Read the following excerpt from frederick douglass's "learning to read and write" and answer the question
as i writhed under it, i would at times feel that learning to read had been a curse rather than a blessing. it
opened my eyes to the horrible pit, but to no ladder upon which to get out. in moments of agony, i envied my
fellow slaves for their stupidity. i have often wished myself a beast. i preferred the condition of the meanest
reptile to my own.
which word is closest in meaning to the word writhed in the excerpt above?