In Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Frederick Douglass lays out his life struggles as he frees himself from slavery. In the first half of his autobiography, there are two important themes that caught my attention: ignorance and the power of knowledge. “By far the larger part of the slaves knows as little of their ages as horses know of theirs, and it is the wish of most masters within my knowledge to keep their slaves thus ignorant” (Douglass 236). By keeping the slaves ignorant, the slaveholders engraved this idea that slavery was normal and that the blacks should always be working for the whites. Slaves were deprived of privileges and one of these privileges was the right to have an education, the right to read and write. Because of their inability to think for themselves, they were merely treated as property and nothing more. Ultimately, as illiterate slaves, they were unable to express themselves and share their tragic stories to the world.

Back then, having an education and knowing how to read and write was an important goal and achievement. Fortunately, Frederick Douglass was one of few slaves lucky enough to be taught how to read and write. With education, Douglass realized the horrors of slavery and how slavery was morally wrong. “The silver trump of freedom has roused my soul to enteral wakefulness. Freedom now appeared, to disappear no more forever. It was heard in every sound, and seen in every thing” (Douglass 254). Douglass was enlightened by the ability to read and write; he grew to understand more and more about slavery and that freedom was only obtainable by seeking knowledge and education about slavery and ultimately sharing it with the rest of the world. Being knowledgable gave slaves power and a sense of authority, and this intimidated the white slave owners. Having an education was just the first step in becoming a free man. With this knowledge, Frederick Douglass was able to spark up a revolution against slavery. What other factors will come into play when pursuing complete and total freedom?