Knowledge is Power

Literacy is highly important for liveration because it gives people power. Without knowledge, those who are unfortunate will be controlled by those who abuse the power of knowledge. To me, literacy is important because it opens new doors for the future, and that is liberating because I no longer have to depend on others that know things I know as well.

The power of literacy enlightens people and gives them better, more-structured perspectives of certain things, and, if they are bound to other people due to their ignorance, literacy liberates them by giving them the knowledge of freedom and the courage to fight for their beliefs. In the Narrative of Frederick Douglass, slaves are illiterate and are forced to remain that way because of the fear slaveholders have that they might rebel, as Mr. Auld told his wife, "if you give a nigger...A nigger should know nothing...there would be no keeping him...to his master." (34) Douglass realizes the strength of this power and seeks to treasure and increase it, as stated in quote, "It was a new and special revelation, explaining dark and mysterious things, with which my youthful understanding had struggled...I now understand what had beem to me a most...to wit, the white man's power to enslave the black man...I understood the pathway from slavery to freedom." (34) He sought to continue learning no matter what, because to gain more knowledge meant to get closer to freedom, as he said in his realization, "Though conscious of the difficulty of learning without a teacher, I set out with hope...to learn to read." (35)

Literacy has freed me because it has taught me how to find the path to better opportunities. I came to this country five years ago, and I knew nothing about it; I could not speak English, had no idea what the school environment was like, and I knew no one to help me understand. So I took English lessons for a year and six months, and I learned to read English, speak it, write it, and of course, understand it, quickly.

Speaking English and learning new things helped me communicate with others. It helped me understant my lessins in school, and it made my life better. Learning as much as possible throughout my life has opened my eyes and given me interest to learn even more, making me a better person for the future.