Lizbeth Martinez

Ms. Nicole Deliz

8 February 2023

American Literature

Why did slave owners want to keep slaves’ birthdays secret?

It is more of a matter that they did not care about. However, if the slave were to ask them about it, they
would see it as a revolt toward their authority, the fact that they are curious to learn, thus characterizing
it as improper or impertinent.

Why is it important for Douglass to know his birthday?

He knew clearly that there was a difference of privilege between him and the other kids who were
white. While he had no knowledge of his age, the kids would keep track of it every year and he did not
understand why he and others had been deprived of this. Knowing his age would be proof of his
humanity and that the ignorance he grew up in was not who he was.

Who was Douglass’s father? Why didn’t Douglass know his mother? How did Douglass’s mother visit
him?

Douglass’ father was a white man, and rumor spread around that it was his master who had conceived
him. And the reason he knew not of his mother was because a mere year after birth, he and his mother
were separated. However, during the nights, she made journeys on foot to see him. Those nights were
the only times he saw her.

What did the slave owner do to keep the baby slaves on the plantation?

It is established by law that the children, slave mothers bear must stay in that same cycle. They do this
for their own pleasure and profit; force themselves on women, have them bear his children, and sell
them or keep them as slaves in the plantation.

How did the slave owner’s wife feel about the children that her husband fathered?

These children go through many hardships and the treatment of this woman is one of them. She tries to
find faults in them no matter what and when she suspects that her husband is favoring them, she lashes
them.

Describe the relationship between Hester and Lloyd Ned.

They were having a secret affair and often, Hester would escape during the night to meet him. He was a
man the master was wary of.

When enslaved children were the sons or daughters of the slave owner, were they treated better than
the other enslaved children?
Sometimes they might be favored by the master, but this would cause the wife to become angered and
she would often have them lashed. For this reason, the master sell their children, so they would not
have a blood relative whip their kin.

Why did the slave owner whip Aunt Hester?

The master had told her not to go out in the evenings or let him catch her in the company of a man. She
went out one night and when the master sought her presence, she was not seen, and that night he
found her with Lloyd’s Ned.