Question

These words sank deep into my heart, stirred up sentiments within that lay slumbering, and called into existence an entirely new train of thought. 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—….
What effect does the author's use of the word youthful have on the meaning of this passage?
A.It shows that Mr. Auld is able to manipulate Douglass into obeying his orders by taking advantage of his good nature and lack of experience in life.

B. It shows that Douglass's new awareness of how owners maintain control over slaves allows him to better understand how to improve his situation.

C. It shows that Douglass knows that he is too young to know what is best for him.

D. It shows that Douglass's youth makes him more courageous than he might otherwise have been.

Answer 1

Answer:

B. It shows that Douglass's new awareness of how owners maintain control over slaves allows him to better understand how to improve his situation.

Explanation:

Frederick Douglass was an American African man born into slavery. He later learned to read and write, later gaining his freedom and became a huge abolitionist working for the freedom and rights of his fellow black people. His memoir "Narrative of The life of Frederick Douglass" became one of the foremost important documentation of a slave and in general, the slavery system.

The given excerpt is from when Douglass was a slave in the household of the Aulds. There, Mrs. Sophia Auld being unfamiliar with having a slave was surprisingly good to him. She even taught him how to read and learn the alphabet, Douglass wrote "she very kindly commenced to teach me the A, B, C. After I had learned this, she assisted me in learning to spell words of three or four letters". But then her husband came to know about it and prevented her from continuing this education, "telling her, among other things, that it was unlawful, as well as unsafe, to teach a slave to read."

This is when Douglass realized that education is what a slave needs to get equal with the white masters, admitting that his "youthful understanding had struggled, but struggled in vain". But Mr. Auld's prevention of his education made him more aware of the slave owners' authority over their slaves and it was this moment that he understood what he needed to improve his situation.