'The Road To I Dentity In Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave'?

In today’s day and age, when most teachers only emphasize memorization, and standardized tests determine a student’s capabilities, our education system remains stagnant; whereas, the job market has evolved tremendously. However, according to James Mullane in his article, “The Road to ‘I’dentity in Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave,” when “education fosters dialogue and critical thinking,” students have the tools and opportunities to promote “social and political change” (Mullane 26). Frederick Douglass epitomizes the use of education to make positive influences in the world, as it was through education that Douglass broke out of the shackles of slavery and became one of the most influential African-Americans of the 1800’s. Mullane, in his article, analyzes the significant impact that literacy had on Douglass’s journey of self-discovery. Mullane opens his work by examining two words that Douglass highlights throughout his narrative: freedom and power. Mullan points out that

While on Mr. Auld’s farm, Douglass was taught how to read and write from Mrs. Auld without her husband’s knowledge. However, Mr. Auld came to find out about this and explained to his wife that, “If you give a nigger an inch, he will take an ell” (Baym 960). Mr. Auld understood that by giving Douglass the simple tools of literacy, one could expect greater consequences. It was during this conversation that Douglass recognized the answer to the question that had been nagging him throughout his life. Douglass explained, “I now understood what had been to me the most perplexing difficulty—to wit, the white man’s power to enslave the black man…From that moment, I understood the pathway from slavery to freedom” (Baym 960). Douglass became determined to finish learning how to read as he finally understood how to shift the power from the master to the