In an excerpt of his autobiography, Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass he argues in a way that empowering slaves to learn to read and to write will empower them with freedom by overcoming ignorance. Douglass compares his struggles with being literate and how that helped him overcome them. The masters are constantly trying to deny their slaves knowledge in order to prevent them from even understanding the concept of freedom. The slave community is rife with ignorance, particularly in terms of their inability to read or write and their repercussions if their ignorance decreases.
Douglass spent seven years in Masters Hugh’s home. Douglass’ mistress was the first to teach him the ABC’s. However, she soon began to share the same sentiments as her husband about slavery. She used to encourage Douglass in his learning. Now she tries to stop him at all costs. He wrote, “Nothing made her angry more than seeing me holding a newspaper. She thought that was where danger lay. He will not only be unable to understand what he is hearing or seeing, but anything else he decides to read. She was a wise woman and soon, her experience proved that education, like slavery, could not coexist. Douglass is given the chance to build his own life and get out of slavery. Douglass works hard to keep and gain his reading and writing skills. Frederick also speaks throughout the extract about how knowledge can be a burden. Knowledge is everywhere. He writes that “Freedom is now visible, never to be lost again.” Every sound was a reminder of it. “I was tormented by a constant sense of misery”.
Douglass admits that he regretted his existence and wished he were dead, but he says that he “consolated myself by hoping that one day I would find a chance to escape”. While I was learning to write, I decided that it would be a good idea for me to learn how.
