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Compare And Contrast Learning To Read And Write By Frederick Harriet Jacobs

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Reading Journal #5 Adrian A. Tristán Compare and contrast the themes and literary elements in Frederick Douglass’s “Learning to Read and Write” with Harriet Jacobs’ selections from Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. To what extent do the literary elements perform or otherwise relate to the themes in each? Poem 1: Frederick Douglass’s “Learning to Read and Write” is a story of persistence and resilience. The essay outlines Douglass’s path to becoming literate, highlighting various challenges and difficulties he encountered as a young man. Similarly, Harriet Jacobs’ “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Seen Years Concealed” follows the early childhood of a young girl born into slavery. The first few chapters lay out the foundation of the book, particularly highlighting stories of her parents, first mistress, and the new family whom she later served. When reading these wonderful …show more content…

For example, when talking about a plethora of lessons he’s learned in his lifetime, Whitman asks “Has any one supposed it is lucky to be born?” and “Do you guess I have some intricate purpose?” as a way to directly connect with his audience. This analytical strategy allows us, his audience, to form a connection with him by thinking critically about every idea he lays upon us. As such, this forces readers to engage with the author’s questions and continue being intrigued with his messaging and underlining points. Additionally- like Dickinson, Whitman uses vivid imagery, such as “The play of shine and shade on the trees as the supple boughs wag,” to paint various pictures—whether it be the background of a scene or a feeling his encountering—in a clear, compelling, and creative way. The author’s use of detailed verbiage and robust wording acts to make the reader imagine his thoughts artistically and

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260 Words | 2 Pages

In his letter, Frederick Douglass take hold on the effect of concrete imagery, syntax, and formal diction to not only demonstrate his experience of learning how to read and write as a slave; but also to inform the audiences the importance of learning and the malevolent face of slavery. Frederick Douglass’s concrete imagery, such as “thus after a long years, I finally succeed in learning how to write.” (page 128), and “they gave tongue to interesting thought of my own soul, which I frequently lashed through my mind and died away for want of utterance.” (page 127); underscore how important learning is to Frederick Douglass. “they gave tongue to interesting thought of my own soul, which I frequently lashed through my mind and died away for want

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548 Words | 3 Pages

Paper Two Fredrick Douglass’ essay “Learning to Read and Write” narrated how he accomplished to teach himself how to read and write. Maneuvering through many obstacles, he managed to use his advantages to learn. He talks about his struggles and the hard ships he went through at a young age to lead him to where he is now. I agree with Douglass’ main point in the essay being how hard it was for him to learn. He gives clear examples of how being a slave and wanting to learn was very hard back in them 1800’s.

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600 Words | 3 Pages

Learning to Read and to write is a sample of Fredrick’s Douglass literature. An African- American who was born in Maryland and was supposed to become a slave for his entire life. In his piece of writing ‘’Learning to Read and Write’’, the author tells the reader how learning the basic rules of reading and writing was a challenge while being a slave. Besides being a young twelve year old boy who does not own his personal life, his doesn’t deserve the right to eradicate the disease of illiteracy from his life for the only reason that many other Africans and Indians suffer from, slavery. The first audience of Douglass’s text is everyone who read ‘’Narrative of the life’’ from which the text was excerpted as well as whoever is in the same situation as being a slave or feeling concerned

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299 Words | 2 Pages

Frederick Douglass in his article, Learning to Read and Write, tells about his struggle to learn to read and write in the 1800’s because he was a slave. He uses an anecdote, pathos, and personification to support his actions to not let slavery prevent his education. The majority of his article is a personal anecdote telling of his struggle to learn to read and write. In his narrative, he appeals to the readers’ emotions in order to make them better understand his actions and situation. He does this by using imagery to describe his situation, using descriptive words to explain his desire to learn, and telling about the change his mistress went through.

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743 Words | 3 Pages

Many of us take education for granted and don’t learn to our fullest potential, but Fredrick Douglass soaked in every piece of information up because he knew it was his way out. “Learning to Read and Write” is a famous article based on what Fredrick Douglass went through to earn a valuable education while being enslaved. Author Fredrick Douglass, wrote “Learning to Read and Write”, published in 1845. Throughout the article, he takes us through different events he goes through while being enslaved. Douglass begins building his credibility with personal facts and successfully demonstrating logic and pathos appeal.

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184 Words | 1 Pages

“Learning to Read and Write” is a narrative writing that successfully grabbed the attention of readers in the context of society in Maryland between 1830–1840. Frederick Douglass, the author of the writing, was born a slave in 1818 in Maryland (Douglass 100). At that time, a slave who was able to read and write was unacceptable and like a crime in society. Douglass, an ambitious and strong-minded man, would learn to do both read and write. That was amazing!

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352 Words | 2 Pages

Suly Alejandre English 120 11 September 2016 “Critical Reading Response “ In the excerpt “Learning to Read and Write”, Frederick Douglass who was an African-American social reformer, abolitionist, writer and statesman, illustrates the hardships that he endured during the era of slavery to be able to become literate. Douglass supports his assertion by reminiscing about his childhood struggles not only through the inherent hate and oppression in slavery but also the gradual learning process he developed himself and by being able to overcome slavery. Douglass starts to talk about the poor children “ when he would be sent to do errands he would always take his book and would carry bread that he used to bestow upon the hungry little urchins,

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826 Words | 4 Pages

The essay we chose is untitled “Learning to read” and was written by Frederick Douglass, an abolitionist activist from the ninetieth century. In the essay he tells us the struggles he had gone through to learn how to read, something that would be considered today as normal. In the following paragraphs, we will argue whether, his essay could be used as credible and useful source for an academic research paper. Frederick Douglass is a public figure well known in the world for his contribution to the abolitionist movement in the ninetieth century.

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564 Words | 3 Pages

Frederick Douglass talks about how growing up in slavery affected him and how he learned to read a little from his master's wife. When her husband found out about it he was furious so Douglass had to turn to kids in the streets to teach him. Frederick Douglass took the risk of learning to read and write when he was forbidden to. In the outcome of the risk Frederick Douglass took he learns to read and write and realizes the horror of his circumstances. He wrote¨ It had given me the view of my wretched condition, without the remedy.¨ (paragraph 7,Douglass).

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1722 Words | 7 Pages

Within the lives of most, there is a point in time where one begins a journey of knowledge. One’s way of thinking changes drastically from the beginning of a journey to the end, due to an exposure to a new way of thinking along the way. Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” and the piece “Learning to Read and Write” by Frederick Douglass are two literary pieces that both reflect on great journey’s embarked on by the protagonists. The “Allegory of the Cave” presents a protagonist who goes on a journey to enlightenment and conceptualizes his experiences. “Learning to Read and Write” is a narrative of Douglass’ experience learning to read and write as a slave and how his perception of his own life differed going forward.

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560 Words | 3 Pages

“Learning to Read and Write” by Frederick Douglass is a personal narrative which describes a specific time in his childhood when he was learning to read and write. Born as a slave in the pre-Civil War south, Douglass was not expected to be literate. However, through strong ambition, Douglass overcame restrictions and stereotypes placed on slaves and taught himself to read and write. Later in his life, Frederick Douglass wrote down this story in his book Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass in 1845. Today, students and adults can enjoy this narrative on how he overcame the struggles of learning how to read and write.

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1080 Words | 5 Pages

In Frederick Douglass’s narrative essay titled “Learning to Read” he recalls his journey to literacy. Throughout the essay Douglass reveals how he learned to read and write, despite the fact that education was strictly prohibited to slaves. Initially, Douglass learned how to read through his mistress, but he later learned from the little white boys on the streets. As for learning to write, he often times observed ship carpenters and replicated the copy-books of his Master’s son. Frederick Douglass did not have the same opportunities students have today, yet despite his adversities, Douglass was able to become a literate slave, and ultimately free himself from slavery with the power of

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409 Words | 2 Pages

Walt Whitman is regarded as one of America’s most significant 19th century poets. He was an American poet, essayist, journalist, and humanist whose works, described as a “rude shock,” have been translated into more than 25 languages. Whitman is considered one of the most influential and controversial poets in the American canon. His literary style was a free verse, described as “irregular but beautifully rhythmic" in celebration of nature and self. It represented his philosophical view that America was the world’s emancipator and liberator of the human spirit, and the symbolic identification of regeneration in nature.

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2414 Words | 10 Pages

To do so, Whitman used his poetic writing style, deeply emotional narration, vivid imagery, and diary format to expose audiences to the horrors of the Civil War. Common poetic literary devices, pleas for emotions, strong imagery, and diary formatting all reached their hands out to the audience to try to help interest readers in how awful the Civil War truly was, making sure to prove that war, and the Civil War more specifically, should not be glamorized or

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914 Words | 4 Pages

One way that Whitman conveys his poetry is through the eyes of the everyday man. In this period of American history, the civil war was ongoing, and his poetry did not shy away from the everyday

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