Throughout the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave we follow as the main character, Douglass, grows as a human being. It is apparent that Douglass is different than most of the slaves that surround him. Douglass becomes set on achieving certain goals, especially when he is told he cannot do something. This becomes apparent in his struggle to learn. Once Douglass is introduced to the concept of reading, he will go to any length to continue to learn as much as he possibly can. This need for learning not only fueled his mind, but his struggle to over come his personal struggle with slavery. Learning to read becomes a mental turning point in his life that helps Douglass grow both emotionally and intellectually so that it eventually enables him to physically take on Mr. Covey. .
Douglass is chosen to go live in Baltimore which has many impacts on not only his mind, but on his body. Baltimore becomes the location where Douglass" first turning point takes place. As a result of being the only slave chosen to go live in Baltimore, Douglass notices that he is special. He says: "I was chosen from among them all, and was the first, last, and only choice." (pg. 75) Douglass was treated so much better than he was by his previous masters, and he became set on the idea that he never wanted to return to any of the previous treatments. The individual treatment that Douglass received forecasted a unique life that Douglass would eventually lead. .
At first, Douglass introduces the reader to his beautiful new mistress who treats him well. This beauty and love that the mistress possessed is soon lost when she is introduced to slavery, and many unfortunate consequences follow. But before she let slavery get to her head, she cared for Douglass, and began to teach him how to read. When the mistress was told to never teach Douglass how to read, it was too late, the little knowledge that she had taught him had already fueled Douglass's desire to learn how to read.
