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Comparing Fredrick Douglass Learning To Read And Write

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Learning how to read and write can be a struggle especially if you’re taught at a much older age, but when you have the determination you can sure enough achieve it. But to having knowledge can have some good and bad to it. Fredrick Douglass wrote his personal essay titled “Learning to Read and Write.” This intelligent yet complex essay was written in 1845 and first published in Maryland. Douglass was an escaped slave. During the period of the Civil War, he was an adviser to President Abraham Lincoln twice. Douglass also recruited black troops during the Civil War. He gained fame for being a persuasive speaker and writer primarily on the abolition of slavery and racism. Declaring that being literate is his pathway to freedom, Douglass increases …show more content…

Douglass said reading persistently expanded his mind, but as a result the knowledge tortured him internally, so internally he did not want the knowledge anymore. In the essay Douglass said reading one of the speeches from the “Columbian Orator” told him that the capability of truth won over the inner feeling of the oppressor. Also with the knowledge he gained from the speeches he read was the elimination and discouragement of bondage, and the questioning of if slavery is right or wrong and went against human rights. Douglass, now knowing the truth about slavery and being able to argue against it, felt that slavery was unspeakable. Douglass grew his knowledge, not just because his was hurt by the truth, but at the same time grew anger toward the oppressors that put him in his situation. He also said that his enslavers were just a group of victorious thieves that basically got away with …show more content…

Reading the essay and thinking about the experiences Douglass went through to achieve what he wanted; which was the ability to read and write. I think the main idea relates to me by telling me the reader, that education is something so essential to knowing the truth in the words of others, and mastering the ability know about your past. Even though Douglass’s mistress stop teaching after a while, and always tried to prevent him from getting any sort of reading done, that obstacle never stopped him from formulating plans to counteract that depravity. That sense of determination to me outweighed anything that would ever stand in his way. Knowing that mind set Douglass had, constantly reminds myself of a period of time that happened to me when I was a little child. That particular time was, when I was just started learning how to ride a bike. As a little girl, wanting to know how to ride one was something I wanted to achieve immediately. Getting the hang of learning how to ride a bike really took while to grasp. Eventually, I prospered in getting a hang of it. Through that little experience, it really showed me that determination can lead to great

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