Read this excerpt from Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass.
Which detail from the passage is evidence that Douglas has
few material possessions while he is enslaved?
I spent the time in washing, not so much because I wished
to, but because Mrs. Lucretia had told me I must get all the
dead skin off my feet and knees before I could go to
Baltimore; for the people in Baltimore were very cleanly, and
would laugh at me if I looked dirty. Besides, she was going to
give me a pair of trousers, which I should not put on unless I
got all the dirt off me. The thought of owning a pair of
trousers was great indeed! It was almost a sufficient motive,
not only to make me take off what would be called by pig-
drovers the mange, but the skin itself. I went at it in good
eamest, working for the first time with the hope of reward,
Mrs. Lucretia had told me I must get all the dead skin off
my feet and knees...
O Mhe people in Baltimore were very cleanly, and would
laugh at me if I looked dirty.
O The thought of owning a pair of trousers was great
indeed!
O I went at it in good earnest, working for the first time with
the hope of reward.