One significant aspect from the book Narrative of the Life of Essay

One significant aspect from the book Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave - Essay Example Early on Douglass acquaints his reader with the dehumanizing aspects of slavery by making a subtle reference to horses. The reader learns that Douglass is not aware of his own age but he quickly points out that such a thing was common among slaves who â€Å"know as little of their ages as horses know of theirs.† (Douglass, 47) The underlying message here is that the connection between horses and slaves is a reflection of the attitude of slave owners who regarded slaves as mere property in much the same manner as animals are regarded. Another message conveyed by this comparison between the slave and the horse is Douglass’s way of demonstrating how the mind of the slave was shaped by the slave owner and the contained world in which he was forced to live. This world which is forged by slave owners dictates that slaves were not human and having been born in this environment the slave had nothing else to go on. In other words the slave is not permitted to attain personal growth and having been born and raised in the slave owners’ world the slave is not permitted to subscribe to independent thought. In keeping with the dependency of slavery and cultivating a passive acceptance of forced labour slaves were not educated. They were merely put to work. Education would bring in a measure of self-consciousness and with self-consciousness comes rebellion or resistance. Douglass comes to this awareness once he learns to read and write and comes to the realization that he is human. The irony is however, that once Douglass becomes self-conscious and learns about the world around him he also becomes poignantly aware of his containment and comments that he â€Å"...would at time feel that learning to read had been a curse rather than a blessing.† (Douglass, 84) Douglass comes to the realization that it is the very essence of self-consciousness and independent thought that separates man from