Question

Frederick Douglass was born into slavery in Maryland in approximately 1818. After several unsuccessful attempts, Douglass escaped from slavery and eventually settled in Massachusetts. In 1845, he wrote his first autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, which had a profound influence on the movement to abolish slavery. Harriet Jacobs was born in North Carolina in 1813. Like Douglass, Jacobs was born into slavery. She eventually escaped and settled in New York. Also like Douglass, she wrote an autobiography, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, which revealed the horrors of life under slavery. Both Douglass and Jacobs went on to become vocal supporters of the antislavery movement. What is the main idea of the passage

Answer 1

I looked this question up and was able to find two answer options for it:

A. Douglass and Jacobs both wrote important autobiographies about their experience as slaves.

B. Douglass and Jacobs both escaped from slavery in the 1800's.

Answer:

The main idea of the passage is:

A. Douglass and Jacobs both wrote important autobiographies about their experience as slaves.

Explanation:

From the passage, we can safely infer that both Douglass and Jacobs escaped slavery in the 1800's taking into consideration the year they were born. However, that is not the focus of the paragraph. Notice how the author compares Douglass' and Jacobs' lives, focusing especially on the fact that they both wrote autobiographies and became supporters of the antislavery movement. This is the main idea of the passage: that Douglass and Jacobs become authors and that they described their own experience as slaves in their books.