Education & Identity - Essay Example

Douglass’ account Frederick Douglass is a prime example of this theory. He was born into slavery and lived through his early life serving his Master. His story revolves around the hunt for freedom and is engulfed in the concept of education affecting his perception of his own life. Since he started life as a slave, living to serve another was a norm for him and while his Mistress treated him with utter care in the beginning, she soon became wary of his thirst for knowledge. It is perhaps this thirst for knowledge that is equally influential in altering a person’s perception as without it, one may not pursue education and knowledge in the first place.

Thus, Douglass was taught the beginnings of education by his new mistress Mrs. Auld. She later became extremely cautious of teaching him anything else or him learning anything else himself; “Mistress, in teaching me the alphabet, had given me the ~inch,~ and no precaution could prevent me from taking the ~ell.~” (Douglass). What this implies is that the educated elite were also wary of the power of education and it was not such a peculiar phenomenon. Ever since he learnt the alphabet, and realized that any further progress in education was scorned upon, he became all the more wary of acquiring knowledge and went to extreme lengths to learn to read and write.

His efforts show his inclination and dedication to the task. His shrewdness gave way to several ingenious ways in the pursuit of education. He would employ several friends in the street and run his errands quicker than expected in order to save time for gaining knowledge through them. He started pondering over things he did not ponder over before, questioning his right to be free and why it was so difficult to attain: "You will be free as soon as you are twenty-one, ~but I am a slave for life!

~ Have not I as good a right to be free as you have?" (Douglass). At times this newfound thinking became a measure of pain as well, and would douse him in anguish whenever the question of slavery would arise in discussion. As his ability to read improved, so did his taste for newer books. He eventually read a book entitled The Columbian Orator which became the epitome of his changing perception. The story was very similar to his own wherein a slave who wished to be free from his master ran away thrice only to be returned to him.

Eventually, after an intellectual discussion between him and the master, the slave is discharged of all duties at the master’s discretion. Of course, this sparked a growing urge within Douglass to be free himself. Notice how it incited a new drive inside of him to be free from anyone else’s possession rather than simply nurturing his old desire to read and write. While the old desire still persisted, the new feelings and emotions as a result of perceived education transpired within him superficially to overtake his old inclinations to read and write.

Thus, it had a dual effect. This can be judged from the fact that he describes himself as a chattel earlier but later grows in feelings and emotions as a direct result of the knowledge he acquires, completely opposite to the description of a chattel. His perception was no longer the same regarding slavery. It did not just stop there. Once the perception changed, so did his desires in life. This revelation came as soon as he understood the meaning of abolition which,