"Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass, an American Slave" - Douglass

Extract

[...] His inspiration, his partial realization that he could escape the manacles of slavery if he learns to read, fascinated him. Douglass tells us, with regard to the white man, that “What he most dreaded, that I most desired. What he most loved, that I most hated” (Douglass, 41). When Mr. Auld discovered that Mrs. Auld had been teaching Douglass to read, he was beside himself. He was aware of the idea that giving slaves the gift of knowledge would undermine their subservience to the white race, and he warned Mrs. Auld of this possibility. [...]

[...] “Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass, an American Slave” by Douglass In “Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass, an American Slave,” Douglass tells us about his life during slavery. He demonstrates with explicit details how cruel and morally wrong slavery was, and he also describes, in bitter detail, how the system of slavery made cruel all those who participated in it. Throughout his autobiography, Fredrick Douglass focused on finding an identity, and he obtained his identity by living the life of a slave. [...]

[...] When a slave is given a taste of education, even if it is something as simple as learning to read a few words, they become aware of another concept, an unfamiliar concept that arouses their spirits and forces them to ask questions about their place in society. In the case of Douglass, who was accustomed to slavery, his happiness was very relative, and it depended mainly on his master. If he had a cruel master like the overseer Mr. Gore, he would be upset, and when his master was milder and less likely to cause physical harm, he would be delighted. [...]

[...] Learning would spoil the best nigger in the world. Now," said he, "if you teach that nigger (speaking of myself) how to read, there would be no keeping him. It would forever unfit him to be a slave. He would at once become unmanageable, and of no value to his master. As to himself, it could do him no good, but a great deal of harm. It would make him discontented and unhappy." These words sank deep into my heart, stirred up sentiments within that lay slumbering, and called into existence an entirely new train of thought. [...]