Frederick Douglass Literacy Analysis

Fredrick Douglass was a famous ex-slave who gained his freedom after learning to read and write. While many claim that he loses part of himself in in gaining literacy, there is much more evidence that refutes this claim. In gaining literacy, Fredrick Douglass learns that there is power in knowledge, made a better life for himself, and used his newfound knowledge to the benefits of other enslaved African Americans.
The first time literacy is really discussed in the autobiography is in chapter six, when Douglass is sent to Baltimore. This is where he was first taught to read by the wife of one of his masters, Mrs. Auld. Mrs. Auld teaches him the alphabet and starts to teach him some small words. These lessons are quickly disrupted when Hugh Auld, master of the house, realizes what she is doing. He is highly upset and orders her to stop immediately, saying that education ruins slaves and makes them unmanageable. When Douglass overhears Mr. Auld, he realizes the strategy that white men use to enslave blacks. This strengthens his resolve to learn how to read to the point where he states he is thankful to Mr. Auld for his sudden revelation.
It is in this chapter that Douglass first discovers the true power in knowledge. He realizes how afraid slave owners are of well

Thus he does not lose any part of his being but rather expands upon his own sense of self as well as his then current status as a slave. Literacy was not a tool that shaped him into a reproduction of white culture. It was a weapon he used to fight for himself and his people against an oppressive system that denied their basic human