Douglass does not hesitate to describe in great detail the cruelty and hypocrisy he witnessed throughout his life before reach a period where he is free. He highlights the lack of empathy (what differentiates a human from a robot or machine) among slave owners. It is limited in certain inalienable rights guaranteed to every person such as the right to read and write. Douglass explains how he rebelled against the system where slave owners reigned supreme. He soon discovers that deception becomes the battery that powers the engine of slavery. Because if a slave cannot read, he will not understand. “He who proclaims that reading the Bible is a religious duty denies me the right to learn to read the name of the God who created me” (116). Once Douglass learns to read, the deception created by slavery that has clouded his mentality evaporates and the shame toward morality is quickly visible. The story is a reminder of what we most commonly take for granted, namely the rights and freedoms that are guaranteed to us not only by our government, but also by simply being the equivalent of someone other than ourselves. This in itself raises the question of what it actually means to be