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Pros And Cons Of Reading Frederick Douglass

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“As I writhed under it, I would at times feel that learning to read had been a curse rather than a blessing” (Douglass 45). Frederick Douglass learned, against all odds, to read, and became literate; he spent his time absorbing all the knowledge that he could. However, as Douglass states, and as I do partially concur, that the ability of learning is at times a curse rather than a blessing for more reasons than one, but at the same time I do not believe that this is always the case. “It has given me a view of my wretched condition, without the remedy. It has opened my eyes to the horrible pit, but to no ladder upon which to get out” (Douglass 45). Frederick Douglass, through early guidance of his Mistress, was able to teach himself how to read. However, it was outlawed in the South to teach a slave …show more content…

He realized that the treatment he and all of the other slaves were facing was not common in the other half of the country, nor in the rest of the World. However, what drove him to go as far as to say that the ability to read was a curse was the case that he had no idea how to solve the problem. He had learned to read, and it opened his eyes and left him staring at the darkness in which he was trapped in with no source of light to guide him out. Douglass voices that “In moments of agony, I envied my fellow slaves for their stupidity. I have often wished myself a beast. I preferred the condition of the meanest reptile to my own. Anything, no matter what, to get rid of thinking” (Douglass 45). He uses these words to show that although slavery tortured him physically, the idea that he knew well of the disease bothering his people (slavery), but could not use his knowledge to find a cure, beat him down mentally. I had also faced similar thoughts previously about learning. I had a cousin that had developed a possible life threatening disease, one that had no cure. I tried to research his problem extensively, reading

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Frederick Douglass was taught to read by the mistress of his slave Master. Douglass also had the white kids show him their homework and teach him their learnings. Though Frederick Douglass had tons of writings some of them were never heard or tried to be hidden. During the 1940s and 1950s Frederick Douglass was expunged

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689 Words | 3 Pages

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.

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Frederick Douglass Graphic Organizer 1. In the passage, Frederick Douglass reveals about himself his life story. He writes about his childhood in which he learned to read by exchanging bread for lessons, his thoughts on slavery after reading The Columbian Orator where he had gotten hope on escaping slavery, and how he thought about slavery and freedom after reading one of Sheridan’s mighty speeches. His thoughts on slavery from a young age is revealed at the end of paragraph one where he said “You will be free as soon as you are twenty-one, but I am a slave for life!

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743 Words | 3 Pages

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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In particular, when Douglass learned to read he began reading documents that contained argument against slavery and in doing so, he became conscious of the true horror of slavery. He writes, “I often found myself regretting my own existence and wishing myself dead…” (ch. VII). However, he continues, saying “...and but for the hope of being free, I have no doubt but that I should have killed myself…”(ch.

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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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392 Words | 2 Pages

Douglass encountered multiple harsh realities of being enslaved. For example, the ex-slave was practically starved to death by his masters on multiple occasions. In fact, “[He was] allowed less than a half of a bushel of corn-meal per week, and very little else... It was not enough for [him] to subsist upon... A great many times [he had] been nearly perishing with hunger” (pg 31).

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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

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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836 Words | 4 Pages

Slaves often do not understand their condition fully, since they do not know life beyond slavery. His unawareness of the liberating power of education bound him in a misleading bliss, causing him to believe that his state of being had permanency and to remain unaware of his injustice. However, once education had revealed to Douglass his ignorance, he says, “. . . I would at times feel 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.”

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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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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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1474 Words | 6 Pages

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.

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400 Words | 2 Pages

Knowledge is a very important essential of life because it help us understand and learn through our experience and education by discovering new things. Reading and writing help Frederick Douglass to form and articulate his ideas about slavery by discovering the true meaning behind the word “abolitionist,” which led him the to find freedom. Moving to Baltimore helped Douglass find opportunities at a young age. He realized how important reading was when his masters got upset when he was learning how to read, which gave him the need to learn in order to find out the true freedom behind life. Learning how to read was important to Douglass life because he started to figure out how to read newspapers and books when he was left alone.

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