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Frederick Douglass Taking Risk Essay

585 Words3 Pages

Is risk taking worth the effort?
By: Gwen May

Have you ever taken a risk? Risks are things that may have a positive or negative outcome. Whether it is something small like trying something new. Maybe you are experiencing something for the first time and the risk is how you react. Many people take risks like Frederick Douglass, the Challenger crew, and people on the Titanic. Risk taking is a very common thing for people to do, but the outcome is always unknown and lessons are always learned.

In the autobiography Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Frederick Douglass takes many risks. Frederick Douglass was a slave whose goal was to learn to read and write. Even though Douglass knew that he, and the people helping him achieve this goal, could get in serious trouble. Douglass wanted to be treated as a human with all the same qualities. The narrative states, “It is Almost an unpardonable offense to teach slaves to read in this Christian country.” 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’ …show more content…

These impacts can teach lessons. In 1986, The Challenger set off to explore space with 7 explorers aboard. Everything was very smooth until out of nowhere the shuttle starts to explode. At the time the president was Ronald Reagan who was planning to give his Address to the Nation speech, but in light of the situation, he gave a speech about the crew, there risks, and the lessons they’ve taught us. “The Challenger 7 were aware of the dangers but overcame them and did their jobs brilliantly. We mourn the seven heroes…” Ronald Reagan tells the nation. His words prove that though the risk did have negative outcomes, it taught everyone a lesson. Now you can see the negative impacts of risks, ut also examples of the lessons they teach such as perseverance and

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In the article, “Learning to Read and Write” by Frederick Douglass, he achieved to learn how to read and write in the time of slavery in Maryland. At a young age he learned how to be literate. But then he was a slave that not only thought about being free but wanted to learn how to read and write. His mistress only helped him to learn the alphabet, but he was also accused of reading, so she never trusted him to be near a newspaper, book or anything that had to do with reading. Sometimes he would get sent to run errands and he tries to finish it fast so he can read a part in a book that he found or get some lessons.

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They all didn’t allow their setbacks to keep them down. They got up, shook it off and kept moving forward in pursuit of their big goals. (Frederick J. Goodall, page 1). In the end, this movie taught us

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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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In the text it is stated that "[teaching a slave] was unlawful, as well as unsafe" (824) in which Frederick Douglass later recounts as being true. Douglass recounts of the hatred he felt towards slaveoweners upon being enlightened of slavery as a whole. He further states "that at times [he] feels that learning to read had been a curse rather than a blessing. It had given me a view of my wretched condition, without the remedy." This being said, Douglass was distraught at the thought of being a slave forever in which there were very few possibilities of his freedom.

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Frederick Douglass was a slave who wanted to learn how to read. His mistress wanted to teach him but her husband did not approve, so he had to find a different way to learn how to read. He gave the white children down the street bread and in return they would teach him to read. Frederick Douglass grew to not like reading because it reminded him that he would never be free. Douglass’s tone in his Autobiography is angry, this helped him achieve his purpose.

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At this point in time, Frederick Douglass can now use his literacy to teach others and eventually gain freedom for all. He composes a Sunday school to enlighten his, “loved fellow-slaves how to read” (Douglass 90). Clearly, with more and more slaves learning skills like reading, it leads them to understand the need for revolt just like Douglass learned. This education helped jumpstart the discontinuation of

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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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Taking risks is a part of life. Sometimes people risk the lives of others to make their life better. In all the following three texts: The Mosquito Solution, Beowulf, and Iliad, there were part in each story where a person was willing to take a risk no matter the consequence.

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As a slave, he was not allowed to learn how to read or write, as slaveholders believed that educated slaves would be more likely to rebel. However, Douglass was determined to learn how to read and write, and he taught himself how to do so with the help of kind-hearted white children in the neighborhood who taught him the alphabet. Later, he would read newspapers, books, and political pamphlets, which helped him develop a critical view of slavery and fueled his desire for freedom. Learning to read and write was a turning point in Douglass's life

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Taking a risk is doing something that u don’t know if its going to work out or not , go big or go home type of thing. This is a story about how a kid took a real big risk. In Beverley Naidoo’s story OUT OF BOUNDS the problem was was really the cultural conflict between a group called the squatters and the and the Indians. The two main characters where Solani and Rohan. Solani took the greater risk this story will tell you why.

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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

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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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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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