Education in Fredrick Douglass Essay Example

had to remain secretive since it was “unlawful to teach a slave to read” (Douglass 20). With the sense that the world was against his pursuit to learn, Douglass seemed to suffer because of his education and literacy as it became more advanced. The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, is unique because Douglass, an escaped slave with no formal education, wrote the entire account himself.

As a result, Frederick Douglass is one of the originators of the uniquely American genre, the slave narrative. Douglass' first book purchase, The Columbian Orator did more than teach him to read and write. Besides the dialogue Douglass read in The Columbian Orator, Douglass is introduced to proper, eloquent orator skills. This popular schoolbook stresses the importance of an orator's ability to communicate through eloquent speech and proper body language.

The Columbian Orator gives Douglass his first contact with vocalized anti-slavery issues and influences Douglass' orator skills allowing his words to reach a much broader audience. Douglass realizes if liberation were to occur for all slaves, it is not only crucial to have the capacity to even think of the inequities of slavery and racism but also be able to form his thoughts into eloquent, understandable words. Eloquence of speech is a necessary quality for an orator to possess in order for his or her listeners to be interested in what they have to say.

By reading this book, Douglass learns of the skills needed to capture and captivate an audience. He learns which words are important to stress and which words to not. Once he had achieved his goal of learning to read and write well and

become literate, he saw a completely new world. This made the one he existed in even harder to bear. At times, he suffers from hopelessness and questions the value of his education, especially because he feels condemned to live within the system of slavery.

After being under the cruel and watchful eye of Mr. Covey, Douglass states, “My natural elasticity was crushed, my intellect languished, the disposition to read departed, the cheerful spark that lingered about my eye died: the dark night of slavery closed in upon me; and behold a man transformed into a brute” (Douglass 48). Essentially stating that, slavery and education are incompatible because the system does not allow the slaves the mental and even physical freedom necessary to make any use of education.

When Douglass begins to lose hope in his education and its value, the words of the slave owner inevitably come to mind when it is said, “as to himself, it [education] could do him no good, but a great deal of harm” (Douglass 69). This point is confirmed, especially when Douglass is unhappy because of his learning. Frederick Douglass is an exemplary example of why literacy was such a guarded commodity during the 1800’s. When Douglass puts forth the notion that education and slavery are incompatible with one another, he is not only referring to his own situation, but that of he slave owners as well. At one point, Covey states, “if you give a nigger an inch, he will take a mile” (Douglass 78). When Douglass went to live with the Auld family, the mistress Mrs. Auld had never before owned a slave. Her behavior towards Douglass was different—kinder,

and she even began to teach him the alphabet. When her husband, Mr. Auld, found out of her actions she was scolded and told that a slave should never be taught how to read. From that day on, Mrs. Auld never again taught Douglass, again.

In the beginning he referred to her as a kind and tenderhearted woman and though Mrs. Auld was not able to continue teaching Douglass. Douglass echoes this sentiment while he learns to read and tells the reader that his mistress “had given me an inch and no precaution could prevent me from taking the ell” (Douglass 81). To the slave owner, the prospect of an educated slave was a dangerous notion since he would be more “unmanageable” than those would without learning. It proved to be true and is played out as Douglass finally acts out violently.

It is by far in the best interest of the slave owner to keep the slaves ignorant of concepts of freedom or education because it might not only make them wistful, and thoughtful, but by proxy, less useful to them as slaves. In order to keep slavery as a stable institution, it was important for many of the slave owners in the text to make educating a slave something that could be punished. Well-meaning slave owners were heavily criticized for assisting a slave in his or her education and the fact that it was illegal to teach a slave to read indicates the danger the white slave-owning establishment sees as inherent to education.

In other words, by their fierce protection of the practices of education, the slave owners were admitting that through education there is some

kind of freedom, some way of circumventing their absolute power. Frederick Douglass became the most successful abolitionist who changed America’s views of slavery through his writings and actions. Frederick Douglass had many achievements throughout his life. His Life as a slave had a great impact on his writings. His great oratory skills left the largest impact on Civil War time period literature. Overall, he was the best black speaker and writer ever.

Illiteracy was an instrumental tool used to deprive slaves in an attempt to keep them ignorant and manageable during the 1800’s. If slaves were to learn how to read, they could in turn be educated. The oppressing class during this time period realized that if slaves were able to become educated they could no longer be useful, for it would be increasingly difficult to exploit their services. The ability to read was the white man’s power over slaves. Douglass, realizing the situation of his enslavement, took advantage of his privileges and began to secretly learn how to read and write.

As he become more proficient in English, Douglass began to gain a following of slaves who were willing to learn. He used his knowledge to covertly conduct a school where he would teach other slaves the alphabet and numbers. The experience of teaching others brought tremendous joy to Douglass who felt he was providing a better opportunity to his fellow slaves. In, A Different Mirror, Ronald Takaki makes clear the life of each ethnic that makes up America from the period when the Viking settled to today.

The stories of the English, African, Chinese, Indian, Mexican, Japanese, and Jews are all intertwined in this book for

a nonjudgmental view of the neglected truth. Education plays a key role in the freedom of those who were oppressed by the early European colonizers and still lie vital to the break of success of all who seek freedom. By acknowledging the past atrocities and faults of our lands past, Americans can live to accept each other’s differences and come together as a community of one. Takaki speaks of each ethnicity in America and gives voices to their oppression by the Europeans when they lived in America.

With the increasing popularity of educational standards and standardized testing many are beginning to ask, "What is the purpose of education? " Is the goal of education to fill students' minds with a curriculum of facts, or is it to prepare them to be productive members of society? If the answer to this question is the latter of those two, what do they need to know in order to be good citizens and how should that be taught? Tolerance is one issue that educators are leaning towards in their own curriculum.

Over the years, Americans have made advancements in the area of tolerance, yet there are still some presuppositions that lurk within society. The best way to deal with this issue is to educate people with the truth and provide them with opportunities to see the world through the eyes of one who is oppressed. Frederick Douglass's Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written by Himself invites readers into the life of one who is oppressed so that they might see of how damaging intolerance is for those who are enslaved by its prejudices as well

as those who hold those harsh entiments.

For this very reason Douglass serves as an excellent resource to personalize issues such as these and bring them into an academic light where teachers and students can open their minds to tolerating and defending differences. Douglass counters the ugly outcomes of intolerance with his fervor to teach tolerance and the importance of human life and rights and with that same zeal, he reminds readers today that we need to continue to educate others and ourselves about intolerance, thereby eliminating it.

Since the abolition of slavery, America has come a long way; all races can vote, work, and receive an education. Even with all of these changes what has honestly changed? Some still receive inadequate education. There are still those rules that are unwritten and subtle ways of keeping people from prevailing. So, what does this education really mean? Ignorance is truly bliss. What will my degree be worth when I am done? With the flood of degrees the bars are being moved up and making many of these goals unattainable.