Title of Book: To Be a SlaveAuthor: Julius Lester

Name: Timothy H

Class Period: 6

Context CluesWord Sentence Correct

Dictionary Definition

nary They never got nary a lick of labor and nary a red penny for any of them babies.

Not one

virtue The institution of slavery had no redeeming virtues for the enslaved.

An example or kind of moral excellence

stratagem Of course, the slave’s stratagem only succeeded as long as the slave owner could not prove the work was being deliberately delayed.

A clever, often underhand scheme to achieve a certain objective

coffles Not all slaves marched in coffles. A line of animals, prisoners, or slaves chained and driven together

profaned The slave owner profaned the Portuguese word for black, “Negro,” and made it, “Nigger.”

To misuse (anything that should usually be held in reverence and respect); defile; employ basely or unworthily

Text Purpose

• I think the main purpose of this book was to inform people of what things were like for the slaves during slavery. I also think this book could’ve been used to persuade people to join the Civil Rights movement at the time the book was written.

Text Structure

• The text structure for this book is chronological order. Although the entries may not be in the exact order, the time periods shift from when the slaves were taken from Africa, to general slavery, to the time of Emancipation, and finally to a little while after Emancipation.

Text Representation

Author’s Perspective/Point of View

Subject Author’s Feelings

Text Evidence

Slavery Julius Lester doesn’t think slavery was right, but he respects former slaves.

I never knew

Main Idea

Paragraphs Main Idea

Beginning-Page # 18-19 The trick Granny Judith fell for in Africa

Middle-Page # 100-101 The sabotages by slaves gave them a good feeling

End-Page # 135-136 How Grandma reacted when slaver ended

Supporting DetailsDetails Page # Comments

Even more rare was the occasion when the auction block became a source of joy.

51 Lester added this to show that everything wasn’t bad.

In the latter part of August, the cotton picking season begins

76 This gives insight on what the slaves were doing at that time of year.

It is estimated that some fifty million people were taken from the continent during the years of slave trade.

27 Gives some insight on the number of slaves that were brought into America.

Draw Inferences

What the Book Says Conclusions Drawn

Situation: A slave is about to choke the owner’s daughter

Character Actions: The owner’s wife walks in.

The slave was severely punished.

Situation: A slave tells his owner that he wont work anymore.

Character Actions: The owner is shocked but retires him.

The only reason the owner reacted like that is because he thought the slave cold start an insurrection.

Compare-Contrast

Title: To Be a Slave

1. During slavery

2.Black people are not free at all

3.Violence from both sides

4.Book about slavery

5.Feeling of many slaves

Title: I Have a Dream

1.Speech about Civil Rights

2.Black people are technically free

3.Peaceful protest

4.During segregation

5.Feelings of one man

Both:

1.Unfairness against black people

2.Still not totally free

3.Some kind of goal in mind

4.Achieved their goal at that time

5.Both presidents who supported freedom were assassinated

FactsFacts Page # Comments

Through the songs, they made fun of the slave owners.

119 Shows that slaves had more ways of rebellion than through sabotage

The southern slave owner used both.

76 Shows that the owners would control black people any way they could

It is estimated that some fifty million people were taken from that continent during the years of slave trade.

27 Gives some insight on the number of slaves that were brought into America.

… they had various tricks which they used to make the slave owner’s life a little less than easy.

98 Shows that they rebelled in small ways.

Many of thousand of slaves escaped.

126 Shows that they could survive on their own.

OpinionsOpinions Page # Comments

Yet it is remarkable that even now the two hundred years of slavery are looked upon matter-of-factly and not as a time of unrelieved horror.

74 Shows Lester’s feelings about slavery.

Poor creatures! 78 Shows the fake sympathy of a white preacher.

Ol’ Charlie Snipes was the lead man, and he was the biggest cut-up in the quarters.

107 Gives some background on Charlie Snipes.

Some would rather be killed. 122 Shows how much slaves hated being enslaved.

The slave owner was shocked…

127 Shows how the slave owner reacted.

Reading Response

• “… brick houses were by no means common amongst planters…” (pg 61)

• Do the farmers only have brick houses if they own a lot of slaves?

• “She got up and gave it something out of a bottle and pretty soon it was dead.” (pg 40)

• This made me feel sorry for the mother that she would have to go to this measure to protect her child from the horrors of this time.

• “One Mississippi slave convinced his owner that he was nearly blind and therefore unfit to work.” (pg100)

• I like what he did and I think he was a clever man.