Learning to be a man

When a man is stripped of all the things that define his manhood, he is compelled to take the actions necessary to reclaim it, even if it means risking life and limb. For Douglass, being able to read was a way to resist the oppression he endured from his white masters, as he knew that learning to read would give him knowledge that his masters did not want him knowing. He comes to this realization after his master protests his learning to read. Douglass explains that "these words sunk deep into my heart, stirred up sentiments within that lay slumbering, and called into existence an entirely new train of thought. (...) I now understood what had been to me a most perplexing difficulty--to wit, the white man's power to enslave the black man" (Douglass 64). Here, we see Douglass learning that an imbalance of knowledge can be used to deprive one of their manhood, and be used to control other people into submission. Douglass then learns the key to reclaiming his being a human, as he is inspired to learn to read to be able to close that power imbalance and be able to understand the tools that are used to steal the humanity of his brothers and force them into submission.

Douglass is taught that his worth is nothing more than doing what he is told, and obeying the orders from his masters. He is taught that he is lower than animals, and what he feels, thinks, and experiences is worthless. By learning to read, Douglass is able to break free from that single narrative and learn to understand his true self worth as a person, someone more than an object to be commanded. In this, he regains his humanity. For Douglass, this equality is what it means to be a man.