The Struggle For Freedom In Frederick Douglas's Narrative

"If you teach that nigger (speaking of myself) how to read […] 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."(330) These are the words that would forever ring in Frederick Douglass's ears and the stepping stone that would lead him to become the great national figure we remember him for today. In Frederick Douglass's Narrative, he describes to us his experiences as an American slave and his journey towards freedom. The experiences described in his narrative, being told from a first person point of view, allow us to understand his feelings towards white people. From these experiences it is clear that Douglass was very thankful for the white people who he became

Through his narrative. Douglass emphasizes the idea that people were inherently good but slavery turned them into monsters. Although he appreciates the encounters he had with white people and his experiences as a slave, he condemns those who supported slavery to be truly immoral. One of the first white person who inspired Douglass to educate himself was his mistress, Mrs. Auld. During Douglass' time, educating a slave, let alone treat them like a human being was seen as immoral and wrong however Mrs. Auld decided to teach Douglass how to read and write. Mrs. Auld had not previously owned a slave and was indifferent to the situation but her husband was not. In fact. he goes on to lecture her by saying "If you give a nigger an inch, he will take an ell. A nigger should know nothing but to obey his master- to do as he is told to do. Learning would spoil the best nigger in the world."(330) A slave was to be nothing but a slave and once they were aware of the condition in which they lived. they would no longer wish to be slaves.