Question

I suffered more anxiety than most of my fellow-slaves. I had known what it was to be kindly treated; they had known nothing of the kind. They had seen little or nothing of the world. They were in very deed men and women of sorrow, and acquainted with grief. Their backs had been made familiar with the bloody lash, so that they had become callous; mine was yet tender; for while at Baltimore, I got few whippings, and few slaves could boast of a kinder master and mistress than myself; . . .
Which words from the excerpt create imagery that emphasizes the hardships that enslaved persons endured?

“callous,” “bloody”
“little,” nothing”
“sorrow,” grief”
“treated,” “master”

Answer 1

Answer:

The two words that emphasize hardships are: "callous" and "bloody."

Explanation:

This is an excerpt from Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave. Douglass would go one to escape slavery in Maryland and become a national figure in the abolitionist movement and becoming an important social reformer, orator, and writer. He also served in positions like a United States Marshall and a Recorder of Deeds. His voice had been important to the development of the abolitionist movement and for the subsequent historical understanding of the anti-slavery movement and the reconstruction era. The word callous gives the sense that slaves endured repeated physical abuses at the hands of their owners and bloody also reflects that there are still new wounds inflicted repeatedly and frequently.