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Frederick Douglass Education Essay

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Frederick Douglass was an American slave who was considered as one of the prominent black writers and abolitionists of the nineteenth century. He was born during the era of slavery in Tuckahoe, Maryland. The exact date of his birth is unknown and believed to be in 1871. He was a son of a slave and his father was believed to be his master. He escaped to free himself in 1838. Douglass used literacy as a greatest medium to free himself from the bondage of slavery. It was important for Douglass to learn to read to free himself. He appeals the emotional pain of being born as a son of a slave through the words in his autobiography. Education is a greatest equalizer. Even though, he was deprived of getting the formal education, he was blessed with …show more content…

But, becoming literate was not an easy task for slave because they were obligated to work from sunrise to sunset in master’s plantation field. Slaves were considered as personal property. They were also prohibited from being educated by law. They were used as slaves for working in master’s house, breeding, working in the plantation field, and obeying the master. They were treated as animals with brutal acts such as physical, sexual, mental, spiritual and psychological torture. Slaveholders were free to conduct these inhuman acts. But the slave had to be always at the foot of the masters. It was extremely hard for a slave to get literate in that society. “A literate slave would be an unfit slave, desiring freedom from physical labor…., ultimately seeking physical separation from his master” (Delevante). Literacy in the slaves will create fear for the slaveholders (masters). If slaves start to become literate, then they will read the Bible and books on freedom and equality. Consequently, they will start to rebel against the white slave master for their freedom and equality. The only options left to achieve his goal of learning was to befriending the young white street boys and learn the lesson from them in free time. Douglass was inspired by the anti-slavery tales when he read The Columbian Orator. Literacy provides Douglass autonomy, discontent, and the desire to be free. When he was literate, he was no longer …show more content…

Thousands of Africans were brought to America as slaves. Slaves were considered as personal property, entertainers and treated as wild beasts. Slave women were used as a machine for producing labor for plantation. The institution of slavery consisted of applying the business theory, and strategy for maximum profit to masters. Stronger the slaves were, higher was their market value. Authentic meaning of humanity had extinguished. “Preventing slaves from building familial connections made them less likely to revolt” (Delevante). Douglass was a child who never sees his mother during the daylight because she was enslaved to work from sunrise to sunset every day. Because of the color of the skin, he was abandoned from staying with his mother and sold to a slave master. Infant children of the slaves were separated from their parents. So that won’t develop the feeling of family heritage, individual liberty, and choices and responsibility in the slave. Our society was ruined from the ancient kings who build the churches and started the malpractice of slave institution which transferred from one generation to another chronologically.

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In the ‘Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass”, Frederick Douglass was a slave that was determined to become free from slavery. And eventually he did accomplish that goal, while ultimately becoming an abolitionist archivist and set off to abolish slavery at the end. Douglass wanted nothing more to be free, but something else was equally important was: literacy. As a slave this fundamental tool was against the rules, unlawful and unsafe.

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By using strong textual evidence from multiple sources, there is an argument that can be proven. The power of education in “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass" is one of the most important themes in the entire work, but it is not a theme with a consistent meaning. Although Frederick Douglass understands that the only path to freedom, both for himself and fellow slaves, is through learning to read, write, and have an educational base to build on, he is at the same time disgusted with education because it causes him to understand the full extent of the horrors of slavery. At one point, Douglass states, “It [education] opened my eyes to the horrible pit, but offered no ladder upon which to get out." With this important quote, having examined the meaning and importance of education in “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass.

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Frederick Douglass – Learning to Read and Write Frederick Douglass was born into slavery in 1817, in 1838 he was roughly twenty-one years old he escaped to and went north, where he settled in Massachusetts and eventually joined the abolition movement to end slavery. He knew as a young child that he wanted to learn how to read and write and did not understand why his masters would not allow him or his fellow slaves to become educated. I agree with the summary by Frederick Douglass that whether you are a slave or not, no one can stop a person who wants the knowledge and an opportunity to learn. Douglass believed that according to the United States Constitution that black Americans had the same rights to participate in the economy, and social

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Who is Frederick Douglass? Frederick Douglass was a man who was raised during the institution of slavery and believed that everyone involved was victimized. Looking back in history, Frederick gave an inside to how and why this statement is true. Slaves were obviously abused physically and were brainwashed about their culture. Slave-owners or slaveholders were corrupted mentally which turned them into evil human beings.

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Douglass expresses in his essay, Learning to Read, that he truly realized the depravity of his situation by reading various texts about slavery that presented opposing viewpoints. “Learning to read had been a curse rather than a blessing. It had given me a view of my wretched condition, without the remedy. It opened my eyes to the horrible pit” (193). Not only did Douglass’s path to enlightenment awaken him to the degeneracy of slavery and abhor learning how to read, it even prompted him to harbor suicidal thoughts.

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Fredrick Douglass was a black slave during the 1800’s who escaped from his master and came to the North. His age is unknown as stated by Fredrick Douglass (1845/1995), a great orator who brought many to the abolitionist cause, in his work, Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass, “I was born in Tuckahoe, near Hillsborough, and about twelve miles from Easton, in Talbot County, Maryland. I have no accurate knowledge of my age, never having seen any authentic record containing it” (p.1). While Douglass was a slave he was convinced that education was the path to freedom, he also witnessed the horrors of slavery, and would most likely hold the same views in today’s world as he had back in the 1800’s. Douglass believed that education was the path to freedom and the view was correct.

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The mid- to late-nineteenth century was a dark time for slaves in the United States of America. There was a constant struggle for power and social standing in the South, and slaves, were caught in the middle. In order for Frederick Douglass to free himself from the educational and spiritual darkness of slavery, it was essential for him to learn to read and write. Throughout his childhood Douglass was passionate about his need for education.

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From this, derives a bond with the reader that pushes their understanding of the evil nature of slavery that society deemed appropriate therefore enhancing their understanding of history. While only glossed over in most classroom settings of the twenty-first century, students often neglect the sad but true reality that the backbone of slavery, was the dehumanization of an entire race of people. To create a group of individuals known for their extreme oppression derived from slavery, required plantation owner’s of the South to constantly embedded certain values into the lives of their slaves. To talk back means to be whipped.

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Douglass states: “The more I read, the more I was led to abhor and detest my enslavers. I could regard them in no other light than a band of successful robbers, who had left their homes, and gone to Africa, and stolen us from our homes, and in a strange land reduced us to slavery” (Douglass 51). Reading and writing opened Frederick Douglass’s eyes to the cause of the abolitionist. He became knowledgeable about a topic that white slave owners tried to keep hidden from their slaves. Literacy would eventually impact his life in more ways than what he could see while he was a young slave under Master Hugh’s

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Because of this, he successfully creates a contrast between what the slave owners think of and treat the slaves and how they are. Douglass says that slave’s minds were “starved by their cruel masters”(Douglass, 48) and that “they had been shut up in mental darkness” (Douglass, 48) and through education, something that they were deprived of, Frederick Douglass is able to open their minds and allow them to flourish into the complex people that they are. By showing a willingness to learn to read and write, the slaves prove that they were much more than what was forced upon them by their masters.

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With all the knowledge he was gaining, he began to comprehend everything around him. The things he was learning fascinated him, but the “more [he] read, the more [he] was led to abhor and detest [his] enslavers”(Douglass 35); however, that should not be viewed as a negative affect but a positive one. No one should want to be deceived for their entire life. This hatred that he built up motivated him to continue to further educate himself. As a result, he later motivated other slaves to earn an education by having “[availed] themselves to [an] opportunity to learn to read” (Douglass 69) by Douglass teaching them every Sunday.

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Furthermore, Education opened Douglass’s eyes to the reality of his injustice as a slave; thus, compelling him to action as he recalls, “In moments of agony, I envied my fellow-slaves for their stupidity. ”(Douglass, 2014, p.133) Education caused Douglass heartache. While attaining his education benefited Douglass, he could not relate to his fellow slaves. The fellow slaves had the ability to remain content with their current state of being since it was all they had ever known. Douglass knew otherwise and longed for the forbidden life as a free man, as it changed from an unattainable idea into an achievable

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The level of education of the slaves on the plantation allow them to be manipulated by their masters. In many situations during the 1800s when slavery was prominent we can see that education holds power in society. Slave masters were educated and due to this, they were able to exert control over the slaves on the plantation. Douglass was self-educated and was able to analyze slave behavior and see slavery occur firsthand as a slave himself. In the book, we can see how the slave’s ignorance is actually bliss from the perspective of Douglass, how information like knowing how to read was withheld from the slaves and why and why slave-owners preferred non-educated slaves to educated ones.

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However, literacy turns out to be not only bliss, but also painful. Indeed, while learning to read Frederick becomes more and more aware of the injustices of slavery, and this leads him to regret this knowledge “Learning how to read had become a curse rather than a blessing” ( Douglass ) . Douglass believes in the importance of education. He thinks that education is a key part to our life; it is the only way to get freedom. Literacy is very powerful because it can set anyone free to pursue dreams.

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The Hardships of Frederick Douglass The few scars on Frederick Douglass’ back told a story. A story that is cruel, inhumane, and unfaithful to mankind. Douglass had been through many difficult points during his life. In particularly, he had an early separation with his mother, he was sent away from his remaining family to work for Hugh Auld, he was taught illegally how to read and write, and he was sent to a new owner who was considered a “slave breaker”. Also, he had tried to escape with other slaves but failed.

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