Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass

Picture this going through life without the ability to read or write. Without these abilities, it is impossible for a person to be a functioning member of society. In addition, imagine that someone is purposely limiting your knowledge to keep a leash on your independence. Not only is an American slave raised without skills in literacy, he cannot be taught to read unless someone breaks the law. In Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, the reader is given a detailed explanation of why slave masters keep their slaves ignorant and the effects such a strategy has on the slaves’ lives. In his autobiography, Douglass describes how the knowledge he obtains has substantial positive and negative effects on his psyche. He is given renewed passion and hope for freedom while struggling with the burden of enlightenment of his situation. Ultimately, however, education shapes his fate, and he achieves freedom and prominence as an advocate for abolition.

Douglass’s escape from slavery and eventual freedom are inseparable from his movingly narrated attainment of literacy. Douglass saw slavery as a

The power of education was also a key argument in “The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass”, but it was not an argument with a consistent meaning. Although Frederick Douglass believes that the only way to freedom for him and his fellow slaves, is through learning how to build on. At the same time Douglass is disgusted with education because it lets him know and fully understand the extent and horrors of slavery. Later, he finds out that while the conditions are slightly better there is still a great deal of injustice. He then begins to think getting his education could be his way to liberty and freedom and though he endeavors to learn much as he can, he starts to doubt whether he is correct or not. He then state “I would at times feel that learning to read had been a curse rather than a blessing. It had given me a view of my wretched condition, without the remedy. It opened my eyes to the horrible pit, but to no ladder upon which to get out” (47). In the end, these elements of freedom-becoming educated-led to his last act of rebellion, which he thought would bring him freedom. H e engages in a fight with his master. He can no longer stand his new sense of education and knowledge. He states “This battle with Mr.

As soon as Douglass pieces together what Mr. Auld was saying he recognizes that “What he most dreaded, that I most desired. What he most loved, that I most hated. That which to him was a great evil, to be carefully shunned, was to me a great good, to be diligently sought; and the argument which he so warmly urged, against my learning to read, only served to inspire me with a desire and determination to learn.” (Douglass 38). This instant illustrates one of the first climaxes of the narrative. One statement made by Mr. Auld so greatly impacted Douglass by giving him a new sense of hope and will to succeed in obtaining his freedom. Douglass pulls out the positive in this experience, that Mr. Auld accidentally shared with him the power that comes with education. “In learning to read, I owe almost as much to the bitter opposition of my master, as to the kindly aid of my mistress. I acknowledge the benefit of both” (Douglass 39). Douglass learned to read not only in thanks to his kind mistress, who willingly taught him to read, but also to his cruel master whose rage towards Douglass learning to read and write generated him to give Douglass the knowledge he wanted to keep from him to begin with. The lesson given to him by his master about education was far more important than even the lesson’s on learning to read. Douglass’s use of chiasmi takes this climax to the

The lack of a teacher proved limiting to Douglass’s pursuit of freedom. Nevertheless he persisted in finding new ones, affirming that “Mistress, in teaching [him] the alphabet, had given [him] the inch, and no precaution could prevent [him] from taking the ell” (35). Since, however, there are no more delightful mistress’s to educate him, he resorts to “making friends of all the little white boys whom [he] met in the street” by which “many of these as [he] could, [he] converted into teachers”(36). After taking this new step to freedom, Douglass “finally succeeded in learning to read,” furthering his comprehension and unlocking the door to endless knowledge supplied by literature (36). In learning to read, Douglass could now take use of

Douglass found out education was the key to success and freedom so his determination to

Before I read this piece of art, I did not think that I would like it; I thought it was a tedious literary work like the ones a part of a colossal textbook at first glance. However, I changed my mind after reading it thoroughly. I am honestly amazed at how Douglass’ words link together to have such easy flow and clarity through each sentence. He is a better writer than some of the people who learned how to read and write at an even younger age than him. Last but not least, I love how he proves that education is important since reading and writing gave him the advantage to become a free man; this excerpt gives a lesson on why education is pivotal to gaining knowledge to have a sense of individuality.

In the “Narrative of the life of Fredrick Douglass, An American Slave, Written by Himself, written in the month of August 1841, demonstrates the double purpose of the work as both a personal account and a public argument. Douglass introduces the reader to his own circumstances such as grief, sorrow and emptiness in his birthplace and the fact that he does not know his own age. He then generalizes from his own experience, by explaining that almost no slaves know their true ages. He takes this detail of his experience and analyzes it but he points out that slave owners deliberately keep their slaves ignorant, and that this is a tactic whites use to gain power over slaves. This is the recurrent

Originally illiterate and unaware of the evils of slavery and segregation, Douglass was taught the basics of the English language by his slave master’s wife. Soon after the beginning of his instruction, Douglass had developed a raging fire that could only be quenched with more knowledge. As his pursuit of reading and writing lead him to become literate, it also gave him a real-world understanding of the evil concept of slavery. As time went on, he began to resent his master and mistress for subjecting any human being to such a fate. It was his belief that the color of your skin or your country of origin should have no standing to what rights and abilities any person has. Becoming literate further exemplifies Douglass’ refusal to adhere to societal expectations, as people of black heritage were not allowed to be taught how to read in the United States. This was the way of the land, but it didn’t inhibit his resolve to become a learned man who was capable of understanding language, reading and writing. This passion is what set him apart from other people, not his

In Douglass’s memoir, he states, “Though conscious of the difficulty of learning without a teacher, I set out with high hope, and a fixed purpose, at whatever cost of trouble, to learn how to read”(Douglass, 2015, pp.130). His desire and determination to read and write at whatever cost of trouble discloses the reality of the consequences he is willing to take. In his memoir, he develops friendships with some white kids. He later quotes, “As many of these as I could, I converted into teachers. With their kindly aid, obtained at different times ad in different places, I finally succeeded in learning to read”(Douglass, 2015, pp.132). Although formal education was nonexistent, he managed to achieve a desire of his. Douglass strived in learning to read, but he also missed out on

Can education change a person’s life? To answer this question, a reader should discover Frederick Douglass’s autobiography. Considered to be one of history’s most significant accounts of the slave experience, the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written by Himself chronicles the life of one of America’s leading abolitionists and historical figures. Douglass crafted his magnum opus with detailed accounts of his life as a slave and eventual freedom. In this work, Douglass documents his early life as a slave on a rural Maryland plantation, his later successive movements between owners, and his eventual freedom to the northeastern United States. However, Douglass does not simply give an elementary description of his

Douglass’s one of the main goal was to send out the messages about the injustice they were facing, through the narrative. In the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, he started his writing by introducing himself. Surprisingly, he did not have much to say about his identity. As he further said, he didn’t have any idea about who he was and when he was born. Furthermore, he compared the life of the slaves to the life of animals such as horse. According to Douglass, slaves were treated as an animals and were equally educated as them. When we think about the problems that Douglass addressed, the problems were within the slaves. Due to the lack of education and knowledge, slaves were powerless and were

The most stunning and horrible dehumanizing effects of slavery apparently appear in the daily lives of slaves. They are kept in the darkness since their births. Unlike white children, children of slaves are deprived of the simple privilege of telling their ages. Also, in Maryland, it is a common custom to separate the slave children from their mothers, because slaveholders wish to keep their slaves ignorant. For the same reason, slaves are kept uneducated. When Mr. Auld realizes that his wife is teaching Douglass the alphabet and some small words, he orders her to stop immediately, because he says that education ruins slaves, and they will “become unmanageable, and of no value to his master” (Ch. Ⅵ ). Working conditions are unbearable for slaves. “It was never too hot or too cold; it could never rain, blow, hail, or snow, too hard for [them] to work in the field”(Ch.Ⅹ). In addition, slaves are not perceived as humans in the eyes of slaveholders, but rather as properties and animals. Under the valuation, they have to undergo a narrow examination. “There were horses and men, cattle and women, pigs and

Douglass values education and knowledge to the highest extent. He gained this knowledge from being taught by Mrs. Auld and by tricking the white kids into teaching him. The people around him are trying to keep literacy away from slaves like him, because it is their way out of slavery. Like when Mr. Auld prevents Mrs. Auld from teaching Douglass and explains why he does so,” If you teach that slave

By the age of eleven, Olaudah Equiano was a part of the slave system in the 1700s. Like all slaves, the usual work load for slaves included some type of field work and chores around the house. As he got older Equiano’s job began to shift. Instead of laboring on the plantation, Olaudah began to serve slave ship captains. With this change in assignments, Equiano began to have a strong distaste for slavery. Olaudah argues that slavery is an insult to all humans as a whole. His most convincing argument is when challenges slavery at the intellectual level. He states, “Does not slavery depress the mind and extinguish all its fire and every noble sentiment?”(pg 46-47) Here, Equiano suggests that slavery is a depressing thought and brings no excitement to no one.