Key Teacher Guide
Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

13. lofty, adjective [Of great height, elevated, exalted]

14. languish, verb [To become weak or feeble; lose strength]

15. defiance, noun [Bold resistance; opposition to authority]

16. feeble, adjective [Lacking strength, weak]

17. comply, verb [To act in accordance with another’s command or request]

18. turbid, adjective [Lacking clarity, foul, muddy]

19. gallant, adjective [Valiant or unflinching in action or battle]

20. apostrophe, noun [A literary device in which a nonhuman thing is addressed directly as
though it were a person]
Vocabulary Test Answer Key Teacher Guide
Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

Chapter 10 Part B

Choose the definition that best matches each vocabulary word.

1. imbue, verb [h]

2. propriety, noun [d]

3. redress, noun [f ]

4. visaged, adjective [k]

5. indignation, noun [g]

6. concert, noun [e]

7. staid, adjective [a]

8. insurrection, noun [b]

9. benevolence, noun [c]

10. harass, verb [i]

11. feasible, adjective [j]

12. digress, verb [o]

13. ardently, adverb [l]

14. vindicate, verb [m]

15. calamity, noun [n]

Vocabulary Test Answer Key Teacher Guide
Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

Write a sentence for each vocabulary word.

16. defiance [Because of Posey’s defiance, she recovered from an illness her doctor had said was
fatal.]

17. imbue [The horse began to imbue Charlie with confidence and self-discipline that he had
never possessed before riding her.]

18. redress [The redress my mother asked from us for missing her dinner was for Terry and I to
prepare the next family dinner without her.]

19. propriety [One example of propriety at a wedding is to be absolutely quiet during the wedding
vows.]

20. indignation [My cat expresses indignation by turning her back to me, sitting on her haunches,
and flicking her tail.]
Vocabulary Test Answer Key Teacher Guide
Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

Chapter 11

Answer the questions about each vocabulary word.

1. What is an antonym for the word imputation? [praise]

2. What is a synonym for the word imputation? [blame]

3. What is an antonym for the word exculpate? [accuse]

4. What is a synonym for the word exculpate? [vindicate]

5. What is a synonym for the word commensurate? [proportionate]

6. What is an antonym for the word commensurate? [disproportionate]

7. What is a synonym for the word exhort? [advise]

8. What is a synonym for the word perseverance? [determination]

9. What is a synonym for the word wrath? [fury]

10. What is a synonym for the word erroneous? [false]

11. What is an antonym for the word erroneous? [correct]

12. What is a synonym for the word dilapidated? [shabby]

13. What is an antonym for the word dilapidated? [trim]

14. What is a synonym for the word scathing? [critical]

15. What is an antonym for the word scathing? [encouraging]

Vocabulary Test Answer Key Teacher Guide
Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

Write a sentence for each vocabulary word.

16. erroneous [Kat’s assumption that because he is a football player Michael cannot play the flute
is erroneous.]

17. exculpate [Louis tried to exculpate Randy by saying that they were together at the library dur-
ing the incident, but Randy decided to admit the truth.]

18. commensurate [No one believes that an executive who earns over a billion dollars a year is
earning a salary commensurate with his or her productivity.]

19. scathing [Marcus’s scathing comments about Janet’s cooking have really hurt her feelings.]

20. dilapidated [That old house is so dilapidated that birds and small animals have set up
permanent residence there.]