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Power and Knowledge
Fredrick Douglass is the father of human rights movement. He believed that people are equal and have the freedom to develop into respectable persons in the society. Therefore, he focused on getting power and knowledge by learning language and education. However, his quest to gain knowledge came at a price as he was to face challenges as a slave in America. Douglas among other slaves was unable to improve their lives because of lack of education and argued that education and slavery were opposite elements. Consequently, Douglass began expanding his horizons through learning of language and reading as a quest to gain knowledge. Education and knowledge are a key aspect of the society to free slaves. Therefore, he had to pass through all the odd to get knowledge and power to escape slavery.
In the book Learning to Read and Write, Fredrick Douglass elaborates that a slave has to undergo hardship to gain power and knowledge. Thus, he focused on writing and language as essential tools to bring to light the different challenges in the society. Such challenges included racism and social inequalities. As a child, he learned the English language from the Caucasians around him especially his Mistress until she became eviler than her husband (Douglass, page 129). While in his master’s house for seven years, Fredrick Douglass succeeded in learning to read and write. However, he faced numerous hardships. At the house, Douglass had no regular teacher. However, his mistress initially agreed to instruct him and taught him language for a short while. Nevertheless, Mr. Hugh, her husband advised and directed her to stop her activities. Consequently, she set her face against any other person who would provide teach Douglass the language. Though she never took the advice immediately, Mrs. Hugh she first lacked the depravity indispensable to shut Douglass in the mental darkness. Therefore, she had to get the training from her husband to exercise irresponsible power to gain the confidence of treating Fredrick Douglass as a slave and brute. Irrespective of all the challenges Fredrick Douglass faced at his master’s house; he still got a way of ensuring that he gained knowledge and power. Even though it is evident that Mrs. Hugh was initially kind hearted and ready to he...