Is Arrogance Better Than Knowledge?

Is arrogance better than knowledge? This is one of the most important topics brought up by Douglass in chapter seven.  According to Douglass, his knowledge "relieved" (51) him "of one difficulty" (51) but brought him "even more painful" (51) difficulties.  He envied the other ignorant slave.  They knew not of the possibilities.  Therefore, they accepted their lives as slaves without even pondering how life could be if they were free.  Douglass did not have that luxury.  All he wanted to do was escape as soon as he began to read the newspaper.  He began to discover the possibilities of abolishing slavery and wanted it more than anything.  He says that learning how to read was his "curse" (51).  His master's wife taught him the alphabet.  After that she stopped because her husband scolded her.  He told her that he would become knowledgable and gain his freedom.  From there, everything went downhill.

I don't understand why Douglass finds his knowledge to be his curse.  He escaped. That is what he wanted isn't it? Why is he complaining? Yes, it took time, but what doesn't? I find it ridiculous that he is incapable of being grateful that he discovered how to escape.  Obviously I have never been in his position. However, I can relate in terms of choosing knowledge over ignorance or vise versa. With that said, I can carry on with my argument. I completely disagree with him! A person should welcome knowledge.  You can never be too knowledgable.  Yes, it sucks that he is treated like a barbarian, but at least he knows that it isn't right.  If he didn't, he would live like any other slave.  He wouldn't have escaped and he would have died as one.  I have pity for him for being knowledgable.  He is probably one of the luckiest slaves.  He was the "chosen one" in a way.  He, out of all others, was chosen to go to Baltimore.  He was chosen to learn the alphabet.

There are always two ways to look at a situation.  You can always look at the glass as half full or half empty.  Douglass is looking at it half empty instead of half full.  Of course he is upset! He isn't looking at all of the wonderful possibilities he had.  He could have made a difference by teaching other slaves to read.  He could have taught them that it wasn't right for white men to treat them as vermin.  He could have acknowledged that fact that there were white men rooting for the slaves.  Yet, he didn't.  Instead he only focused on himself.  He waited for the right moment to escape.  The only difference he made was for himself, not the african americans in slavery.  I pity him for having to live most of his life as a slave, but I absolutely do not pity him for having acquired knowledge.