Fredrick Douglass Narrative Analysis

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.

Frederick Douglass’s book, “The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass”, shows a tough life story about how being educated is the reason that he was able to escape slavery, since learning that being educated would be his pathway out of slavery Douglass did everything in his power to get educated. His old master Ms.Auld was new to being a slave master, and her lack of experience with slaves caused her to make a huge mistake, teaching a slave the alphabet. In response to this Ms.Auld’s husband warned her that teaching a slave to read is illegal. This stopped the lessons from Ms.Auld but Douglass was determined, he did everything in his power to learn to read, he bribed little white boys for books and that was when he was able to discover himself and liberate himself, all of this simply because Douglass overheard Ms.Auld’s husband say “that it is unlawful, as well as unsafe, to teach a slave to read” and that it would make someone“forever unfit to be a slave”(Douglass 41) in other words, receiving an education will allow you to be defined as human which is precisely what Douglass wants.

Throughout this excerpt from his autobiography, Frederick Douglass constantly refers to the importance of Education and Literacy. He continuously details not only that education represented power, but also that an educated and literate slave would be dangerous in the eyes of the slave-loving southerners. Education all throughout time has represented knowledge, and knowledge is seen as power, both of which could easily corrupt someone, hence why slave owners chose to keep slaves in the dark in regards to education. Douglass argued that education was seen as the key to success and free thoughts, however, both were luxuries unknown to a slave unless they took matters into their own hands.

Since slaves were not allowed schooling, illiteracy was very common for African Americans slaves. For many people not accustomed to slavery, it was believed that slavery was simply a state of natural being. People believed African Americans were inherently incapable of residing in their society and consequently should live as laborers for white slave owners. Enforcing illiteracy among children deprived them of their necessary morality and ethics. Southern slave owners used this to their advantage control how the remainder of the country viewed slavery. If slaves were illiterate, they were incapable of telling their side of slavery. Douglass is saying that knowledge is key to winning against slavery. His quote, “You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man” (Douglass) describes his transformation as a slave with little knowledge and education to a man who has become very knowledgeable and educated to beat slavery. Douglass uses knowledge as the road to his freedom. He seeks knowledge and education to help slaves voice the wrong doings slaveholders are bringing upon blacks. Douglass helps slaves discover their selves not as slaves but as men instead.

As a young boy, Douglass learns how to read without a proper teacher to help him. Because of this, he was “was compelled to resort to various stratagems,” to learn how to read, such as utilizing the young white boys with an education who lived near him (50). Even though his master and his master’s wife were against him, he found the means of teaching himself anyways, which shows his cleverness, and his ability to learn without a proper teacher shows his intelligence. Later on in his life, he also manages to teach other slaves. If the slaves were caught going to Douglass’s Sabbath school, they would be harshly punished, but they go anyways, which shows their dedication to learning, as well as Douglass’s.

Douglass convinces his audience of his intelligence when he presents his speech in the preface. William Lloyd Garrison was heavily moved by Douglass’ speech, noting that enslaved whites can also “lose all reasoning power” and plummet in the “scale of humanity” (7). The fact that a white man was affected by a black man’s eloquence demonstrates that blacks are not intellectually inferior. If blacks were given the same quality of education as whites, they would be as intelligent, if not more. Because Douglass attained an education as a slave, he was able to convey his experiences with poignant words, thus displaying his acumen. Besides Douglass, other slaves on the plantation display intellectual capabilities. During his enslavement to Mr. Freeland, Douglass taught other slaves to read. Despite that the slaves would face brutal punishment, they still sought education because their minds were “starved by their cruel masters” (88). The slaves’ willingness to learn debunks not only their inferiority, but also reveals that their masters were the cause of their ignorance. Even though slaveholders assume they need to protect the slaves by bringing them to their community, Douglass argues that enslavement provides no benefits. Slaves are highly capable of possessing intelligence, but slaveholders hinder them from this

In The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, the reader sees that education is not compatible with the institution of slavery. Mr. Auld states, “if you give a nigger an inch, he will take an ell” (Gates, Jr. 338). To a slave owner any amount of education a slave gained was dangerous because they would be more “unmanageable” than those whom where uneducated, and an educated slaved

First, Douglass explains that education and freedom are inseparable. When he is a young slave, his Mistress Hugh treats him like e another person and teaches him alphabet. However, Master Hugh perceives that his wife educates Douglass. He forbids his wife from teaching him to preserve their slaveholders’ power. Soon, Mrs. Hugh loses her kindness and becomes a cruel slave owner. In addition, she deprives his opportunities of learning. His master and mistress has a notion that “education and slavery were incompatible with each other” (Douglass 61). If slaves become literate, they can run away to escape from their masters’ control. As a victim of injustice on education, he enhances his perspective on the significance of education contributing to freedom.

In The Life of Frederick Douglass An American Slave, written by himself the author asserts that the way to enslave someone is to keep them from learning at all. Douglass supports his claim by, first, when Frederick was small he was never able to tell his age or the date, and secondly, they were never allowed to be taught how to read that was something always hidden from him as a young child. The author’s purpose is to inform the reader that as a slave there were so many things they were not allowed to have that we may take for granted, in order to make it very clear that we should not take our education and opportunities for granted. Based on The Life Of Frederick Douglass An American Slave, Douglass is writing for the white people who believed that slavery was right, he wanted to make it very clear that the slaves and Douglass had nothing handed to them.

In the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, the dehumanization of slaves often occurs, as white plantation owners view slaves as objects undeserving of humane treatment in order to uphold power and warrant their unjust practices. Limiting knowledge and prohibiting education for African Americans was one strategy common among slave owners, as “it is the wish of most masters within my knowledge to keep their slaves thus ignorant” (17). Due to their lack of intellect, slaves could not recognize the injustices of the slavery system and had little chances of escaping. When Mrs. Auld attempts to teach Frederick Douglass how to read and write, Mr. Auld claims, “A n***** should know nothing but to obey

Education becomes Douglass’ number one priority when Hugh Auld absolutely refuses to give Douglass an education. When Hugh Auld says that it “ruins slaves”, Douglass can’t help but be curious by this. He learns that slaveowners maintain their power over the slaves by keeping them ignorant and empty of ideas. If you want someone to do something, then tell them that they can’t. Douglass, with a new understanding and respect for education, then believes that in order to be free, he has to be educated. He wonders why white people were able to enslave the blacks. The answer was that the slaves didn’t know any better because they didn’t know anything at all. He then sets on his quest to read by becoming friends with the white kids playing on the streets and learning from them. During his time period of learning how to read, he often questions whether or not it’s a good or bad thing to be able to read, after all, the more he learns, the more it hurts to know what it means to be enslaved to someone. Douglass, a strong abolitionist with his newly literate self, decides to take a stand. Education helps Douglass take another step forward as this novel has been created alarming the civilians of what slavery does to

Fredrick Douglass’s “Learning to Read and Write”, gives readers insight into the struggles of being a slave with intelligence, but more importantly into his experience. In his essay, Douglass shows how he fought to obtain knowledge; however, a reading of his story will reveal that what he learned changed him for the better. Michael Scott, a former EOF student read the story and believed that Douglass’s intelligence was a destructive and to a certain degree pointless. Contrary to Scott’s statement, Douglass’s knowledge wasn’t more of a curse than a blessing. Being a slave was everyone’s curse. Douglass went into depression because he hadn’t had the same experience as other slaves and finally felt what it was really like to be a slave when he was punished for his knowledge. However just because his knowledge is what got him into trouble doesn’t necessarily make him, being an intelligent slave; a curse nor does it mean that he had absolutely no alternatives to his condition. In fact, he above most other slaves had the upper hand when it came to creating his own alternative. Douglass’s intelligence helped him become autodidactic, manipulate situations to benefit him, and develop an ambition to become free.

Education is a key. Not many can find it, but those who do can unlock the door to endless knowledge. Abolitionist leader and American slave, Frederick Douglass, in his autobiography A Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, contemplates the enslavement he endured while emphasizing the importance of education as a key to freedom. Throughout Douglass’s educational awakening and his realization of its overall power, he comes to understand the slaveholder’s evil doings in keeping all slaves trapped in ignorance. Thesis too wordy condense it & briefly incorporate rhetorical strategies he uses (repetition, understatement, imagery, diction, etc).

Douglass was motivated to learn how to read by hearing his master condemn the education of slaves. Mr. Auld declared that an education would “spoil” him and “forever unfit him to be a slave” (2054). He believed that the ability to read makes a slave “unmanageable” and “discontented” (2054). Douglass discovered that the “white man’s power to enslave the black man” (2054) was in his literacy and education. As long as the

During the 1800’s, the institution of slavery was still ongoing in the few slave states left in America. Slavery was still proving to be unjust and unfair, not allowing for African Americans to be considered equals. However, some slaves were able to overcome the many restrictions and boundaries that slavery forced upon them. In Frederick Douglass’ essay “Learning to Read and Write,” Douglass portrays himself as an intelligent and dignified slave who’s able to overcome the racial boundaries placed upon him. Frederick Douglass saw that his only pathway to freedom was through literacy, so his goal was to learn how to read and write no matter the circumstances. Douglass realized