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 connotative meaning of spoil, as it is used in this passage? turn something really good into something totally worthless increase the positive qualities in something rarely used

Explanation:

In the passage, the idea is that if a slave shows any initiative (like learning or getting an inch of freedom), it will lead to them becoming less obedient and thus "spoiled" in the eyes of the master. Spoil here means turning something good (a compliant slave) into something worthless (a non - compliant one) in the master's view.

Answer:

turn something really good into something totally worthless