Reading Respone FDouglass- Gentian Dumani

Part 1

Question 3

3. What does Douglass mean when he says that “learning to read had been a curse rather than a blessing” (paragraph 5)?  Furthermore, what does he mean when he says that “freedom…was ever present to torment me” (same paragraph)?  In other words, is there a downside to becoming literate?  What might that be?

When Fredrick Douglas stated “learning to read had been a curse rather than a blessing” he discorved the truth. When he began to read the book titled “The
Columbian
Orator” It showed dialougues between a slave and his master and the more he read the more he learned how dispicable and cruel enslavers were. He regretted learning this information because he realized what kind of situation he was in. However, he had no way of escaping which left Douglass in a state of misery. When he says “Freedom
now
appeared,
to
disappear
no
more
forever.
It
was
heard
in
every
sound,
and
seen
in
every
thing.
It
was
ever
present
to
torment
me
with
a
sense
of
my
wretched
condition”. His mind was only clouded with thoughts of escaping. When he became literate he began to suffer constantly regretting his own existence.

Part 2

“The
 silver
 trump
 of
 freedom
 had
 roused
 my
 soul
 to
 eternal
weakfulness.
Freedom
now
appeared,
to
disappear
no
more
forever…..
I
saw
nothing
without
seeing
it,
I
heard
nothing
without
hearing
it,
and
felt
nothing
without
feeling
it.”(Paragraph 5)

In this quote Fredrick Douglass is trying to explain the idea of freedom. The only thing occupying his mind was escaping and becoming free. However, he was unable too tormenting him mentally. He envied others for their lack of knowledge because he wanted to ease the suffering but no matter what he did it kept coming back to him. In every sound he had heard and everything he saw the only thing that would that would his cross his mind was the idea of freedom.