Frederick Douglass Freedom Analysis

Education to the pathway of Freedom in the Narrative of Frederick Douglass

We all know the phrase “Knowledge is power”, which may seem very banal but it continues to be true and is truly shown throughout Frederick Douglass’s narrative. Even now, you can see the influence and how important that education is. It has been said that education is the key to being able to better yourself since it opens doors for multiple opportunities that are different in many ways if you were not educated. I certainly believe that the Narrative of Frederick Douglass shows this idea in full effect. This narrative offers firsthand accounts in which an individual rose from being a slave that has nothing to a free man and he is able to do this all because he has gained

He soon found help from some poor white children, which he exchanged bread for knowledge. This helped him succeed in learning to read. Douglass came in contact with “The Columbian Orator,” which, thanks to his ability to read, transitioned his thirst for learning into a thirst for freedom. In this book, he was able to finally find his voice and argue the thoughts that had been on his mind about the injustice of his personal situation and slavery itself. Although, this knowledge and comprehension “relieved of one difficulty, they brought on another even more painful than the one of which was relieved” as he grew to “abhor and detest enslavers” (Douglass 1199). Douglass learned that with knowledge comes truth and, as his own truth being that of a “wretched condition,” he sometimes considered learning to read a curse rather than a blessing (Douglass 1200). In the end, although it made Douglass’s daily struggles more difficult at the time, these new ideas and passions instilled in him a notion that he wasn’t likely to forget and was convinced to achieve: freedom. But, Douglass realized that at that very moment freedom was not yet possible. So he continued working to achieve what he had considered the next best which was an education. All Frederick Douglass had was a passion for an education and he wanted to pass it on to his fellow

Sports on television receive the most views out of all entertainment. African American males see this and begin to idolize it, and change the way they see school no,w. Once African American males reach high school they have already spent their whole childhood trying to perfect a sport that is seen on television. They lost their focus on education but began a new focus on being the next Michael Jordan, Jim Brown, Magic Johnson, and Chuck Cooper…… etc. They believe that African Americans are put on a pedestal when they play a sport, which creates the thought process of them believing that a sport is the only way to succeed. Once they have reached the level of playing on a higher level than high school, the media begins to keep a very close eye on them. If an African American that plays on a sports team does something that they feel is wrong they will blow it up and change the way others see them, which may or may not make that person lose their place on their sports team. This leaves that African American without a job and without an education, all because of that one headline, one story or one news broadcast. The negative stereotypes of African Americans in their academic life started when they were slaves and has not stopped today, which