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Critical Analysis Of Learning To Read And Write By Frederick Douglass

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In Frederick Douglass's essay "Learning to read and write” he recalls the journey to enlightenment showcasing the emotions of joy, hunger, heartache and hope. For example learning to read sparked an unstoppable joy for knowledge. In addition the discovery of that knowledge found Douglass hungry for more. Also the quest for intelligence came at a price causing him a great amount of heartache. Finally a simple thought of the future brought the hope that ultimately inspired him to persevere and succeed in learning to read and write. From the moment Frederick Douglass was given the tools to read “books” he was overcome with a joy and excitement for knowledge that inspired him to persevere regardless of the beliefs of others. As a slave Douglass was sent to live with his masters the Hugh family, during his time there his master’s wife began to teach him to read “books”. The lessons gave the young boy a chance to explore worlds he never imagined and was the beginning of an undeniable love for literature. Unfortunately when his master was informed of this he immediately halted all the lessons. Douglass recalls Mr. Hugh explaining to his wife that studying “books” was not suitable for slaves and …show more content…

Ever since he learned the letters of the alphabet Douglas was flooded with a joy for reading “books”. The hunger for enlightenment found him in the oddest of places seeking his lessons. Out of the knowledge came a pain that would have broken a normal man but in the end only fueled the drive to learn. Through the painful times it was his hope for the future and all he hoped to accomplish. Douglass’s rise from the “pit” should act a source of empowerment for anyone who has ever felt slighted, trapped or has been treated as a lesser for they are much more powerful than they

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Douglass knew that the only way to be treated like a human being -- and eventually become on of the most successful black men of the nineteenth century -- was through learning. Learning can be tough and painful, but it is through the pain that people grow and learn to thrive. Both the man in Plato’s Republic and Frederick Douglass learned to breathe through the pain as they went about their learning experiences. Both works illustrate the idea of enlightenment through learning and how painful the brutal reality of truth is. While one is metaphor and one is autobiographical, they show that if one can learn to get passed the pain, you can free yourself and experience a world you never knew

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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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In “learning how to read and write,” Fredrick Douglass tells about how he achieved the ability to read and write. Thou, it seems like an easy task, Douglass accomplished his goals in a time where society condoned slavery. Despite all the barriers Douglass faced, he accomplished his journey, and learned to read and write; therefore engaging the audience to overcome any obstacles just as he did.

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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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He realized how extraordinary his life was, so he began writing about it. His writing is so important to the history of mankind because it reminds us of the hardships that African Americans used to endure during slavery. In today’s society, people, especially children, take for granted our most common things, such as being literate. Nowadays, every child across the nation is taught how to read and write at a very young age. Douglass’ writing shows us that this was not always the case, and that the gift of knowledge is something that should always be cherished, let alone at least be sought out

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Frederick Douglass in his narrative “Why I learned to Read and Write” demonstrates how he surpassed many obstacles along the way towards getting an education. These obstacles not only shaped Frederick’s outlook on life but also influenced him in his learning to read and write. Frederick’s main challenge was that of not being an owner of his person but rather a slave and a property to someone else. Frederick Douglass lived in the time when slavery was still taking place and slaveholders viewed slavery and education as incompatible. The slave system didn’t allow mental or physical freedom for slaves; slaveholders were to keep the apt appearance and slaves were to remain ignorant.

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Frederick Douglass and his description of learning how to read is an example of a terrifying pursuit of knowledge that ended up haunting him. Douglass recounted that reading “Torment and sting my soul to unutterable anguish… It opened my eyes to the horrible pit, but to no ladder upon which to get out” (230). For Douglass, learning how to read brought a current of negative emotions because he finally realized how he would never get the freedom he desired. Moreover, enlightenment caused him to feel a sense of overwhelming pain because there was nothing he could do.

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Education Determines Your Destination Education is the light at the end of the tunnel, when Frederick uses it he discovers hope. In the story the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Frederick goes through many struggles on his path to freedom, showing us the road from slavery to freedom. At the beginning of the book, Douglass is a slave in both body and mind. When the book ends, he gets both his legal freedom and frees his mind. The path to freedom was not easy, but it got clearer when he got an education.

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The legendary abolitionist and orator Frederick Douglass was one of the most important social reformers of the nineteenth century. Being born into slavery on a Maryland Eastern Shore plantation to his mother, Harriet Bailey, and a white man, most likely Douglass’s first master was the starting point of his rise against the enslavement of African-Americans. Nearly 200 years after Douglass’s birth and 122 years after his death, The social activist’s name and accomplishments continue to inspire the progression of African-American youth in modern society. Through his ability to overcome obstacles, his strive for a better life through education, and his success despite humble beginnings, Frederick Douglass’s aspirations stretched his influence through

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“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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Because of this, he successfully creates a contrast between what the slave owners think of and treat the slaves and how they are. Douglass says that slave’s minds were “starved by their cruel masters”(Douglass, 48) and that “they had been shut up in mental darkness” (Douglass, 48) and through education, something that they were deprived of, Frederick Douglass is able to open their minds and allow them to flourish into the complex people that they are. By showing a willingness to learn to read and write, the slaves prove that they were much more than what was forced upon them by their masters.

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With all the knowledge he was gaining, he began to comprehend everything around him. The things he was learning fascinated him, but the “more [he] read, the more [he] was led to abhor and detest [his] enslavers”(Douglass 35); however, that should not be viewed as a negative affect but a positive one. No one should want to be deceived for their entire life. This hatred that he built up motivated him to continue to further educate himself. As a result, he later motivated other slaves to earn an education by having “[availed] themselves to [an] opportunity to learn to read” (Douglass 69) by Douglass teaching them every Sunday.

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Human slavery requires ignorance, just as an individual’s freedom, from oppression, requires knowledge attained by education. To maintain order and control over slaves, slavery demands ignorant slaves; thus, keeping slaves ignorant prevents slaves from recognizing the empowering value of education and education’s ability to liberate slaves from the effects of ignorance. Frederick Douglass’s pursuit of education helped him discover the dark, hidden truths of slavery in his article, “How I Learned to Read and Write.” Thus, the pursuit of education inspires a desire for freedom. The desire to learn generates determination and motivation.

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Throughout the Narrative of Frederick Douglass, we can see Douglass state in the Narrative that learning how to read changed his

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However, literacy turns out to be not only bliss, but also painful. Indeed, while learning to read Frederick becomes more and more aware of the injustices of slavery, and this leads him to regret this knowledge “Learning how to read had become a curse rather than a blessing” ( Douglass ) . Douglass believes in the importance of education. He thinks that education is a key part to our life; it is the only way to get freedom. Literacy is very powerful because it can set anyone free to pursue dreams.

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