Instead of being ignorant, he wanted to gain knowledge. After his escape from slavery, he wrote The Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass. It is the story of his life from birth to becoming a free man. According to Fredrick Douglass, The Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass, shows how education was affecting him, society, and the new laws that came into effect. Fredrick Douglass shows how education influenced him to become a free man. His birthplace is in Maryland to a mother who was also a slave and his father is unknown, he later found out that his father was his master. While growing up, he lived in a white family, the home of Mr. and Mrs. Auld. According to Douglass, "he very kindly began to teach me A, B, C. After I learned it, he helped me learn to write three or four letter words", this was the beginning of something new (Douglass ). These few A, B, C were the path to his freedom, however Mr Auld was not happy with this situation. He believed it was illegal to allow a slave to read. It was also a