“The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas an American Slave” tells the story of the author a former slave named Frederick Douglass. After being born into slavery, he eventually escapes becoming a champion for freedom, a distinguished American diplomat, a well thought of orator, and an important writer. He accomplishes all these things despite being denied a formal education. Douglass was able to overcome seemingly insurmountable odds to learn to read and write. This narrative not only illustrated the value of education but, also showed that with determination one can overcome any adversity and succeed.…
Education has always been a part of our way of life since the beginning of time. Not every person is the same; hence the reason everyone learns differently. It all begins at childhood of course; from that parent, parent-like figure or school teacher. However, at a point in one’s life that sense of independence takes over and one finds his or her will to learn more and in their own way. Frederick Douglass and Richard Rodriguez are two great examples of people whose process of learning impacted their lives from childhood to adulthood. Who dares to compare the two? Between these two great men are some similarities even though they grew up in different times and being minorities. From reading the two reading pieces one could focus on how Douglass and Rodriguez’s upbringing, learning methods and their lives were affected by education.…
Education is something so sacred to some people but there are many people that take it for granted as well. "The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me" by Sherman Alexie and "Learning to Read and Write" by Fredrick Douglass, is similar in many ways. Both of these men were so eager to learn when in the meantime so many people that do have the opportunity are so clueless. People are so clueless that there were others, and still are, that wish they were in a position to easily learn. Both of these men were minorities and grew up many years ago where learning was unusual. In their situation it was also forbidden in some ways. Although it was tough for both of them, they both felt compelled to take learning into their own hands. Alexie refused to be like others and Douglass did as well. Both of these men went through an astonishing experience to discover what they did. Not only did they both learn that education is something pleasurable, but they learned that it was difficult.…
Both men had different ways of achieving their education. Sherman Alexie had Superman, his dad, as a guide for him. Alexie watched his dad do better for himself and his family than what a typical Indian was supposed to do. Watching his father read and educate himself was Alexie’s initial motivation for him to want to get his education. Frederick Douglass was one step ahead of Alexie in the fact that he had street smarts. Douglass self-educated himself, he had no one to look up to or to help him. Douglass essentially used the system to gain his education. He not only tricked white boys into teaching him…
Washington presented his approach to an audience on September 18, 1895, when he delivered his Atlanta Compromise Address. In his address, Washington advised blacks to accept discrimination for the time being and concentrate on elevating themselves through hard work and an education and career in an industrial study, such as farming, enterprise, housekeeping, or thrift. He explained that this would earn the respect of whites and eventually incorporate them into society. Washington assured, “No race that has anything to contribute to the markets of the world is going to be in any degree ostracized” (Source D). DuBois, on the other hand, disagreed and argued that social change could only be accomplished by giving the black population a higher education and developing them into cultured individuals. Although well intentioned, DuBois’ plan was quite unrealistic. During this time period, over half of the black population above age nine was illiterate and only about 1/3 of Negros…
As a child he lost his innocence when he saw his Aunt Hester beaten for running of to be with another slave named Ned. “I was terrified and horror-stricken at the sight, that I hid myself in a closet, and dared not venture out till longer after the bloody transaction was over. I expected it would be my turn next.” From this moment on Frederick Douglas is aware of the beatings that occur around him. At first he does not talk about himself being beaten regularly or even getting in trouble. He seemed to have made good connections, especially with his first master. “I was seldom whipped by my master, and suffered little from any thing else than hunger and cold.” , because of this relationship with his master he was afforded the opportunity to go to Baltimore and work for a family there. Going to Baltimore was the catalyst of him finding what he thinks is the key to freedom, education. Very soon after he began living with Mr. and Mrs. Auld, Mrs.Auld began to teach him the alphabet. Though, it was not this that made him value learning to read, or education as a whole for that matter. It was her husband’s response “..if you teach that nigger to (speaking of myself) how to read there will be no keeping him. It would forever unfit him to be a slave.” Frederick Douglas used this to drive his way to freedom. For…
In the excerpt “Learning to Read and Write”, Frederick Douglass talks about his experiences in slavery living in his masters house and his struggle to learn how to read and write. Frederick Douglass was an African American social reformer, orator, writer, and statesman. Some of his other writings include “The Heroic Slave”, “My Bondage and My Freedom”, and “Life and Times of Frederick Douglass”. In this excerpt, Frederick Douglass uses an empathic tone, imagery, certain verb choice, contrast, and metaphors to inform African Americans of how important it is to learn to read and write and also to inform a white American audience of the evils of slavery. I find Frederick Douglass to be relatively persuasive in his argument to his intended audiences.…
In “Learning to Read” Frederick Douglass recounts his journey of becoming educated as a slave. Douglas describes how his slave owners wife treated him with compassion, as one should treat another human, and began teaching him how to read. Under her husband's instruction she stopped, and treated him the same as any other would treat a slave. She would not allow to even hold a newspaper let alone read it. She soon adapted the mindset that slavery and education were incompatible. “If I was in a separate room any considerable length of time, I was sure to be suspected of having a book, and was at once called to give an account of myself.” (405). Having a watchful eye on him turned him to look for teachers in young white boys in the streets. Trading…
To begin with, Douglass and Washington received their education in two different manners. Douglass faced abounding adversities in his pursuit of education. When he left Colonel Lloyd’s plantation at age seven to be a house slave for the Aulds in Baltimore, he met the kind, caring heart of…
Nelson Mandela once said, “ Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” One man who lived up to this quote was abolitionist/orator, Frederick Douglass, Douglass was able to use education as weapon to verbally attack the structures and fight for the abolishment of slavery. Without Douglass being educated then we would not know Frederick Douglass for who he is today. In the narrative Learning to Read and Write the author, Frederick Douglass explains his endeavors to learn how to read and write although he is a slave. After Douglass’s instruction subsequently ended he made multiple attempts to learn how to read and write. As a child, Douglass took the initiative to seek educating himself; he also used his cleverness to gain…
Over the course of Douglass’s life, he came to realize that slavery was a “poor school for the head and heart” (Douglass 4) and steadfastly attempted to transcend the education barrier built up against slaves. After his timely departure from Colonel Lloyd’s plantation, Douglass was transported to Baltimore where he met the Auld family and learned to read. When Mr. Auld heard about his wife’s private sessions he became enraged because education was thought to be linked with autonomous thought processes, which could rival the established authority and potentially lead to insurrection. Although Mrs. Auld was reprimanded for teaching Douglass and was forced to stop, this only increased his desire to read and so he took to the streets and manipulated…
As a child Washington remembers what life was like as a slave. Like many slaves he was unaware of neither his exact date a birth nor the year. Unlike many tales that have been told about the…
In document 1 written by Henry Bibb he talks about how “Books were supplied and she started the school; but the news got to our owners that she was teaching us to read. This caused quite an excitement in the neighborhood. Patrols were appointed to go break it up the next sabbath”(doc 1). So in his paper he talks about how a school for slaves was made by a white lady but then shut down by the neighborhood. Slaves wanted to learn and have an education but were so oppressed by whites and their masters that they weren’t even allowed to own paper in fear that would try and educate themselves and end up running away. In document 11 named Ber Rabbit and Ber Fox the story says “I was goin’ to school all my life,” Rabbit mutters to himself as he walks away from the carnage, “ and learn every letter in de book but d, an’ D was death an’ death was de en’ of Ber Fox” (doc 11). In this story it talks about a rabbit that tricks a fox and ends up killing it and he knew how to do so because he had gone to school his whole life. In this story the rabbit represents a slave and the fox represents the slave owner. This story was written to warn slave owners that if they let their slaves have an education they would end up tricking them and running away or killing them for their freedom. This caused white owners to oppress their slaves more by not letting them learn. Another way slaves worked towards freedom was by resisting and fighting back against slavery and oppression. In pages 278-280 the textbook says “Many enslaved people did whatever they could to fight back against their oppressors. Resistance took many forms including sabotage, such as breaking tools or outwitting overseers, and the more direct method of escape” (p.280). The textbook says that slaves did fight back and resist even if it was smaller things like breaking tools or major things like trying to escape…
When talking about the role that education played in Douglass’s story, one must see that it was one of if not the biggest parts of his narrative. Education was a way to freedom according to Douglass. He felt that slaves could only become free by learning how to read, write, and have an overall educational base to build up on. While Douglas felt that education was his way to freedom, it also leads to him fully understanding the horrors of slavery.…
“Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone, just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages you have.” A favorite quote from the book, The Great Gatsby, fits this essay perfectly. Frederick Douglass’s Learning To Read and Write is part of an intriguing autobiography. A slave learning to read and write was a great accomplishment back then. Additionally, a slave running away was a horrible crime to commit. Douglass points out that slaves were not meant to read or write. He makes a plan to learn how to read from the little white boys on the streets. Freedom, he wanted freedom like any slave would. He found a way to write, he found a way to get his story out to millions, by learning how to write.…