Reread the following passage from Frederick Douglass’s autobiography, which describes the time that Douglass spent with poor white children in his neighborhood, as they taught him how to read. As you review this passage, look for explicit and implicit meanings.

Question

Reread the following passage from Frederick Douglass’s autobiography, which describes the time that Douglass spent with poor white children in his neighborhood, as they taught him how to read. As you review this passage, look for explicit and implicit meanings.
I used to talk about slavery with them. I would sometimes say that I wished I could be as free as they would be when they got to be men. "You will be free as soon as you are twenty-one, but I am a slave for life! Have not I as good a right to be free as you have?" These words used to trouble them; they would express for me the strongest sympathy, and console me with the hope that something would happen one day by which I might be free.
Which implicit meaning is included in the passage?

The white children were almost twenty-one.

The white children planned to help their friend become free.

The white children did not fully understand slavery.

The white children felt sorry that their friend was a slave for life.

GPT-4o mini · Answer

The implicit meaning included in the passage is that **the white children did not fully understand slavery.** This is suggested by the way they express sympathy for Douglass and console him with vague hopes of freedom, indicating that they might not grasp the full weight and permanence of the institution of slavery as he experiences it.