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Life as a Slave
Chapter 13
“A Change Came O’er the Spirit of My Dream”
Watching his mistress harden under slavery's influence, Douglass teaches himself to read using neighborhood boys and a purchased copy of The Columbian Orator, whose antislavery dialogue and speeches crystallize his understanding of slavery's true foundation.
Sophia Auld's transformation from kind to hostileTeaching himself to read via street boys and bread bribesThe Columbian Orator and its master-slave dialogueKnowledge as a source of new anguish, not just hope