Unit 1

Part 1

Learning to read was certainly a curse more than a blessing. Especially back then where they are not aware of ways they are described by masters in newspapers or certain names given by racist authors. They were forced to work and had no understanding of what were said about them in books and how so many other things were operated. But for Douglas all this is reality now. Everything has changed no because now he knows the names given to them. What people are writing and saying about them.

Part 2

When Douglas means when he says that “Freedom was ever present to torment me” basically means based of what I know now I understand that this life that I live is not ending any time soon. Means that he has the knowledge to comprehend what they are saying in the papers. How they are discussing different ways of the way to sell them and how they are basically materials in a world they live in. I say this because at first, he was not reading. He had no understanding of what was happening in the real world. There was still hope because someday this will end. Maybe there are people out there writing about how to end slavery but no he is now discovering how it is increasing day by day.

Back then I will definitely say that there was a downside for the slaves to be literate. I think it could have worked both ways but mostly on the negative side. Yes, they start to be more educated. But they start to find out about information that they would have definitely been fine without knowing. They start to find out about price tags labeled on them like they were tools in a shop.