In this excerpt titled "Leaning to Read and Write," from Frederick Douglass' autobiography, The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, there is a definite literal and figurative connection between literacy and freedom. In this passage, Douglass tells us that when he learned how to read, he became more fascinated in the concept of freedom, because he found out that it was a wonderful thing that all people should have. Most slave owners during that time did not want their slaves to become educated either, so this obstacle made it very difficult for him. He began to learn at a young age and through many different methods like trickery and bribery, he learned how to read and write.
             Douglass began his literary journey as a young boy. He first explains to us that his mistress first taught him the alphabet when he was a young boy. These lessons quickly ended on account of his master, Master Hugh. Hugh believed, like many other slaveholders of that time, that slaves were better off not being able to read or write. This "handicap", made them less of a threat, and also easier to control. Without the ability to read or write, slaves did not know what was happening half of the time, because they could not understand most words. If they became more literate, they would start questioning things, mainly about their freedom. Even the slightest bit of knowledge intrigued the slaves, which Douglass says in this excerpt. "All of this however, was too late. The first step had already been taken. Mistress, in teaching me the alphabet, had given me the inch, and no precaution could prevent me from taking the ell." "Ell", as he refers to it, is a unit of measure!
             ment. His mistress taught him a little bit, and this sparked his interest enough to learn as much as he possibly could no matter what.
             After he had learned the alphabet, he did many different str
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