In 1845 Frederick Douglass wrote “Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass” He tells of life as a slave, from early childhood into his adulthood. Describing many of the hardships he faced in great detail, which was revolutionary at its time. It brought the reality of slavery to the light. He tells of his life as a slave in the south. to his time as a free man in the north.He tells of three recurring themes: ignorance as a tool of slavery, knowledge as a path to freedom, and slaveholding as a perversion of christianity.
The first theme within the book ,ignorance as a tool of slavery, emerges within the beginning lines. Douglass is telling of how he does not know his age and this was due to it being kept from him as a child.Yet he barely …show more content…
Their age being the biggest and even who their parents are. This showed how slave owners used ignorance to keep the slaves ignorant. This was the aftermath of the Nat Turner rebellion. Nat turner was a highly educated slave, while also being very religious. The rebellion led the Virginia state legislature to pass laws prohibiting education, the right to assembly of slaves, and a white minister had to be present at religious meetings. Slowly other slave states adopted this practice. It was also thought that if slaves were kept ignorant, that southern slave owners could keep the harsh reality of slavery away from the general public. Wendell Phillips makes this point in his letter. This fact was present when Mrs. Auld was being scorned by her husband for teaching Douglass his ABC’s. "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. Now," said he, "if you teach that nigger (speaking of myself) how to read, there would be no keeping …show more content…
Auld, he gets his first taste of education and a freedom that will separate him from the other slaves. Mr. Auld gave away the strategy the whites were using to keep slaves ignorant and how to beat this strategy. Knowledge as a path to freedom, douglass realized this at a young age. At this time in his life, he lived in Baltimore. A city slave was much better kept than one on a plantation. This helped him in educating himself, which most of it was self taught. He would carry bread with him and befriend little white boys, trading bread if they taught him how to read. “bread of knowledge” is what he called it. Through this system of food for knowledge, douglass learned to write at the Durgin and Bailey’s ship-yard. He took any chance he could to further his education. With this he was able to start his path to freedom, this way he achieved enlightenment. Yet through this enlightenment, he realizes the injustices of slavery. “the thought of being a slave for life began to bear heavily upon my heart, ” he wanted to be viewed as a man rather than a slave. As he learned to write at the shipyard, a pair of Irish workers told him to escape the south and head north to be a free man. This sparked the idea of running away in his mind. He knew it was dangerous, but loathed to be free of the clutches of
The first theme within the book ,ignorance as a tool of slavery, emerges within the beginning lines. Douglass is telling of how he does not know his age and this was due to it being kept from him as a child.Yet he barely …show more content…
Their age being the biggest and even who their parents are. This showed how slave owners used ignorance to keep the slaves ignorant. This was the aftermath of the Nat Turner rebellion. Nat turner was a highly educated slave, while also being very religious. The rebellion led the Virginia state legislature to pass laws prohibiting education, the right to assembly of slaves, and a white minister had to be present at religious meetings. Slowly other slave states adopted this practice. It was also thought that if slaves were kept ignorant, that southern slave owners could keep the harsh reality of slavery away from the general public. Wendell Phillips makes this point in his letter. This fact was present when Mrs. Auld was being scorned by her husband for teaching Douglass his ABC’s. "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. Now," said he, "if you teach that nigger (speaking of myself) how to read, there would be no keeping …show more content…
Auld, he gets his first taste of education and a freedom that will separate him from the other slaves. Mr. Auld gave away the strategy the whites were using to keep slaves ignorant and how to beat this strategy. Knowledge as a path to freedom, douglass realized this at a young age. At this time in his life, he lived in Baltimore. A city slave was much better kept than one on a plantation. This helped him in educating himself, which most of it was self taught. He would carry bread with him and befriend little white boys, trading bread if they taught him how to read. “bread of knowledge” is what he called it. Through this system of food for knowledge, douglass learned to write at the Durgin and Bailey’s ship-yard. He took any chance he could to further his education. With this he was able to start his path to freedom, this way he achieved enlightenment. Yet through this enlightenment, he realizes the injustices of slavery. “the thought of being a slave for life began to bear heavily upon my heart, ” he wanted to be viewed as a man rather than a slave. As he learned to write at the shipyard, a pair of Irish workers told him to escape the south and head north to be a free man. This sparked the idea of running away in his mind. He knew it was dangerous, but loathed to be free of the clutches of