Frederick Douglass Learning To Read And Write

“Learning to Read and Write” by Frederick Douglass is an biography about how when he was a young boy living in slavery all he wanted to do was learn to read and write, hence the title. He had to learn by making friends with poor white kids and have them help him learn. Even though these boys were poor they still had more rights and could learn freely, so this made things difficult for Frederick. He had to wait for his master to leave to be able to attempt any kind of educational skill. The author wrote this narrative of his life to inform the reader how hard learning to read and write was back then for a slave. Frederick Douglass uses his own experience with how he became literate instead of making a story up or giving the reader facts on
what life was like for a slave. The author’s choice of words are educated and substantial to almost prove to everyone that even though he was a slave and forbidden to receive an education, he still was able to write better than most educated people. He even states in the passage that he told a white boy that he was going to be a better writer than him. The desire for him to read was so vast. Ironically, once he finally learned to read, the information he learned made him question whether or not he made the right decision. The point that the author was trying to make was well achieved. He not only wanted people to learn the difficulties of his life, but to be appreciative of their education today. This narrative displays Frederick Douglass point of how he obtained an education during slavery.