Have you ever witnessed or experienced something that made you feel blessed, but also burdened from what you have learned? Frederick Douglass in “Learning to Read” and Malcolm X in “A Homemade Education”, both experienced the burden and blessing from gaining an education. Douglass was a slave in the 1800s and Malcolm X was a prisoner in the 1940s. Both men went through a great deal of trouble to gain knowledge in reading and writing. The knowledge Douglass and Malcolm X learned caused them great miseries in their hearts, but also gave them the freedom they deserved. Achieving education is what made Douglass the greatest social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer and statesman, and Malcolm X to be a minister and human rights activist. Similar …show more content…
An example was when Douglass got hold of a book called The Columbian Orator; he used every opportunity he could to read that book (34). He was inspired by the readings, which then made him heart broken from what he had learned. I related to Douglass when I picked out my first book on my own in middle school. The first book that made an impact on me was A Child Called It by Dave Pelzer. Oh boy! That book sure caused me a great deal of heartaches and tears. It was about a boy being abused and starved by his mother. As far as I can remember, it was the first book that made me feel pain. The agony I felt when i realized such terrible people existed in this world. The book made me aware of the dark side of people. Just as Douglass felt, “As I writhed under it, I would at times feel that learning to read had been a curse rather than a blessing” (35). When he learned more about slavery, it made him feel miserable because he could not do anything about it. The book, A Child Called It, was not the only book that made me feel miserable. Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah is about a girl being considered bad luck by her powerful family. It opened my eyes, knowing that people can go through terrible events but are still be able to pick themselves up. By reading these stories, I felt empowered to be better, even though I was irritated knowing I could not have done anything to help those with the same
Douglass expresses in his essay, Learning to Read, that he truly realized the depravity of his situation by reading various texts about slavery that presented opposing viewpoints. “Learning to read had been a curse rather than a blessing. It had given me a view of my wretched condition, without the remedy. It opened my eyes to the horrible pit” (193). Not only did Douglass’s path to enlightenment awaken him to the degeneracy of slavery and abhor learning how to read, it even prompted him to harbor suicidal thoughts.
"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world" -Nelson Mandelais , most kids wouldn’t be so cruel and mean to others if they didn’t see if from the kids at school or their parents. All of these amazing men faced struggles many of us today will never face, saying that we have to realize that these people stood up for what they believed in regardless of what others thought they knew it was the only way anything change would happen, for Malcom it was the processing of having to get angry at himself to get where he wanted to bed, for Douglass he had to get the strength to move past his depression and for dick Gregory
In his letter, Frederick Douglass take hold on the effect of concrete imagery, syntax, and formal diction to not only demonstrate his experience of learning how to read and write as a slave; but also to inform the audiences the importance of learning and the malevolent face of slavery. Frederick Douglass’s concrete imagery, such as “thus after a long years, I finally succeed in learning how to write.” (page 128), and “they gave tongue to interesting thought of my own soul, which I frequently lashed through my mind and died away for want of utterance.” (page 127); underscore how important learning is to Frederick Douglass. “they gave tongue to interesting thought of my own soul, which I frequently lashed through my mind and died away for want
By doing this, he unknowingly teaches Douglass about the power of education. “Whilst I was saddened by the thought of losing the aid of my kind mistress, I was gladdened by the invaluable instruction which, by the merest accident, I had gained from my master.” Through this rejection, he cultivated the drive to teach himself to read and write. As his learning expanded, Douglass became conscious of the evils of slavery and of the existence of the abolitionist movement. He knew that while his awareness of the world around him could bring incredible sorrow, it could also give him power over his enslavers who preferred he remained uneducated and in the dark.
Many people know what it’s like to have a thirst for knowledge, but with that knowledge comes insight and emotions. Although the struggle to gain knowledge differs from person to person what we do with this knowledge is on us as people. Both Frederick Douglass and Malcolm X write about their thirst for knowledge and the emotions that come along with that knowledge, but Frederick Douglass’s essay was more successful because he had to struggle more to gain his knowledge and his motivation to learn is inspiring. Malcolm X’s struggle to gain knowledge was put upon him by himself because he made the wrong choices early on in life and had to deal with them. At a young age, Malcolm X chose to run the streets, hustle, and commit crimes.
Frederick Douglass talks about how growing up in slavery affected him and how he learned to read a little from his master's wife. When her husband found out about it he was furious so Douglass had to turn to kids in the streets to teach him. Frederick Douglass took the risk of learning to read and write when he was forbidden to. In the outcome of the risk Frederick Douglass took he learns to read and write and realizes the horror of his circumstances. He wrote¨ It had given me the view of my wretched condition, without the remedy.¨ (paragraph 7,Douglass).
The most important decision of a leader is the style of leading they decide to use when inspiring others, or providing a vision for the future. By looking at the past, it is proven that some leadership styles are guaranteed to be more effective than others. The leadership style of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X during the Civil Rights provides significant evidence of how different styles of leading can turn out to be a major success or defeat. Malcolm X’s leadership style included using violence to protest against violence and unequal rights, as well as supporting the segregation of African Americans and the whites. Martin Luther King’s style included nonviolent marches and protests against violence, and peacefully fighting for integrating the blacks and whites.
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.”
Two Great Men “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time. ”- Thomas a. Edison Frederick Douglas and Booker T. Washington were both amazing civil rights activists. Frederick Douglas was a runaway slave who worked to end slavery.
Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass are American heroes with each exemplifying a unique aspect of the American spirit. In his recent study, "The Radical and the Republican: Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, and the Triumph of Antislavery Politics" (2007), Professor James Oakes traces the intersecting careers of both men, pointing out their initial differences and how their goals and visions ultimately converged. Oakes is Graduate School Humanities Professor and Professor of History at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He has written extensively on the history of slavery in the Old South. Oakes reminds the reader of how much Lincoln and Douglass originally shared.
Often times, it is assumed that learning does not have negative consequences and leads to one’s enlightenment What people don’t realize is that being thrown into the light can burn. Associating learning with pain is clearly illustrated in both Plato’s Republic and Frederick Douglass’ The Education of Frederick Douglass. Both works represent people who move past their ignorance through the acquisition of knowledge and step into the light, both literally and metaphorically; they become aware of their own situations and with that comes pain. Book seven of Plato’s Republic (trans. 1968) presents the allegory of the cave and the idea that learning isn’t always pleasant.
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.
Douglass for example emphasized the importance of education for slaves. Douglass is a first had observer of the strategy of slave owners to keep their slaves ignorant. By keeping slave uneducated they are unable to express the horrible things that happen to them to the world. Hugh Auld forces his wife to stop teaching Douglass to read (auld stopping teaching quote) , so Douglass teaches himself. For him learning to read was a major turning point in his quest for freedom and it enabled him to put out his book, which would inspire many to turn against slavery.
“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.
If people are not utilizing education, then the world will become even more corrupt than it already is. Douglass and Malala both utilized their knowledge to be able to explain why they believed that the lack of education should be changed before it was too late for them to be able to persuade others. Thus, education should become a necessity for