Frederick Douglass: The Power Of Education

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Throughout my life I've always wondered why the world was becoming more and more education focused. These days education is taken for granted and needless to say, sort of a nuisance for children/teens. It wasn’t until I got older that I began to realize how important education is. It’s been said that "education is the great equalizer" I am a firm believer. This book has opened my eyes to the true meaning, It is the epitome of that.
Frederick Douglass writes about his slave life and his escape to freedom. Being that Douglass is the main character and the narrator of the story, it gives a different, more accurate perspective than a book written by a white person about slavery or a book about African slavery for example, Weep not child by Ngugi Wa Thiong'o. Being from a first person perspective I was able to really take in Douglass's experiences.
Slave owners knew the power of education that’s why they wanted to keep their slaves from progressing and learning. There was a time when Douglass realized the power of education and became very ambitious. "If you teach that nigger how to read, there would be no keeping him. It would forever unfit him to be a slave...he would become of no value to his master (pg 20)." From this he learned that his master didn’t want him educated and from this day forward he set out to do just that. "… I was …show more content…
In Douglass's or any slave's case it would have been easy to give up, but he didn’t. Slavery was powerful in the sense that it changed the souls of not only the slaves but the slaveholders as well. Douglass kept a sense of self and that’s what got him through the hard times. If you succumb to the reality of slavery, it sucks you in. Because of his perseverance Douglass was able to teach himself how to read and write and overcome his adversities. He didn't just stop after achieving his goal of being free but he continued to push for better lives for all black
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