...There is no need to tell how happy I am by facing such an inspiring subject by comparing and contrasting two of the essays that I have read. Malcolm X “Learning to Read , with Frederick Douglass “Learning to Read and Write”. Both Frederick Douglass and Malcolm X set a part an extensive amount of details to describing the process by which they learned to read and write, and, as important, the obstacles that they they confronted. Douglass explains that he had to acquire his reading and writing skills in secretive and, in one of the Important quotes from “Learning to Read and Write” regarding literacy, it said, “he had no regular Teacher” (para .1), and his owner and his mistress consider slavery and education to be incompatible, Douglass equates illiteracy with living in a” mental darkness” (para.1) and, from an early age he devotes Himself to learn first how to read and then how to write by the help of the young white boys. Just as with X, Douglass thrills at the challenges of learning to read and write and, sees this as part of the road to his salvation from “mental darkness” that once enslave him. Similary, X responds responds to his passion to learn to read and write by creating the conditions that made such learning possible despite some challenging circumstances. While in prison, X teaches himself to read by going through dictionary page by page. In order to remember what he has learned, he copied every single page. He explained in one of the...
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...Learning to read and write by Frederick Douglass is a text that I was recommended to read by a friend but I never got the chance but I am glad that I got to do so. I enjoyed reading learning to Read and write because Frederick was able to learn how to write and read in an environment that did not give him the right. After reading his story I have learned that we take being literate for granted and I am thankful that I am literate. I have also learned that being courageous can give you the strength to complete your goals and aspirations. As for Douglas he was a slave and he was lucky enough to his owner's wife Sophia to teach him English but after his owner found out he prohibited Douglass from learning how to read and write and so Douglass...
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...March 16, 2014 English 104 Frederick Douglass Article Analysis In the reading by Frederick Douglass, Learning to Read, he talks about how he learned how to read. He grew up in Maryland and he talks about how his mistress, his slave owners’ wife, taught him the alphabet and how to read. Eventually she stopped, due to him being a slave he wasn’t suppose to know how to read, and Douglass had to continue to learn how to read by himself. One thing Frederick Douglass could have done was to put some details about his family. He never mentioned his mom, dad, siblings or if he had any. If he did it would have interesting to know what they did or felt about him learning to read and write. It would have also been interesting to know if his mom, dad, and siblings were also being taught by the mistress to read as well. If his family wasn’t in the same household with him then he could have elaborated on their whereabouts or just said something about his family would have been good. In this article Frederick Douglass states that “making friends of all the little white boys, I converted them into teachers,” meaning that the little white boys he met he used them to help him read. Douglass could have went into more details about exactly what did the little white boys do that he consider them his “teachers” and how did they do their teachings to him. In the article he just briefly discussed this issue and didn’t get into many details. He did give good details when describing “ I...
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...Even though Frederick Douglass and Malcolm X are both African American men from two different time periods, both authors wrote with similar aspects. Douglass was a slave, while Malcolm was a criminal, both men did not have the ability to obtain a higher form education. It was their desire to learn that divided them from others around them, so the education that they gained changed them. Douglass and Malcolm both grew to understand the importance of an education, as well as being able to read and write, as well as any of the other simply basic parts of an education. In Frederick Douglass’ “Learning to Read and Write” and Malcolm’s “Learning to Read” we can find many similarities and many difference between then men. Frederick Douglass discusses the obstacle of learning to read, he states that “slavery and education were incompatible with each other” (Douglass, 2004, p.101). This quote shows us how hard it was to obtain an education for a slave. Obtaining an education wasn’t only hard for him but he had to do it in silence to protect him and his mistress, who had helped learn his education from his punishment. Although Malcolm X never was a...
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...describes all that he/she had to go through during his/hers life time, explains every single detail because they remember what they felt at that moment, how it felt, the smell, the light, the thoughts, everything. Slaves suffered too much, until they said “enough”. As black slaves, Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs have a lot of common because of the symbolism they used, the theme of how they describe slavery, and the literacy scene in how they did something everyone thought was impossible. For both, Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs, the symbolism of the word “slave” had a deeper meaning than just a word. In “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: an American Slave” is written, “The fatal poison of irresponsible power was already in her hands, and soon commenced its infernal work. That cheerful eye, under the influence of slavery, soon became red with rage; that voice, made all of sweet accord, change to one of harsh and horrid discord; and that angelic face gave place to that of a demon” (Douglass). In this quote, Douglass is describing how the person who bought him for slave changed from being a good person to becoming a demon. The power that corrupts this person which in the story is Mrs. Auld makes her become a bad person by wanting to have control over the slave. This is one example of the symbolism of how Douglass used the transformation of a good person to bad by owning a slave. In “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl” is described, “When he told me that...
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...Frederick Douglass was born into slavery in 1818 of February in Talbot, Maryland. He was named Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey but changed it when he became a free man. He started to call himself Douglass to throw off slave hunters. He tried to escape slavery twice before he actually got away. On his successful escape he had help from a women name Anna Murray she would later become his wife. Douglass escaped slavery at the age of twenty. He is one of the most productive abolitionist speakers and he strongly affected American social policies by writing biographies of his life as a slave also by helping women’s rights, and convincing colored people to become soldiers in the Union Army. Frederick learned how to read and write at a high level...
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...In Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Frederick Douglass was an African American slave. He eventually starts his own abolitionist movement. His mission was to gain freedom for himself and other slaves as he was an abolitionist. Douglass being a slave had a slave owner, but the thing is that Douglass has had multiple slave owners not just one or two. Mrs. Thomas Auld, the wife of Master Thomas Auld was a owner of Douglass for a while and is the first person that begins to teach Douglass. At first Douglass did not want to learn but as Douglass starts to think of how he can become a free man. He realizes learning to read and write is important, as the key for a slave to become a free man is education. Unfortunately Mrs. Thomas Auld is not able to continue teaching Douglass how to read and write. One day while Master Thomas Auld was coming back from work in the city he sees his wife teaching Douglass the ABC’s. He says “If you give a n--------- he’ll take an ell (unit of measure). A n--------- should know nothing but to obey his master – do as he is told to do. Learning would spoil the best n------- in the world . . . .if you teach that n--------- . . . how to...
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...something. He most likely did it a certain way to remember who took the fruits from off the tree. The punishment of that would be severely harsh whippings (David Blight, editor Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, 13). Old Barney is the father slave to young barney which is the son slave. Old Barney’s job description is to care for the houses and make the farm look more acceptable. Old Barney was treated poorly by his slave masters. According to the...
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...evolved to write about only one grievance, instead of many like its predecessors. The reason for this evolution is the African American voice gained freedom and equality, leading authors to explain only one theme they have instead of the many that they face in their daily life. Frederick Douglass who faced slavery and the challenge of teaching himself to read and write, has more themes than that of Langston Hughes, who faced the burden of his faith. But both of these authors faced more challenges than Henry Louis Gates Jr. whose main grievance addressed in his writing is that of African Americans in the school systems. Because of the freedoms and equalities that the African Americans gained they...
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...After you read the chapter on Frederick Douglass, answer the following questions and then respond to one other point that two other people have made in a conversational and investigative tone. Do everything in your power to elicit a response (I can tell if you are trying). In paragraph 2, Douglass describes Mrs. Auld as possessing "the fatal poison of irresponsible power." What are the ethical responsibilities of power in her relationship with Douglass? [By the way, did you notice there is NO comma after "possessing"? Jacobus moves straight into the quote. That is because "possessing" is not a verb of introduction like “writes.”] Mrs. Auld transform from a gentle sweet person to a very vicious slave owner. Assuming that she begins to own a slave, it makes her feel like she is in control over another human being without any moral responsibility. In what sense were the laws of Douglass's time immoral? How can a law be immoral? Have you ever thought a law in your lifetime was immoral?...
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...09/04/2004 “Learning to Read and Write” In “Learning to Read and Write” Frederick Douglass talked about how he started to read as a young salve boy when he lived at Master Hugh’s family with the help of his mistress. His mistress stopped teaching him to command her husband’s direction. Frederick Douglass didn’t stop there; he has to find a way to get his freedom by using his smart idea on his neighbor’s white children. After he learned how to read he taught himself how to write by going to lumber yard and copies the letters on by one, and using the same method from the white children, and his master’s son. Frederick Douglass felt safe and welcomed at the Master Hugh’s family. When his mistress started to teach him, which probably made him feel equal, for whatever reason she turns her back on him. I am assuming her husband’s feared for his life, and family, because teaching a slave wasn’t allowed at that time. From what I understood the young slave boy never felt slave physically at first, because his mistress was very king. When she changed and become against him he was devastated, and felt mentally slave “She at first lacked the depravity indispensable to shutting me up in mental darkness.”Pp.1 it is very sad what it did to him. It looks like the anger pushed him forward to do better; even though he had closely watched never gave up to read. I am impressed how he found a smart way from the neighborhood white children to learn how to read and write to gain his freedom of...
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...“Once you learn how to read you, you will be forever free”- Frederick Douglass. In narrative titled “Learning to Read and Write” written by Frederick Douglass, he focused more on his personal life and experience. He showed people that although he was a slave and it was illegal for slaves to learn how to read and write he still managed to survive because that’s how important education was to him. “Education is that human process of feeling your body mature, feeding your mind with ideas that it never had before, or information it never had. You simply cannot do that on a computer”- Richard Rodriguez. During Richard’s essay he explains how hard it was for him to learn how to read being that he did not have a lot of support from his family. Both...
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...enhancement of learning today. Well-known author, Frederick Douglass, was able to recollect and share his childhood through his book entitled “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass.” Slave Narrative author, Harriet Jacobs, also shared her slave childhood through her book “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl.” Both authors take out a piece of them and put it down on paper for the public to be aware of the things they suffered through. However, the contrast in their gender influences the differences in their experiences. Although it would be coming to an end, Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs were born into slavery. Together, they suffered pain and agony of seeing things that children should see. In recalling their childhood, both authors can remember pain. Douglass watched African-American men and women beaten by their masters for any or no reason at all. Jacobs had her family torn apart from her every time one of her masters died. The two wrote explaining not only their suffering and agony, but also their excitement. Douglass was being taught to read and write by his mistress and even when she was instructed to discontinue his teachings, he continued to learn any way he saw fit. When he describes challenging other boys who he knew could read and write, the reader can feel his accomplishments as well. One could sense how proud he is of himself. As said before, both Jacobs and Douglass were born into slavery. Jacobs, however, did not know she was even a slave until she...
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...under the barn or stable and secured eggs, which he would roast in the fire and eat. That boy did not wear pants like you and I do, but a tow linen shirt. Schools were unknown to him and he learned to spell from and old Webster's spelling book and to read and write from posters on cellar doors, white boys and men would help him. He would then preach and speak and soon become well known. He became United States Elector, United States Marshall, United States Recorder, United States Diplomat and accumulated some wealth. He wore broadcloth and didn't have to divide crumbs with the dogs under the table. That boy was Frederick Douglass." (Taken from a speach by Frederick Douglass promoting his autobiography.) Unlike most of us, Frederick Douglass, who was born in rural Tuckahoe, sometime in February of 1818, did not have a wonderful childhood. Douglass' mother was a slave and his father was thought to have been his mother's owner. After a few weeks with his mother in the cabin pictured above, Frederick was sent to live with his grandmother whom he affectionately called Grandmother Bailey. Grandmother Bailey raised children until they were old enough to work on Captain Aaron Anthony's plantation. At the age of six, Frederick was deemed old enough to work on the plantation. He was not strong enough to carry a hoe or do any picking yet, so the "Old Master" as the slaves called him, made Frederick sweep the walkways, clean the barnyard, drive the cows home and keep the chickens out of the...
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...to be sold as servants for the white man. This time in American history is one of the most brutal and inmoral portions of American history, and although the great American Civil War, brought an end to slavery, it failed to end the pretentious, and discrimination placed on African Americans. In fact following the slavery of the 1800’s many African Americans faced harsher lives, as they were thrown into an American society, unable to read, or write; making...
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