In Douglass' narrative, why did Mr. Auld not want his wife to teach him to read?

He said it would spoil him as a slave because he would be dissatisfied with his life as a slave.

He said that it wasn't a woman's place to teach.

He wanted Douglass to go to school and learn how to read the right way.

He was jealous of Douglass and thought his wife wanted to have an affair with him.

Question

English

Janelle Collier

25 August, 12:19

In Douglass' narrative, why did Mr. Auld not want his wife to teach him to read?

He said it would spoil him as a slave because he would be dissatisfied with his life as a slave.

He said that it wasn't a woman's place to teach.

He wanted Douglass to go to school and learn how to read the right way.

He was jealous of Douglass and thought his wife wanted to have an affair with him.

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Answers (1)

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Kelsey · Answer 1

In Douglass' narrative, Mr. Auld did not want his wife to teach him to read because he said it would spoil him as a slave because he would be dissatisfied with his life as a slave. So, the right answer option is Option A.

Explanation:

When Mr. Auld discovered about his wife providing lessons to Douglass, he forbade her to continue with Frederick's instruction. The reason was simple. Knowledge meant freedom and if a slave was taught to write and read, it would destroy him, make him not comfortable to be a slave and would make him unmanageable.

He also said that knowledge would make him think freely and would make him discontented and morose. Douglass on hearing this understood the power of knowledge. He was sad to lose his teacher (his mistress) but had finally found the pathway from slavery to freedom.