Avoidance of bitterness

Washington is keen to stress his perspective of avoiding feeling bitterness towards white people.
This is referred to in relation to former slaves and their owners, and also to a lesser degree
between the populations of the North and South after the civil war.

Because of his preference for highlighting the bonds between Southern whites and African
Americans, and for extolling the virtues of forgiveness, a Christian ethos evidently courses
through this work and his life. However, by refusing to engage in an outright condemnation of
the white owners this text may at times be accused of empathising too much with the enemy in a
bid to appease rather than antagonize the Southern white audience.

Dignity in labor
The Tuskegee Institute was developed with this concept of dignity in labor in mind and this
moral runs through the narrative as a central theme. Washington insists that all races should
regard labor as an embodiment of dignity and beauty and he critiques the way in which slavery
has left people viewing manual work as demeaning.

It is possible that the industrial nature of the Tuskegee school may be seen to perpetuate the idea
that manual work is more apt for his African American students rather than white students at
more traditionally academic institutions. In fairness, however, he insists that seeing dignity and
beauty in labor should be a universal and not restricted to African Americans.

THEMES
The value of education
The first and most important theme is the value of education. Booker emphasizes this idea
throughout his autobiography, because as a slave, he had been denied the right to learn and once
he was free, like nearly everyone of his race, he soaked up learning like a sponge.

The dignity of work

A second important theme is the dignity of work. Booker firmly believed that no education was
complete without learning a trade. He believed that there was tremendous value in work and that
his race would never rise up without being able to work a trade in their communities that was
needed by every race.

Slavery
The net of slavery is often thematically presented. Booker believed that slavery affected the
Negroes, but affected the white race morally, and so no one escaped its terrible impact.

The relationship between the races

The relationship between the races is a theme that naturally flows out of the idea of the net of
slavery. Booker came to understand that he had the influence to reach as many people of both
races as possible to convince them how valuable a good relationship between them would be to
the growth of the individual, the community, and the nation.

Success is measured by the obstacles we have to overcome to

reach it and not what we have actually attained
The last theme involves the idea that success is measured by the obstacles we have to overcome
to reach it and not what we have actually attained. Mr. Washington felt that a mans character
was built by how many walls he had to climb over before he reached his goal. It was the process
of achievement that was more important than the finished product.

MOOD
Overall, the mood is one of setbacks interspersed with optimism. Washington emphasizes the
optimism and believes that whites and blacks living together in harmony is not only possible, but
probable in spite of the ghost of the institution of slavery.