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Frederick Douglass And Freedom Essay

570 Words3 Pages

The ability to read and write has been a sign of intelligence and superiority for centuries. Frederick Douglass, a former slave and abolitionist in the 1800s, proves this remarkably when he wrote in a well written essay, “Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.”. At the time this phrase was written very literally in the sense of him escaping to freedom with the help of his literary ability but, this statement can still be applied today in a more figurative respect. Seeing as at the time Douglass wrote the essay roughly 12% of the world could read or write compared to in today's time a little over 80% of the world is literate, his statement on freedom would be more applicable in the advancement in reading and writing rather than just the basic knowledge. The people of today can gain freedom through literacy through giving an outlet of expression, understanding, and curiosity. Literacy frees us in a creative sense through the ability to make and interpret art. Art allows humans the ability to express themselves creatively and emotionally. Without the knowledge of literacy; poems, powerful essays, and speeches could not exist. Being able to create as one pleases to is true freedom. It allows the brain to easily communicate what it wants in a beautiful and artistic fashion with no …show more content…

Knowledge and learning new things from reading makes the brain ask more questions. These question are our brains developing new thoughts and hypothesis on the world which leads to even more knowledge. Besides general questions about the world reading and writing also connects to different subjects such as in maths and sciences. This means that literacy not only frees us in the literal sense as Frederick Douglass used in his essay, and not just the figurative sense of freeing us in the subjects of reading and writing but, literacy frees us in all aspects of education and the world in

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