Frederick Douglass Learning To Read And Write Analysis

Can you image learning to read as a slave in the late 1800’s during American slavery? Or teaching yourself to write, as an adult in prison around the rise of racial segregation? Neither can I. But these are the circumstances portrayed in Frederick Douglass’ “Learning to Read and Write” and Malcolm X’s “Learning to Read” in which they accomplished what many take for granted. During the era of legalized forced labor in the United States, it was law to treat African Americans as property, striping them of any humanizing qualities. Fast forward 100 years and this might still hold true. While laws were in place to treat everyone as “separate but equal”, African Americans still struggled to flourish in a country that did not socially accept the idea

Upon realizing that the basic education taught could someday lead to desires of freedom, therefore interrupting her southern way of life. Master Hugh’s wife ceases her teaching of young Douglass but the thirst for literacy remained. Understanding from his mistress’s behavior that “education and slavery were incompatible with each other”, Douglass decided to take matters into his own hands. He was “compelled to resort to various stratagems” to become proficient in reading and writing. With the pavement and brick wall as his book and a lump of chalk as his pen, Douglas cleverly accomplished a great deal. One of Douglass’ first plans involved befriending all the little white boys in his neighborhood with the reward of bread in exchange for some knowledge on how to read. As well as learning to write by copying the letters ship carpenters would write on pieces of timber and then tricking a neighborhood boy into a writing game to see who was the better writer. He concocted these strategies knowing that a punishment awaited if caught by his master. Actually, this was one of the main reasons why many enslaved African Americans did not venture to pursue literacy. For most the cost of learning to read and maybe achieving freedom greatly faltered in comparison to the cruel treatment slave masters would