Knowledge Is Everything

Since the very beginning of this narrative, we all knew the ending wasn’t going to be tragic, at least not for Douglass. Evidently, because he is the author and main character of the narrative, nothing fatal could have happened to him. Yet what we did not know until the last chapter, was how the ending would turn out, how was Douglass able to escape slavery. At the end of the book, even though we never learn how he planned out his escape exactly, we understand he gets safely to New York and starts his new life as a free man, obviously with a harsh start.

While the whole pint of this narrative, was clearly relating the story of a slave boy, who eventually escaped. The other important topic that Douglass mentioned a lot, and what makes up what the narrative is, and why everything happened why it did, is the importance of knowledge, of being literate.

            Clearly for us it might not be such a big deal, at least nothing we truly think as being a big deal. Since learning how to read and write is something natural and common in our society, unusual would be not to know, and this would mean no future. In contrast to Douglass’ case it was the complete opposite, and lucky for him, he new the difference between right and wrong, he knew what he had to do and went for it. And yes, everything just because he got his hand on books and became well informed.

            So finally we see this narrative had a complete different moral, at least the way I saw it, and that is, as I stated earlier, the importance of becoming educated. How gratefully in only good ways it can improve someone’s life and view of morals and beliefs. Obviously omitting the fact that knowledge can bring someone to learn the harsh truth, as it was for Douglass’s case in realization that slavery was wrong: “…to make a contented slave, it is necessary to make a thoughtless one.” “…to annihilate the power of reason. He must be able to detect no inconsistencies in slavery; he must be made to feel that slavery is right; and he can be brought to that only when he ceases to be a man” (pg.156).