Question

Which sentence best describes the central idea of paragraph 1? Responses a. Frederick Douglass’s new mistress was a mysterious woman whose intentions were confusing to him. a. Frederick Douglass’s new mistress was a mysterious woman whose intentions were confusing to him. b. Frederick Douglass’s new mistress was a weaver who worked hard to support herself without the help of slaves. b. Frederick Douglass’s new mistress was a weaver who worked hard to support herself without the help of slaves. c. Frederick Douglass’s new mistress was kind when he first met her because she had not been a slaveholder before. c. Frederick Douglass’s new mistress was kind when he first met her because she had not been a slaveholder before. d. Frederick Douglass’s new mistress was kind when he first met her, but this quickly changed. d. Frederick Douglass’s new mistress was kind when he first met her, but this quickly changed.

Answer 1

The sentence that best describes the central idea of paragraph 1 is:

d. Frederick Douglass’s new mistress was kind when he first met her, but this quickly changed.

Answer 2

The central idea of paragraph 1 is that Frederick Douglass's new mistress was initially kind, a trait Douglass found surprising and linked to her lack of prior experience as a slaveholder.

Step-by-step explanation:

The sentence that best describes the central idea of paragraph 1 is: c. Frederick Douglass's new mistress was kind when he first met her because she had not been a slaveholder before. Frederick Douglass expresses his astonishment at the kindness of his new mistress and attributes it to her inexperience with slavery. She treated Douglass as a human being rather than merely property, showing emotions and actions uncharacteristic of the dehumanizing institution of slavery at the time.