This battle with Mr. Covey was the turning-point in my career as a slave. It rekindled the few expiring embers of freedom, and revived within me a sense of my own manhood. It recalled the departed self-confidence, and inspired me again with a determination to be free. The gratification afforded by the triumph was a full compensation for whatever else might follow, even death itself. He only can understand the deep satisfaction which I experienced, who has himself repelled by force the bloody arm of slavery. I felt as I never felt before. It was a glorious resurrection, from the tomb of slavery, to the heaven of freedom. My long-crushed spirit rose, cowardice departed, bold defiance took its place; and I now resolved that, however long I might remain a slave in form, the day had passed forever when I could be a slave in fact. I did not hesitate to let it be known of me, that the white man who expected to succeed in whipping, must also succeed in killing me. From this time I was never again what might be called fairly whipped, though I remained a slave four years afterwards. I had several fights, but was never whipped. It was for a long time a matter of surprise to me why Mr. Covey did not immediately have me taken by the constable to the whipping-post, and there regularly whipped for the crime of raising my hand against a white man in defence of myself. And the only explanation I can now think of does not entirely satisfy me; but such as it is, I will give it. Mr. Covey enjoyed the most unbounded reputation for being a first-rate overseer and negro-breaker. It was of considerable importance to him. That reputation was at stake; and had he sent me--a boy about sixteen years old--to the public whipping-post, his reputation would have been lost; so, to save his reputation, he suffered me to go unpunished.
1. This portion of Douglass’s autobiography is probably:
(a) the exposition.
(b) the rising action.
(c) the climax.
(d) the falling action.
(e) the conclusion.
2. The tone of the passage can best be described as:
(a) melodramatic.
(b) earnest.
(c) ironic.
(d) informal.
(e) lyrical.
3. The phrase, "who has himself repelled by force the bloody arm of slavery":
(a) personifies slavery.
(b) uses metaphor.
(c) uses simile.
(d) draws an analogy.
(e) uses onomatopoeia.
4. Mr. Covey functions as:
(a) the protagonist.
(b) the good guy.
(c) the antagonist.
(d) a neutral character.
(e) an anti-hero.
5. What argument is Douglass making in the first paragraph?
(a) After battling Mr. Covey, he should have been freed.
(b) Douglass is braver than Mr. Covey.
(c) After battling Mr. Covey, Douglass was no longer a slave in spirit.
(d) Slavery should be outlawed.
(e) The mind can’t be free if the body is enslaved.
6. Which of the following values does the author emphasize in his account?
(a) The importance of fighting for freedom
(b) The value of passive resistance
(c) The value of upholding one’s reputation
(d) The importance of equal opportunity for all races
(e) The value of competition
7. This account of slavery is:
(a) a scholar’s interpretation.
(b) a secondary account.
(c) a historical transition essay.
(d) a fictional account.
(e) a primary account.
8. In the second paragraph, Douglass suggests that Mr. Covey never has him whipped again because:
(a) Mr. Covey is afraid of Douglass.
(b) Mr. Covey is a fair master.
(c) Mr. Covey is concerned about his other slaves.
(d) Mr. Covey is worried about how others will see him.
(e) Mr. Covey is about to set Douglass free.
9. In the first paragraph, Douglass alludes to:
(a) the Bible.
(b) romantic literature.
(c) the Declaration of Independence.
(d) the Emancipation Proclamation.
(e) other slave narratives.