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Frederick Douglass Importance Of Education

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Human slavery requires ignorance, just as an individual’s freedom, from oppression, requires knowledge attained by education. To maintain order and control over slaves, slavery demands ignorant slaves; thus, keeping slaves ignorant prevents slaves from recognizing the empowering value of education and education’s ability to liberate slaves from the effects of ignorance. Frederick Douglass’s pursuit of education helped him discover the dark, hidden truths of slavery in his article, “How I Learned to Read and Write.” Thus, the pursuit of education inspires a desire for freedom. The desire to learn generates determination and motivation. Douglass’s master forbade his wife from continuing to teach Douglass the alphabet because his master …show more content…

Slaves often do not understand their condition fully, since they do not know life beyond slavery. His unawareness of the liberating power of education bound him in a misleading bliss, causing him to believe that his state of being had permanency and to remain unaware of his injustice. However, once education had revealed to Douglass his ignorance, he says, “. . . I would at times feel that learning to read had been a curse rather than a blessing. It had given me a view of my wretched condition, without the remedy.” (Douglass, 2014, p. 133) Education is equally yoked by the power to free an individual and to enslave an individual. Education frees an individual from the misleading bliss of ignorance, resulting in a new ability to think critically and to understand. However, ignorance does not require hard work as education does. Ignorance allows individuals to remain in their comfort zones. 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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Life began for Frederick Douglass as a slave without any indication of what the future would hold. A fortunate event occurred of Douglass; he learned to read as well as glimpse the abolitionist movement in Baltimore. Douglass quickly realized the institution of slavery and proper education cannot exist together. After being sold to a “slave breaker”, a drive for freedom and education was born. Frederick kept educating himself after his escape and joined the abolitionist movement.

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" Douglass explains his claim by providing more in depth idea of what it means to have education not only does it provide a path to freedom, but it also opens the eyes to the horrors around. This example which proves no one can be enslaved if she or he has the ability to read, write, or think only strengthens the

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All slaves have once had the dreams of freedom and a plot for escape, but the pathway to this freedom could come only with the ability to read and write. It was said by master that instructing a Negro how to read and write would ruin them as a slave (Douglass, 1845/1995, p.20). Once they learned these things then they would have the same knowledge as a white men, and the next thing they would want is their freedom. If slaves had this capability then their chances of escape would be much greater and white slave owner could not make a living without them. Frederick Douglass had his own way in succeeding to learn, he was first taught by his master’s wife, until her husband caught her in the act and forbid her to ever proceed in her actions (Douglass, 1845/1995, p.20).

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Learning to read showed Douglass that the world outside of slavery was not as easy as it seemed, but also showed Douglass how evil slavery was. Douglass found out what the word “abolition” meant, and said how he “always expect[ed] to hear something of importance to [him]self and fellow‐ slaves” when he heard this word, but never did (30). Adding to his grief was the self realization that he was “in a horrible pit, but to no ladder” on which he could use (29). Being able to read also showed Douglas how “wretched [his] condition” was and how he could do nothing about it (29). 4 Douglass, now undoubtedly, knew that he would always be looking for liberty for his duration as a

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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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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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1673 Words | 7 Pages

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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400 Words | 2 Pages

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