The Ability To Read and Write = Freedom From Slavery?

     In this book, the ability to read and write was mentioned many times. When mentioned by the slave owners, they told Mr. Douglas that it was not right for a slave to be able to read, and when mentioned by Mr. Douglas, it was mostly about the want to learn to read, the hard path to it, and finally being able to read and write.
     The fact that learning to read and write could give slaves the path to freedom was stated for the first time by Mr. Auld on page 20, and then again many times after that by various masters. I agree that learning to read and write would give slaves the needed boost to escape if they so desired. Learning to read and write brought slaves out of the dark, and, like Mr. Douglas, they could learn things the slave owners did not want them to know, For example, abolitionism on page 25. Learning to read also gave slaves the necessary means to communicate over long distances, and they could have potentially organized and insurrection. In this book learning to read gave the slaves something much simpler, but just as powerful: it gave them something to bond over. On pages 48 and 49, Mr. Douglas talks about how he taught many other slaves to read and write, and he came to love a few of them so powerfully that he said he would die for them. This ultimately led to the attempted escape on pages 52 and 53.