Frederick Douglass Literacy Essay

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Frederick Douglass’s memoir, “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave” describes Douglass’s life as a slave who through a multitude of experiences, reaches his path to freedom. He inherently has a life very disparate to that of a traditional slave. Through good fortune Douglass is able to escape the clutches of back-breaking agricultural work, and instead is given away as a personal slave. While working for the Auld family he receives a somewhat un-strenuous experience, in which he is able to clandestinely become literate. Douglass’s autobiography is a story in which the savior and key to salvation does not take physical form, but lies in literacy. In this memoir, Douglass goes through a process of understanding, in …show more content…

Slaveowners during the mid 19th century treated their slaves as nothing more than laboring animals, for the one and only purpose of carrying out their “masters” orders. But literacy was not coincidentally separated from the slaves lives. “Mr. Auld found out and at once forbade Mrs. Auld to instruct me further, telling her, among other things, that it was unlawful, as well as unsafe, to teach a slave to read “(45). This quote occurs in the book, when Douglass’s new owner Mrs. Auld (whom is new to slave owning), teaches Douglass to read. Mr. Auld finds out and forbids Mrs. Auld to teach him further. Mr. Auld describes teaching slaves to read as unlawful and unsafe. To describe something as unsafe, is to imply it has the power to threaten someone or somethings safety. In this case the safety is the white mans ability to control and suppress slaves. Douglass from this experience is disappointed that his education has been interrupted. Even though it becomes more difficult to learn to read after that, Douglass learns something even more important from the experience: the mysterious power of education. The fact that Mr. Auld doesn 't want him to read, shows him that there 's something valuable there, making him want to learn to read even more. “… if you teach that nigger (speaking of myself) how to read, …show more content…

It was able to make him aware of the injustice around him. It allowed him the tools to detest the system of slavery, which without, his story would not be atypical. White slave owners understood that with education the black man would not take an inch, but an ell. This is exactly what Douglass did, utilizing this resource to unclasp the grip of slavery and spread his knowledge. Literacy inherently in the beginning of its story with Douglass, was scattered into pieces. He configured these pieces into his understanding of a weapon his masters detested. Douglass through comprehension unsheathed the manifestation of literacy, but found it sharp enough to cut even himself. Ultimately smelting his weapon, he harnessed its full potential, reforming his tool into a key. This key was able to open the door to Douglas’s life beyond even the long unraveling whip of suffrage. Frederick Douglass through his story used knowledge, as

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