Question

1. reread this passage from narrative of the life of frederick douglass, an american slave. he said, if you give a slave an inch, he will take a mile. a slave should know nothing but to obey his master - to do as he is told to do. learning would spoil the best slave in the world. what is the denotative meaning of spoil, as it is used in this passage? ruin save persuade

Explanation:

Denotative meaning is the literal or dictionary - defined meaning. In the context of the passage, "spoil" means to ruin. It implies that learning would ruin the ideal slave who should only obey.

Answer:

ruin