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Frederick Douglass: Motivation To Read And Write

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Frederick Douglass is a slave who is motivated to learn to read and write. When he is a child, Douglass’s mistress teaches him the alphabet. As time goes on, his owners realize he is becoming too smart, and they put a stop to his learning. According to Douglass, “If I was in a separate room any considerable length of time, I was sure to be suspected of having a book, and was at once called to an account of myself.” Because of this, Douglass has to sneak in his studying time. While running errands, Douglass goes to the street and receives lessons from children on there. He learns to write from observing men at Bailey’s ship-yard. Douglass also learns he is too smart for his own good. When he is alone, he copies from his master's copy book and

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