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Frederick Douglass Chapter 1 Quotes

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Recommended: Significance of education in Frederick Douglass

Kathryn Lind
Mr. Spears
English 10
29 March 2023
Chapter 1 Family history shapes a person’s identity because in historical situations such as slavery, producing offspring is crucial to the environment and leaves individuals in a ruthless cycle. Douglass’ mother “was taken from [him]”, before he was even a year old (Douglass 2). Mothers were often taken from their children to break family bonds and create new ones on different plantations. The likelihood of a slave having multiple children increased with the number of owners because it increased the chance of sexual abuse. This cycle of being sold, abused, and resold leaves a loss in familial knowledge and weakens bonds between biological family members.
Chapter 2 Humans use the excitement of unordinary tasks to rise above hardship and difficulty. Slaves on Colonel Lloyd’s farm that were picked to go to the main farm were “associated… with greatness” (Douglass 7). Since being selected for this task was not a daily occurrence, it was exciting for slaves because they got to go somewhere new and on an adventure, …show more content…

Once Mr. Auld finds that Mrs. Auld is teaching Douglass to read, Mrs. Auld is told that it is “unsafe” when a “slave [learns] to read” (Douglass 20). This experience shows Douglass that if he continues to become more educated, he will be treated more and more inhumanely because owners will think he is a “threat” to them. Even though being a “threat” merely means losing money at most, it is enough for slave owners to choose not to educate their slaves. While Douglass felt evocative of this experience, he realized that the experience showed him “the pathway from slavery” (Douglass 20). From that moment on, Douglass knew that at some point in his life, he would be a free man, no matter what it took. His education brought him enlightenment as to how he was actually equal to the people who told him he was less than

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