Ignorance and Lack of Knowledge

Ignorance and lack of knowledge can lead to other forms of slavery in today’s society. Teaching how to think, not what to think will lead to a healthier, more productive society. Better critical thinking prevents social outcasts and helps us to grow in culture. Frederick Douglass learned how important education would be to a society, and shares his story in Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave.

Douglass searches for a pathway from slavery, through education, to freedom.

Educating himself gives him a purpose beyond that of the slave. Mr. Auld, his master, knows that if a slave learns to read it would be damning to all of slavery. As slaves gain insight, through education, they learn how the slaveholders are wrong in their behavior and treatment. The fact that Mr. Auld forbids his wife to educate Douglass is, itself, a source of insight to the slave. Douglass states on page 746, in paragraph 3:

Whilst I was saddened by the thought of losing the aid of my kind mistress, I was gladdened by the invaluable instruction which, by the merest accident, I had gained from my master. Though conscious of the difficulty of learning without a teacher, I set out with high hope, and a fixed purpose, at whatever cost of trouble, to learn how to read. The very decided manner with which he spoke, and strove to impress his wife with the evil consequences of giving me instruction, served to convince me that he was deeply sensible of the truths he was uttering. (Jacobus)

Douglass immediately learns through the actions of Mr. Auld, that education has a value he must seek. By keeping slaves dependent and ignorant, slave masters keep their power over their slaves. Slavery is a power struggle! Strength comes from more than force, it can come from knowledge as well. The slaveholders knew that a slave with knowledge could find ways to become stronger (not always a physical strength). We see Douglass express the value of knowledge throughout his story, but especially on page 748 in paragraph 8. This bread I used to bestow upon the hungry little urchins, who, in return, would give me that more valuable bread of knowledge. To give food in exchange for knowledge, this was a big deal for those enslaved as food is a precious commodity.

Education is as valuable possession today as it was during Frederick Douglass’s time. To understand its value, we must understand the purpose of education. Education is there to develop each individual to live a moral and productive life within society. Education should not be teaching us what to think, but how to think for ourselves.

If education is teaching us what to think, we are no better than the slaves in our history. Education should cultivate a yearning to become an ethically moral person. Without a solid education, we are dooming our children to a form of slavery by the hands of those who control information. They must learn to develop the ability to reason, to discern right from wrong, through their educational activities and they will become free-thinking.

Frederick Douglass learns the truth of moral character through his education. As he reads Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s account of the Catholic emancipation, Douglass learns an important ethical principle: slavery is immoral. As he states, on page 749 in paragraph 10:
They gave tongue to interesting thoughts of my own soul, which had frequently flashed through my mind, and died away for want of utterance. The moral which I gained from the dialogue was the power of truth over the conscience of even a slaveholder. What I got from Sheridan was a bold denunciation of slavery, and a powerful vindication of human rights.

The reading of these documents enabled me to utter my thoughts, and to meet the arguments brought forward to sustain slavery (Jacobus)
Slavery comes in many forms today. Lack of education is one of the most obvious and significant of these: one needs to be addressed. Douglass saw the importance of education in teaching him why slavery was wrong and how the slave master controlled the slave through lack of knowledge of right and wrong.

Frederick Douglass has shown that ignorant people are easier to control. But an educated society leads us out of slavery because edification teaches how to think not what to think. It leads us to understand moral values creating a strong and productive society.

Did you like this example?

1909

80