Frederick Douglass

22 Pages 5595 Words

ederick was grateful, and eager to learn more, but the teachings abruptly stopped when Mr. Auld found out what was going on. He forbade Mrs. Auld to continue; he told her it was unlawful and unsafe to teach a slave how to read. “To use his own words, further, he said ‘If you give a nigger an inch, he’ll take an ell. A nigger should know nothing but to obey his master --- to do as he is told to do. Learning would spoil the best nigger in the world. Now, 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. As to himself, it could do him no good, but a great deal of harm. It would make him discontented and unhappy.’ These words sank deep into my heart” (Douglass 31). These were the some of the most important words that Frederick would ever hear. He knew it would be difficult to continue learning without a teacher, but his master’s words gave him the desire and determination to do so. The decided ma...