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Thesis statement about frederick douglass education
Frederick douglass life as a slave
Education in frederick douglass documents
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While working on the plantation, Douglass was taught how to read by his slave master’s wife. However, the lessons stopped per the request of his slave master, yet, that did not stop him from continuing to learn how to read. At the age of sixteen, he was sold to a “slave breaker,” named Edward Covey, who was a very harsh slave master. After spending less than a year under Covey’s control, he tried to escape with a group of slaves, but was later caught by authorities and was
“She now commenced to practice her husband’s precepts. She finally became even more violent in her opposition than her husband himself.” (pg.29-31, p.104) Frederick Douglass then found any way to learn to improve his literacy. When he was sent to do errands, he always took a book with him. He would also bring a piece of bread with him.
Slaves were not supposed to be able to read or write and this made it hard. His mistress always got mad anytime she saw him reading. It was hard for him to accept the things he had read since they gave him more details about his race and what he was going through. Douglass learning how to read and write caused him to deal with his readings emotionally and mentally. Alexie thought that him learning how to read made him smart and he was very proud of doing so.
He began to hear about the anti-slavery movement and learned to read and write. Unfortunately, he was sent to work on a farm that was run by a notoriously brutal slave owner. The mistreatment he suffered was immense.
However, 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. Douglass writes that he is now tempted to thank these boys by name, but he knows that they would suffer for it, as teaching blacks still is not socially acceptable during this time. Douglass recalls the boys sympathetically agreeing that he no more deserved to be a slave than they did themselves.
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.
This shows how teaching a slave to read could get everyone in trouble. Though his journey was tough and he didn't have the best resources, he made it through an achieved his goal with perseverance. Douglass’
The autobiography, The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, written in 1845 in Massachusetts, narrates the evils of slavery through the point of view of Frederick Douglass. Frederick Douglass is a slave who focuses his attention into escaping the horrors of slavery. He articulates his mournful story to anyone and everyone, in hopes of disclosing the crimes that come with slavery. In doing so, Douglass uses many rhetorical strategies to make effective arguments against slavery. Frederick Douglass makes a point to demonstrate the deterioration slavery yields from moral, benevolent people into ruthless, cold-hearted people.
Slaves obtaining knowledge or an education were then viewed as unmanageable. One can see that through Frederick Douglass’s gain of education; Slavery began to look more than an imprisonment and his mind would not cease to think. With this depressing state of mind, Douglass would begin to plot for ways to obtain his education. Despite living in a country were teaching slaves was unpardonable, Frederick Douglass began to incorporate various ways for his education. He would hide in a separate room and would be suspected by his mistress that he could be reading a book.
Slavery is equally a mental and a physical prison. Frederick Douglass realized this follow-ing his time as both a slave and a fugitive slave. Douglass was born into slavery because of his mother’s status as a slave. He had little to go off regarding his age and lineage. In the excerpt of the “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
He converted unknowingly little “White boys” that he would meet on the street into his teachers and over time, Douglass finally learned how to read. The young boys that helped teach Douglass how to read would soon grow up and be free to do as they wish, but he would be a slave for life! By learning to read, not only did Douglass gain the knowledge
African-American slaves were forbidden to obtain the knowledge of being able to read or write, stemming from the fear of white masters that educated slaves will overpower them. Douglass managed to learn to read by bribing poor and hungry white boys into teaching him in exchange for bits of bread. Douglass illustrates his thirst for literacy through “[The] bread [he] used to bestow upon the hungry little urchins, who, in return, would give [him] that more valuable bread of knowledge” (pg 23). This reveals how much Douglass valued education and took advantage of all the knowledge he had access to. Today’s youth, especially the ones belonging to a minority
He soon realized what slavery was and he was not impressed at the least. Through reading and writing he grew a hatred for slavery. He eventually thought his ability to read and write was a curse and a blessing. Harriet Tubman was another good example of this, except she did not know how to read and write, she was an ordinary slave. What made her exceptional, was what she did for slaves like her.
Although Frederick Douglass was not expected to be literate, he taught himself how because he believed that education should be for everyone, not just a few privileged children. Frederick Douglass was a slave for life in the southern United States before the Civil War. He had no regular teacher because, at that time, most slave owners did not believe that their slaves should be taught to read and write. White slave owners thought that if slaves knew how to read, they would go against their owners and fight against slavery.
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.
