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Essay On Learning To Read And Write Frederick Douglass

437 Words2 Pages

Learning to Read and Write
Frederick Douglass was an African-American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. He was born on February 1818 in Maryland. Douglas’s mother is named Harriet Bailey, and his father is an unknown white man rumored to be Douglass’s own master. Douglass was a firm believer in the equality of all peoples, whether black, female, Native American, or recent immigrant. He was also a believer in dialogue and in making alliances across racial and ideological divides, and in the liberal values of the U.S. Constitution. Douglass wrote several autobiographies. He described his experiences as a slave in his 1845 autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, from which “Learning …show more content…

He found his mistress stopping his every attempt to educate himself. She was initially a kind and charitable woman who went out of her way to help the needy, and who didn’t understand that she was supposed to treat slaves as mere property. She becomes more and more malicious. Sophia's efforts to stifle Douglass’s education fall short, because Douglass is determined to educate himself. Douglass has already learned the alphabet and is determined to learn how to read. He gives bread to poor local boys in exchange for reading lessons. These young boys are sympathetic to Douglass’s enslavement, and Douglass refrains from thanking them by name so as to save them the embarrassment of having aided a slave. Despite the challenges he faced, Douglas managed to get a book, The Columbian Orator and used every chance he got to read this book about slavery. After being encouraged to run away to the north for freedom, Douglass began to sit at Durgin and Bailey's ship-yard and taught himself to write. By copying the letters on the crates, Douglass learned to write and impressed many of his peers with his new talent. While both Master Hugh and Douglass' mistress was away, he read books written by Hugh and learned to write in the

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456 Words | 2 Pages

Douglass becomes dedicated to educating himself and his fellow slaves because he sees it as the solution. Douglas secretly began learning how to read on his own. As a exchange of reading lessons Douglass gives bread to poor white boys. Douglas knows there is an association

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743 Words | 3 Pages

In his article, Douglass first explains where he lived and gave acknowledgement to the women who helped him succeed in reading and writing. He says “I had no regular teacher. My mistress, who had kindly commenced to instruct me, had in compliance with advice and direction of her husband, not only ceased to instruct,

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877 Words | 4 Pages

Douglass belong to a well off family. The woman of the house thought him how to read and write some things. Until her husband found out that she was teaching him, then she suddenly stopped and was angry at Douglass, when he was reading. They felt like he would listen to the Irishman when he said “They both advised me to run away to the north; that I should find friends there, and that I should be free.” After losing his only source of teaching he resorted to the lest fortunate white kids for help.

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448 Words | 2 Pages

Douglass befriended all the little white boys and transformed them into educators. (101) Soon enough, he learned how to read. Douglass started reading the “The Columbian Orator”, which taught him more about slavery in result made him hate his enslavers. Douglass states, “I could regard them in no other light than a band of successful robbers, who had left their homes, and gone to Africa, and stolen us from our homes, and in a strange land reduced us to slavery.” (103) Learning to read was also a curse for Douglass because he began learning things about slavery that made him angry.

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793 Words | 4 Pages

Frederick is living with Master Hugh and is self teaching himself because the mistress wants to follow orders from Master Hugh. Even in knowing this it didn’t stop Frederick from pushing towards something he knew he needed. “During this time, I succeeded in learning to read and write. In accomplishing this, I was compelled to resort to various stratagems” (Douglass 50). He was learning and was dedicated by doing multiple strategies to get it done.

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392 Words | 2 Pages

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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1523 Words | 7 Pages

Obviously, a slave is bound to his master , so when Douglass hits Mr. Covey it speaks a powerful message to the general public. He feels at ease, and almost free when he disobeys his master, a path which many slaves wouldn't dare to take. Douglass also was taught to read and write, a forbidden task among slaves as it could make them have status and plot ways to escape their masters, by Mrs. Auld, a former mistress of his. So when Douglass was “sent of errands” he always “took his book” with himself and “by going one part of “ his “errand quickly” he would find “time to get a lesson” before he returned to the Aulds household (Douglass). When Mrs. Auld taught Douglass how to read, it brought his perspective of life as a slave to a whole new level.

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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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973 Words | 4 Pages

The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is Frederick Douglass’s autobiography in which Douglass goes into detail about growing up as a slave and then escaping for a better life. During the early-to-mid 1800s, the period that this book was written, African-American slaves were no more than workers for their masters. Frederick Douglass recounts not only his personal life experiences but also the experiences of his fellow slaves during the period. This book was aimed at abolitionists, so he makes a point to portray the slaves as actual living people, not the inhuman beings that they are treated as. In Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, slaves are inhumanly represented by their owners and Frederick Douglass shines a positive light

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1727 Words | 7 Pages

In many countries living in extremely poor conditions, not only is basic health an issue but also the lack of education. Although it is a necessity, “more than 72 million children of primary education age are not in school and 759 million adults are illiterate” (Rights to Education 1). The deprivation of education should be taken serious if a change is wanted. People need to become aware of how important education is and the benefit that it has.

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1067 Words | 5 Pages

An education often opens new doors for people, but how does a lack of an education affect other people? What causes such a stark difference between people with knowledge and people no knowledge at all? In the Narrative of Frederick Douglass an American Slave we can see that Douglass is more intelligent than the other slaves on the plantation he is living on due to his hidden ability to read. With his level of education, he is able to see the brutal mistreatment of slaves and is unable to look at things the same way when he was an uneducated slave. The slaves on the plantation do not know how to read and therefore do not view being a slave the way Douglass views it.

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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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290 Words | 2 Pages

In his essay "Learning to Read and Write," Frederick Douglass points out how he learned to read and write on his own. Douglass's interest of reading started at a young age when he first read a newspaper. This made Douglass decide one day to come up with a plan on how he can improve his reading. One way Douglass did this was by asking other kids to teach him when they could. In addition, Douglass would always carry around a book to read when he had time on his hands.

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1673 Words | 7 Pages

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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684 Words | 3 Pages

If Ms. Auld didn’t teach Douglass how to write his path to freedom wouldn’t have even started. “After I had learned this, she assisted me in learning to spell words of three or four letters. Just at this point of my progress, Mr. Auld found out what was going on, and at once forbade Mrs. Auld to instruct me further” (40). When Douglass got older and wanted to be a free slave his knowledge came in much handy to help his friends and even himself to escape. “The week before our intended start, I wrote several protections, one for each of us” (78).

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