Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass Essay

In the autobiography, the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an Ameri tin Slave, there is an underlying theme of k straight offledge as the path to freedom. During Douglass time, slave owners take slaves of an education and as a result, the slaves were thus deprived of freedom. Knowledge among slaves is what the white men feared the most, as knowledge not only spoiled slaves, it also provided them with the acuteness that ultimately paved their road to freedom.Knowledge corrupts, or spoils slaves, as it happened with Frederick Douglass. Because uneducated slaves could not think for themselves, they were thus forced to obey their masters, or thinkers who made their decisions for them. by and by Douglass learned to read The Columbian Orator, a book that boldly denounced the immorality of slavery and the whites, he began to harbor such bitter resentment toward his masters that he wishes himself dead. Knowledge emboldened Douglass, and gave him the courage to rebel against hi s masters. As a result, Douglass vowed to run away from the band of successful robbers that reduced him to slavery. Indeed, wisdom had spoiled Douglass he has now gained a keen insight that allowed him to fully articulate the inhumanities of his masters.Knowledge gave Douglass the ability to recognize the enormities of the corrupt white slave owners. Douglass, for instance, points out that it was the white man who chuck out Douglass mouth, and then ask why he doesnt speak, thus proving that slave owners neither allow slaves to think for themselves, nor do they allow the slaves a voice in that decision. Furthermore, slave owners had antecedently instilled in their slaves the idea that any man who is independent is doomed to fall consequently, slaves were misled to believe that freedom is slavery. However, Douglass, an educated slave, was able to realize that he too was created equal, that he too had rights, and also that he was not a slave, but a free man. In this way, Douglass man aged to set into motion the gears of his emancipation.For Frederick Douglass, education was his pathway from slavery to freedom. With his wisdom, he not only dispersed his experiences to other slaves but also stirred up sentiments within the white abolitionists as well. Unliketheir ignorant fellows, educated slaves can band together and finally reach for freedom.Works Cited1. Douglass, Frederick. The Church and Prejudice. Plymouth County Anti-Slavery Society. Massachusetts, Plymouth County. 14 Nov. 1841.2. Douglass, Frederick, Houston A. Baker, and William Lloyd Garrison. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass An American Slave. New York Penguin Books, Limited, 1982.