What does Douglass learn from Sophia Auld and Her Husband?
Mr. and Mrs. Auld Gave Frederick Douglas more than they would ever know, they gave him his, “pathway from slavery to freedom.”(Douglas, Ch. 6 pg. 945) Mrs. Auld began to teach Frederick Douglas his ABC’s and by doing so she opened a door in his brain that resulted in his endless search for knowledge. Frederick Douglas was naturally a genius because despite his terrible upbringing, his desire for knowledge seems to have been nothing short of unquenchable. What Mr. Auld gave Frederick Douglas may have been even more precious; he taught him about the power of knowledge. When Mr. Auld caught Mrs. Auld teaching Frederick Douglas how to read he instantly put a stop to it because as he said, “if you teach that n----r 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.” (Douglas Ch. 6 pg. 945) When Mr. Auld said this statement it was an important moment in Frederick Douglas’ life, he now understood that if he could learn to read and write he could find a way to gain his freedom from his masters. Frederick Douglas acted on this revelation by taking every opportunity he could to improve his reading and writing. There is even an instance where Frederick Douglas would give bread to unfortunate white children in exchange for them teaching him letters or as he called it, “the bread of knowledge.” He would also commonly borrow his master’s son’s copy-book to practice writing in the extra spaces. Frederick Douglas was a very gifted person who was given an extraordinary opportunity to expand his knowledge at a time when the people of his race were forbidden by law to have any.
Frederick Douglass learned some important things from Hugh and Sophia Auld. He learned that not all white people were cruel to African Americans. He was warmly welcomed into the Auld’s home and right away formed a bond with his new mistress. She had been removed from the “blighting and dehumanizing” effects of slavery and Douglass was “truly astonished” by her goodness. “She was entirely unlike any other white woman I had ever seen.” pp. 945
Out of Sophia’s kindness, she started teaching Douglass to read. Hugh forbid his wife to continue the teaching. He explained that teaching a slave to read “could do him no good”. “It would make him discontented and unhappy.” After hearing this conversation, Douglass states, “These words sank deep into my heart, stirred up sentiments within that lay slumbering and called into existence an entirely new train of thought.” “Whilst I was saddened by the thought of losing the aid of my kind mistress, I was gladdened by the invaluable instruction which, by the merest accident, I had gained from my master.” pp. 945 “In learning to read, I owe almost as much to the bitter opposition of my master as to the kindly aid of my mistress. I acknowledge the benefit of both.” pp. 946 Douglass discovered that learning to read was the path out of slavery.
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I agree the gift given from Mr. Auld to Frederick Douglas was a priceless one. "I was gladdened by the invaluable instructions which, by the merest accident, I had gain from my master."(945) This was knowledge that knowledge is power. The power he was most concerned with was the power over himself. "She very kindly commenced to teach me the A,B,C; after I had learned this,she assisted me in learning to spell words of three or four letters"(945) This key given to Frederick unlocked doors inside his head that would ignite the thirst for knowledge. Frederick also learned this power would give him the ability get out of his current situation.
ReplyDeleteI like your post. I think learning to read was the most significant event in his childhood. The quotes you picked prove this was a significant event. When he was told he couldn't learn how to read because it would give him the ability to fight slavery, that became motivation for him to fight harder. For a lot of people, when they get comments like “if you teach that n----r 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.” (pg. 945) they would lose confidence but not Douglass. He seemed to know how to take something negative and use it for his own power.
ReplyDeleteYou guys did a really great job on your post and explaining how important Douglass' time with the Aulds really was. You were absolutely right about how they got him started on his pathway to freedom. After learning to read, he's started an almost chain reaction to knowledge about himself and his situation, and not only that but how he might get himself out of it. I also thought it was interesting how he mentioned that it was just as encouraging for him that the husband DIDN'T want him to learn, because he knew the value of it and what it could possibly bring about (his freedom). Good job guys!
ReplyDeleteYes, Douglas learned much knowledge from the two of them but mainly from Sophia Auld. They taught him much of what he knew later in life. Mrs. Auld taught him the ABC’s which is what got Douglas to search for further knowledge and learn to read and write. Mr. Auld was not as nice to Douglas as Sophia was but treated him better than most masters would treat a slave. They educated him in terms of reading, writing, and all about the slavery conditions. Sophia’s teachings to Douglas were what kept him happy and he did not want that to be taken away from him.
ReplyDeleteI like that you mentioned Frederick Douglass giving bread to the poor, white children and in return they would teach him about letters, which he called, "the bread of knowledge." After he learned that to overcome slavery it was necessary to educate himself it was interesting to see by what means he took to achieve this goal. Like you had said in your post, besides learning from the children he would practice writing in his master's son's copy-book. Also, he got a book called "The Columbian Orator", which he would read whenever he had the chance. He mentions that, "Among much of other interesting matter, I found in it a dialogue between a master and his slave." (Pg. 948). This book became his teacher.
ReplyDeleteI like this post, learning to read was the best thing that Frederick Douglas could do and despite what his masters would do to try and make his reading unable to happen, he found ways to do it. I like that you described the "bread of knowledge" because it shows what great lengths he went to in order to read, even if that meant giving up his food that was limited to other children. Another way he learned how to read and write was through the book "The Columbian Orator". He was able to relate to this book, and learn that if one slave was able to stand up for his rights, he should be able to as well.
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