One of, if not the most important, fundamental value of the United States is liberty. Frederick Douglass believes that all men are created equal. Freedom depends on the current environment and circumstances. Naturally, some are treated better than others based on their abilities. Education and a sense of self are the means to freedom, according to Douglass. Throughout the book he realizes how to be free, but ultimately recognizes freedom as a combination of different aspects. In “The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass,” the functionality of freedom can only be earned, not given. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay At first, Douglass believed that the way to gain more freedom was to move to a more formal or modern field. Douglass, an experienced slave, compares the environment of an urban area to that of a rural area, expressing that "a city slave is almost a free man, compared to a plantation slave." He is much better fed and clothed, and enjoys privileges totally unknown to the plantation slave.” The slaves on the plantation are so mistreated that the idea of ​​being a slave anywhere else seems like a dream come true. Slave owners in urban areas felt a sense of shame and guilt over the way rural slaves in the South were treated. By granting better treatment to their slaves, they attempted to compensate for the cruelty of the plantations. They are willing to grant more freedom to their slaves, but Douglass, however, still feels a sense of injustice and begins his journey to achieve freedom through education. Education and acquisition of knowledge pave the way for holistic liberation. Slave owners aimed to keep their slaves uneducated because they knew it would ruin the institution of slavery. In order to maintain the power they had, they had to keep knowledge out of the hands of slaves. Slaves only needed to know that they were inferior and that their place belonged in the fields or in their master's service. Douglass explains that slave owners ensured that "slaves knew as little of their age as horses knew theirs, and it is the wish of most masters that I know of to keep their slaves in this ignorance." Douglass uses horses as a comparison to slaves to highlight prejudice against slaves. They are just as enclosed and precious as animals. There was no humanity for them, just work. Freedom, according to Douglass and the slave owners, could be acquired through the accumulation of knowledge. Knowledge could free slaves from their ignorance about their situation, allowing them to rise up and disrupt the systematic nature of slavery. Slave owners would no longer have control of their estates. A wild horse is of no use if it cannot be tamed. Douglass sees the injustice that is happening and begins to try to learn as much as possible and succeeds in educating himself. However, he begins to wonder if education will fully grant him his freedom. He describes the setbacks of education and how he “sometimes felt that learning to read was a curse rather than a blessing.” This had given me an idea of ​​my miserable condition, without remedy. It opened my eyes to the horrible abyss, but no ladder by which to escape.” Douglass uses the analogies of an illness and a deep hole to give the reader a feeling of hopelessness. There is a tone of despair and.