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The narrative of frederick douglass freedom and education
The narrative of frederick douglass freedom and education
Frederick Douglass escapes to freedom
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In Fredrick Douglass’s “Learning to Read and Write,” Douglass tells of his journey to become literate. By doing so as a slave, this was not only a dangerous feat, but a remarkable ordeal. Though Douglass had some help, he took control of the situation, and, in his own life. Douglass believes that the most “valuable bread of knowledge,” is being able to read and write. This allows Douglass to obtain freedom in a way that is acceptable for him. Not only that, but with the freedom, he can now learn about the world around him. While the grasp of the new environment excited him, there were times when his knowledge hurt him. This is evident in paragraph seven. Douglass mentions how when he was “regretting my own existence,” he then listened closer to the discussions of slavery. He heard the word abolitionists used in multiple contexts, and he made it his goal to learn what the word meant. …show more content…
Douglass’ first step to learning the word abolitionist was to look in the dictionary, yet all he found was “the act of abolishing.” This led him to question whether or not he was supposed to know what it meant.
One day, however, he picked up the paper, from which he read an article about “the number of petitions in the north, praying for the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia, and the slave trade between the states.” That was the moment that Douglass learned what the words abolition and abolitionist meant, which were two words that were very significant to him and his case scenario. Abolishing means “formally put an end to.” Whenever Douglass heard the word used he “always drew near when the word was spoken, expecting to hear something of importance to my fellow slaves.” If there was any mention of Douglass having the chance to be free, whether mentally or physically, he wanted to take the opportunity to at least gain the
knowledge. The process of how Douglass learned the two words was also very significant. He put forth the effort and interest in learning how to read. His mistress taught him the alphabet, and even though she would later disapprove of this, “Mistress in teaching me the alphabet…taking the ell.” From there, he would ask little white boys around the neighborhood to then teach him and in exchange for them “giving me that more valuable bread of knowledge” he would give them bread. Douglass uses his reading comprehension he has gained over the years as a slave, to help him with the understanding of not only the words abolitionist and abolishment, he also has applied it to help him learn more about the world itself.
One day, Douglass eavesdrops on him and Mrs. Auld’s conversation. Mr. Auld persuades her that reading “could do him (Douglass) no good, but a great deal of harm.” (page 39) This antithesis along with the rest of his statement makes Douglass come to the realization that literacy is equated with not only individual consciousness but also freedom. From that day on, Douglass makes it his goal to learn as much as he can, eventually learning how to write,
Once Douglass learns to read, and gets his first book, “The Columbian Orator” he is immediately exposed to arguments against the suffering he is experiencing. Among the speeches in “The Columbian Orator” there is a dialogue between a slave and his master in which the slave convinces the master to grant him freedom. Douglass is like Adam and Eve after then ate the apple. He is enlightened, and he can never go back. Not only is he isolated from his brothers because of his intelligence, but he is also guilty of a serious crime. It is no wonder that Douglass views his knowledge as a curse, it has so far caused him nothing but pain, and isolation. Ignorance is bliss.
... and unhappy (Douglass 78).” Learning how to read was as big a step towards freedom for Douglass as it was back. It made him aware of the circumstances but it also made him realize how difficult it would be for him to ever find himself a free man. However, knowledge overpowers ignorance in the sense that his masters could never take his ability to read away from him and because Douglass now knew his condition, he knew that he deserved a better life.
In order for Douglass to reach his goal of becoming a free man he thought the only way out was education. He needed to learn how to read, write, and think for himself about what slavery was. Since literacy and education were so powerful to Frederick he persevered to get himself the education he wanted. …. Douglass knew it wouldn’t be easy, but that didn’t stop him. Douglass realized the “ conscious of the difficulty of learning without a teacher, I set out with a high hope, and
America in the mid to early nineteenth century saw the torture of many African Americans in slavery. Plantation owners did not care whether they were young or old, girl or boy, to them all slaves were there to work. One slave in particular, Frederick Douglass, documented his journey through slavery in his autobiography Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. Through the use of various rhetorical devices and strategies, Douglass conveys the dehumanizing and corrupting effect of slavery, in order to show the overall need for American abolition. His use of devices such as parallelism, asyndeton, simile, antithesis, juxtaposition and use of irony, not only establish ethos but also show the negative effects of slavery on slaves, masters and
Their education had given them a new perspective of everything around them—a glimpse to a whole new world. Upon learning to read, Douglass began to realize how an education could ruin slaves. With education, comes enlightenment, and for him his enlightenment was the realization to the injustices going on around him. With him finally being able to read, he understood more fully the implications of slavery sometimes served to make him more miserable as he came to comprehend the hopelessness of the situation for himself and the other slaves. He states in his narrative, “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. Any thing, no matter what, to get rid of thinking! It was this everlasting thinking of my condition that tormented me” (268) because he realized that his knowledge came at a cost—he knew that there was nothing normal and right about slavery, yet he had to live as one—whatever knowledge he had attained, festered in his mind and made him even unhappier with the conditions and treatment than
As a relatively young man, Frederick Douglass discovers, in his Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, that learning to read and write can be his path to freedom. Upon discovering that...
Literacy plays an important part in helping Douglass achieve his freedom. Learning to read and write enlightened his mind to the injustice of slavery; it kindled in his heart longings for liberty. Douglass’s skills proved instrumental in his attempts to escape and afterwards in his mission as a spokesman against slavery. Douglass was motivated to learn how to read by hearing his master condemn the education of slaves. Mr. Auld declared that education would “spoil” him and “forever unfit him to be a slave” (2054).
“How I Learned to Read and Write” by Frederick Douglass is the story of one young man’s pursuit for intelligence, proficiency, and literacy. This selection describes the challenges Douglass himself faces as he conquers his aspirations to read and write amidst his enslavement. The literary nonfiction forms that I found to be most prevalent throughout the excerpt were a sense of place, and personal experience. Innumerable times throughout Douglass’s essay he refers to specific locations, establishing the setting in which his story takes place. Douglass gives an account of various personal experiences during the whole of the discourse, granting readers the opportunity to connect individualistically with the author. Correspondingly, Douglass merges all together the two forms, a sense of place as well as personal experience within the piece.
Fredrick Douglas is a well known figure in the abolishment movement through his narrative “Learning to Read and Write,” Douglas shares his own personal journey of how he learns to read and write. His organization helps the reader get a better grasp of the stages in his life; his innocence, his epiphany, his loathing and finally his determination. Through the use of syntax and diction, metaphors and the use of irony, he portrays the thoughts that went through his mind as a slave.
In this final research analysis, I will be doing a comparison between the “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass” and the “Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson” to show how both Douglass and Rowlandson use a great deal of person strength and faith in God to endure their life and ultimately gain their freedom.
In the other hand he did achieve success through reflection because he was really realizing what what the situation he and his fellow slaves were experience. “As I writhed under it, 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,with ot remedy. It opened my eyes to the horrible pit” Here we can see that through his knowledge it began to make him more aware about what was happening but it also caused him to reflect on the situation he was in. He at one point believed that they may have not been a remedy for the condition that he was in. However, Douglass started to hear that the word abolished is mentioned a lot even though he did not know the exact word he was curious. For instance, “ I didn 't know what was to be abolished. Here I was perplexed. I did not dare to ask anyone about its meaning,for I was satisfied that it was something they wanted me to know very little about. After a patient waiting, I got one of our city papers, containing an account of the number of petitions from the north,praying for the abolition of slavery..” Later on it then states that he finally was able to understand and it allowed him to reflect and be able to see a solution that can make the lives of him and his fellow slaves better. “ From this time I understood the
Douglass was not aware of what slaves were and why they were treated in a bad condition before he learns how to read. He was deeply saddened upon discovering the fact that slaves were not given the rights every human being should have. In an effort to clarify Douglass’s feelings of anguish, he states: “In moments of agony, I envied my fellow slaves for their stupidity” (Douglass 146). The fact that other slaves are content with their lives is what brings awareness to him because he knows that he is stripped of basic human rights. He envies his fellow slaves due to the reason that they are pleased with the life he cannot live to like anymore. Also, he is often wishing he never learned how to read because he doesn’t want to burden about his life. Douglass knows more about the disturbing conditions than most of the slaves around him, but he greatly regrets it. Before he started reading, he lived very much in contentment and now he cannot stand the fact of being
Literacy for Frederick is not only about liberating himself but also about being a part of society and community - which were continually denied to him as a slave. Douglass figured out that why literacy was not appropriate for slaves and that his master was not just talking about freedom but also his psychological wellbeing and his ability to take control of his own psyche. If Douglass was literate he would no longer be able to live in the system of slavery; he would be outside of it and try to run away with himself. Frederick knew that literacy would transform the life of child-slave into a free-man’s life.
In the essay “Learning to Read and Write,” Frederick Douglass illustrates how he successfully overcome the tremendous difficulties to become literate. He also explains the injustice between slavers and slaveholders. Douglass believes that education is the key to freedom for slavers. Similarly, many of us regard education as the path to achieve a career from a job.