Describe the conditions on the slaver that carried Phillis to America. What qualities did Phillis possess that helped her survive the treacherous journey?
Phillis feels a lot of guilt—about disobeying her mother, about Aunt Cumsee’s bout with smallpox, about too readily accepting “Koomi” ways, and about forgiving Americans for enslaving her people. Explain why she feels so guilty about these issues.
Describe Phillis’s attitude toward Jesus and the Christian faith. Do you think it fair that the Wheatleys forced her to give up her own religious rituals? Why were they so insistent that she give up her own religion?
What kinds of feelings inspired Phillis to write her poems?
Phillis’s life is much different from the lives of Prince, Obour, and many other slaves who desperately sought freedom. What were the advantages and disadvantages of freedom for Phillis?
What is Nathaniel’s attitude about the slave trade, and why does it change?
What do Phillis and George Washington have in common?
George Washington gives Phillis this advice: “Love is a mighty pretty thing, but like all delicious things, it is cloying. It is too dainty a thing to live on alone, and ought not to be considered more than a necessary ingredient for that happiness that results from a combination of causes.” How does it apply to Phillis’s life?