A city slave is almost a freeman, compared with a slave on the plantation. He is much better fed and clothed, and enjoys privileges altogether unknown to the slave on the plantation. There is a vestige of decency, a sense of shame, that does much to curb and check those outbreaks of atrocious cruelty so commonly enacted upon the plantation. He is a desperate slaveholder, who will shock the humanity of his non-slaveholding neighbors with the cries of his lacerated slave.

Question

—Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass,
Frederick Douglass

Which choice best illustrates Frederick Douglass’s viewpoint in the passage?

People enslaved in a city are better educated than those on a plantation.
People enslaved in cities are treated better because slaveholders worry what others think.
People enslaved in cities are treated worse than people enslaved on plantations.
Life is the same for enslaved people whether in the city or on a plantation.

Answer 1

The choice that best illustrates Frederick Douglass’s viewpoint in the passage is:

People enslaved in cities are treated better because slaveholders worry what others think.

This aligns with Douglass's observation that city slaveholders are influenced by societal standards and perceptions, leading to better treatment of enslaved individuals in urban areas compared to those on plantations.