When Douglass became literate, he was finally able to understand the true reality of his wretched condition and how the dehumanization of his people was a great injustice. When we don't have literacy we don't understand the different ordeals that are going on around us. In the event of slavery, slaves were trained to believe that their condition is not as bad as they made it to be. Even though Douglass was beginning to see his people and himself for what they really are, he still feels like learning to read was more of a curse than a blessing. He's not confident that learning is going to be his way out, "It had given me a view of my wretched condition, without the remedy. It opened my eyes to the horrible pit, but to no ladder upon which to get out" (146). Douglas sees all the dreadful treatment his people and himself are receiving. It is similar to being an animal trapped in a cage hoping to get out however, there's no one there to let them out. So, Douglass has take action into his own hands and discover a way to get out of the cage of oppression.
Obtaining knowledge was one of Douglass's main goals. Douglass was determined to learn at all costs, even if the consequences were severe. Before Douglass could read, his mistress taught him the alphabet but she had to stop because her husband forbade her from teaching him. Little did they know it was too late, Douglass says, "Mistress, in teaching me the alphabet, had given me the inch, and no precaution could prevent me from taking the ell" (144). Douglass is saying the mistress only taught him the bare minimum (gave him the inch), but she had no idea that he would continue to push himself to learn to read and write (take the ell). Knowing he would be without an instructor to teach him didn't stop him from seeking out an education. He didn't care about what he had to do to get the information he wanted; he persevered.
