This privilege became something so sacred to Douglass that he could not get enough of it and was determined to continue to learn as much as he possibly could, even behind his master's back. .
Douglass began stopping schoolboys on his way to or from work and using them as his teachers. Douglass would bring bread from the house with him on these journeys and pay the young white children with it. These were only the first few steps of Douglass's search for knowledge; he would go to many lengths to gain the intelligence he was seeking. This new found knowledge gave Douglass a strong will and determination that would come very handy in his fight for freedom. .
Douglass" hatred for slavery began to grow the more he read. Douglass" hatred got to the point where he began to regret ever learning how to read. He wished he was just as dumb as the other slaves so that he would not know any better. He states out of anger: .
The more I read, the more I was led to abhor and detest my enslavers As I read and contemplated the subject, behold! That very discontentment which Master Hugh had predicted would follow my learning to read had already come, to torment and sting my soul to unutterable anguish. As I writhed under it, I would at times feel that learning to read had been a curse rather than a blessing. It had given me a view of my wretched condition, without the remedy. (pg 84).
Master Thomas had said that it would make him "discontented and unhappy" if he learned how to read, and to Douglass, Master Thomas was correct. Douglass was given a skill, which only made him more knowledgeable about his situation, and knowing that he might be a slave for life only made things worse. The unhappiness that Douglass faced was a result of him being different, and this would only become a small setback in his quest for freedom. .
The difference that now separated Douglass from the rest of the slaves was that the other slaves did not know any better.
