Answer:
The answer to Part A would be Ignorant, as the author goes on to state that his youthful understanding had struggled in vain. If someone is ignorant of something, yet they do not take the time to actually go research or learn about that thing, then they would be struggling in vain because they are selfish and not taking time to research what it is that the other person is saying that they do not understand.
For the answer to Part B, I would say that (Frederick) Douglass' new awareness of how owners maintain control over slaves allows him to better understand how to improve his situation. I say this because he seems to have an awakening/epiphany in the very last line: "I now understood what had been to me a most perplexing difficulty".
Explanation:
I hope this helps!
Gerund or present participle
Answer:
The word would be are but it does all but one.
