Frederick Douglass and His Fight for Freedom and Knowledge

English 96 – Essay #1 Final Draft

October 5th, 2016

Frederick Douglass and his fight for freedom and knowledge

Knowledge is vital to humanity as it grants power to reach as far as we want to go. Douglass was born a slave, worked and lived in a plantation since very early age, and was an illiterate boy and did not know much about his family or himself. Douglas decided to create his own path, a path to freedom and went through the steps of Joseph Campbell Hero’s Journey.

A young Douglass was sent to live with Capt. Auld and his wife Sophia Auld. Sophia, who was kind and unfamiliar with how to treat slaves, took upon herself to teach Douglass how to read. One day Captain Auld found this out and forbid her to continue. Captain Auld’s personal convictions show us how illiteracy was key to maintaining slavery. “If you teach a nigger how to read, there would be no keeping him. It would be forever unfit to be a slave.” (Douglass 29). These words stayed engrained in Douglass’ mind and it awoke even more the wanting to learn how to read. This stage of Douglass life goes along with the “Call to Adventure” (17 Stages). Douglass’ mind now stretched by the notion that learning how to read could change his fate set him onto the path for knowledge. He soon realized that he starved most for education and freedom and not food and clothes.

Sophia Auld immediately stopped teaching Douglass how to read, however, Douglass found a different way to continue his path to self-literacy. Douglass noticed the young white boys on the street when he used to run errands for his master. Douglass was on his early stages of reading and figured out by carrying bread with him and a challenge to them, he could benefit his learning how to read from the white boys.

“I used to also carry bread with me, enough of which was always in the house, and to which I was always welcomed: for I was much better off in this regard than many of the white poor children in our neighborhood. This bread I used to bestow upon the hungry little urchins, who, in return, would give me that more valuable bread of knowledge.” (Douglass 32)

The young white boys were the “Supernatural Aid” that helped Douglass on his quest to learning how to read. Campbell states, “once the hero has committed to the quest consciously or unconsciously his guide and magical helpers appear” (17 Stages). Douglass figured that he would benefit the most by challenging the boys to a best reader competition and offering food in exchange. This allowed him to learn faster and away from his master’s watch.

Capt. Auld was not pleased with Douglass disobedience. Douglass would set the horse free, in order to bring it back and receive a full meal from the neighboring farm. Auld never gave enough food to his slaves. Capt. Auld decided to send Douglass to Edward Covey’s farm. Mr. Covey was a poor slave renter, known for his reputation to break and tame slaves. Little Douglas knew that he was entering Campbell’s “Belly of the Whale” phase (17 Stages), in this stage “final separation is represented from the Hero’s known world and self” (17 Stages). While food was sufficient under Covey’s watch, slaves would never have enough time to eat. Covey was a slave breeder and fear on his slaves and put them under constant hardship. Douglass’ tipping point was when Covey took forced him to take off his clothes as part of a punishment. Douglas decided to fight Covey back. Douglass went through a “metamorphosis” when he faced and won the fight with Covey.

“I felt as I never felt before. It was a glorious resurrection (…) My long-crushed spirit rose, cowardice departed, bold defiance took its place; and I now resolved that, however long I might remain a slave in form, the day had passed forever when I could be a slave in fact.”(Douglass 50).

At this point Douglass became aware that he is still a slave who is under physical imprisonment, but is not far away from mental freedom. It’s a turning point in Douglass life because he learns of what he is capable of achieving; this unexpected and victorious fight sets him back on his path to break free from slavery.