Jordon Surkosky

Mrs. Bouch

Honors English 11

March 16, 2018

Theme: Knowledge is unfailing power

The most important theme in the book is the difference in level of education between

slave owner and slave. Ignorance is the only thing that separated slave holder and slave superior

and inferior to one another. Knowledge is power and in a slaves case; freedom. The

autobiography written by Frederick Douglass has a “matter of fact” tone, many textual examples,

and preface that describe the ignorance of slaves.

Frederick Douglass revolves his book around the fact that slaves almost no knowledge

and he refers to which along the course of the book. Slaves in the southern states are extremely

ignorant and the slave owners keep it this way so they stay below them. Douglass knows this and

is extremely angry. He understands why they keep slaves uneducated. However, he does not

write his book in an angry tone, he writes his book in a very matter of fact tone. Despite his

anger toward the evil slave owners, he has accepted the ignorance of most slaves and writes his

book calmly stressing their ignorance. If he were to write in an angry and frustrated tone, there

would be no meaning or connection behind his text. It would become a rant that nobody could

relate to or read with passion. For example, on page 48 Douglass quotes Mr. Auld (one of his

precious slave holders): “Mr. Auld found out what was going on, and at once forbade Mrs. Auld

to instruct me any further, telling her, among other things, that it was unlawful, as well as unsafe,

to teach a slave to read. To use his own words, further, he said, ‘If you give a nigger an inch, he
will take an ell…’” This quote sums up his tone throughout the entire autobiography and shows

how He is not angered, but simply states facts from his life.

There are many subtle examples throughout the book that support the fact of slaves being

stripped of a natural human quality of knowledge. Another quote from page 48 perfectly explains

why and how slave holders kept slaves uneducated. Douglass quotes Mr. Auld again, whom

says, “Learning will spoil the best nigger in the world… 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 at once

become unmanageable, and of no value to his master.” This example from the text perfectly

sums up how slave holders viewed the educating of their slaves. If a slave holder were to educate

a slave, the slave owner would no longer be any higher in power than the slave, therefore ruining

the point of a slave. Slave owners fear slaves becoming educated because they want to be as

superior as possible. Along with not being able to read or write, slaves also are not allowed to

communicate with other outside of his or her plantation. Since they have no communication with

one another, slaves are ignorant to any events outside of where they live. With slave holders

limiting a slaves connections to the outside world, it adds to a slave’s uneducated lifestyle and

strips them of their human rights even further. At two points in the biography, slave holder’s

wives would tell Douglass that they would teach him to read and write. In both cases, being a

slave owner made them turn their faces to him and not withhold the promise to educate him. This

part of the text shows what slave holding does to an individual and shows how dangerous it is to

teach a slave. Mrs. Auld and Master Hugh’s mistress learned this through the course of being a

slave owner.

Frederick Douglass added a preface to his biography by William Lloyd Garrison. He

added a preface to show logos in his book. By adding text to his narrative by a famous white man
gains him “street credit” by the audience and supports his facts on the ignorance of slaves.

Although literature is timeless, in 1841, while this book was published, prejudice was still very

prevalent. Therefore, having a white man would improve belief of the narrative by the audience

at the time. The preface supports the selected them because William Garrison says on page 6 that

“Douglass did not know the date of his own birth, an ignorance he regarded as one of the worst

legacies of his bondage… Such anonymity and ignominy were not the exception but the rule in

slave societies.” What Garrison is saying is, ignorance was very popular and basically a law for

slaveholders to obey when it comes to owning slaves. With this preface it shows another

influential person’s view and support of slaves being held below owners by a knowledge barrier.

The reader can come to the conclusion during the narrative that Frederick Douglass feels

very strong for the theme of slave ignorance, but he uses a calm tone to make the story so

impactful to the reader. He does not write his book with an angry tone, but a firm and calm tone.

The author also gives textual evidence throughout the entire biography of ignorance appearing in

all slaves and his hard fought quest to learn. In the end of the narrative, obviously, he does learn

to read by giving up his food to poor white boys, whom in return teach him to read and write.

This story is extremely powerful and completely supports the theme of knowledge being not only

power, but freedom as well.