Learning to read is normally a blessing, it opens up a world of knowledge, and gives you the ability to understand anything written. For Frederick Douglass, reading was more a curse than anything else. The world of knowledge he was opened up to as a young boy was not what anyone hopes to find. As a child born into slavery, he had little idea of what freedom is, or that he should even want it. Frederick Douglass once found a book by the title The Columbian Orator, which held many counter arguments against those in favor of slavery, as well as a passage about a discussion between master and slave. In his biography, Douglass wrote, “The more
I read, the more I was led to abhor and detest my enslavers.” (Collections, page 146 , lines 106-107)
I read, the more I was led to abhor and detest my enslavers.” (Collections, page 146 , lines 106-107)