Summary of "Learning to Read" by Malcolm X In his essay "Learning to Read" from the chapter "Saved" in Malcolm's Autobiography published in New York (Grove Press, 1965). Malcolm was born in Omaha, Nebraska and his father was a political activist on behalf of Marcus Garvey. After he and his family moved to East Lansing, Michigan, where his father was killed and his mother placed in a mental institution. he became an orphan and ended up on the streets of Detroit where he was known as "Detroit Red".
class, we discussed about Malcom X and the essay about learning to Read. Some of themes that we talked about was motivations, challenge, discrimination, courage and disciplinant. I expect before I started to read that who was Malcolm X and what did he do? 2. The writer is Malcolm X and one of his experiences of ethos, Legos, pathos is that he was a writer.
The concept of consumerism was first brought to my awareness in First Year Writing. I admit, before this intro course, I was indeed ignorant of the negative impacts that consumption had on society. FYS opened my mind to the dangers of over-consumption, and more importantly, helped me see beyond what meets the eye. Take for example, Disney, a seemingly innocent corporation, a company’s whose name is practically synonymous with the notion of childhood innocence. Upon initial judgement, one would assume that Disney is merely harmless family entertainment.
The legendary abolitionist and orator Frederick Douglass was one of the most important social reformers of the nineteenth century. Being born into slavery on a Maryland Eastern Shore plantation to his mother, Harriet Bailey, and a white man, most likely Douglass’s first master was the starting point of his rise against the enslavement of African-Americans. Nearly 200 years after Douglass’s birth and 122 years after his death, The social activist’s name and accomplishments continue to inspire the progression of African-American youth in modern society. Through his ability to overcome obstacles, his strive for a better life through education, and his success despite humble beginnings, Frederick Douglass’s aspirations stretched his influence through
In “Learning to Read”, Malcolm X uses rhetorical analysis to argue how African Americans continued to struggle in gaining education due to racism. He informs people that through our history books, there have been modifications that restrain the truth about the struggles black people faced. Malcolm X encouraged his audience to strive to get the rights that they deserved. He demonstrates that knowledge is very important because the truth empowers us. In his interview he persuades his audience with diction, tone, pathos, ethos, and appeal to emotion to make his point.
Language is the basic verbal expression of culture. Language is so abstract, yet people manage to say a lot with mere words. The structure of language helps determine how one is likely to view the world and it determines how people think. An illiterate does not have the ability to construct abstract thoughts until it has had some academic experience. The way in which they go about learning wholly depends on their culture.
Our first reading of EN101, Fredrick Douglass’ “Learning to Read,” helped our class to better understand the privilege of being a writer. Douglass lives in Hugh Auld’s household for roughly seven years. During this time, he is able to learn how to read and write, though Mrs. Auld is hardened and no longer tutors him. Slavery hurts Mrs. Auld as much as it hurts Douglass himself. The mentality of slavery strips her of her inherent sympathy for others, making her hardened and cruel.
For Frederick Douglas, he believes that being able to read and write would mean that he can be free. There would be some obstacles and challenges that he, and other slaves would have to face in order to gain literacy and be at once “free.” I believe that what he means by the freedom they will have is, if slaves would have gain knowledge and education, then this would make them see and recognize themselves as human beings or “men” rather than slaves. What’s hard for them is that their slaves owner deprives them of that opportunity to be able to read and write. Take for example the mistress that Douglas mention and how she couldn’t bare see Douglas have a newspaper.
Frederick Douglass develops self-determination through the discovery of education and its pathway from slavery to freedom. Frederick already understood the physical brutality of slavery, but becomes aware of the mental brutality and the psychological control of withholding literacy. [He would at once become unmanageable and no value to his master X. 409.] Hearing his master's words, Douglass found a purpose to become literate. He looks at the situation with an analytical eye and is able to fight back with his sarcastic and ironic tone, referring to his masters as “pious.”
Frederick Douglass Overcoming many obstacles, Frederick Douglass became a very influential African American in the antislavery movement. Growing up a slave, he lived the harsh lifestyle that many African Americans were suffering through. However, he escaped from slavery.. After his escape, he donated his life work to support the extinction of slavery in America. Using his personal, powerful slave stories from his horrifying childhood, he was able to influence many listeners.
Learning to Read and Write Frederick Douglass was an African-American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. He was born on February 1818 in Maryland. Douglas’s mother is named Harriet Bailey, and his father is an unknown white man rumored to be Douglass’s own master. Douglass was a firm believer in the equality of all peoples, whether black, female, Native American, or recent immigrant. He was also a believer in dialogue and in making alliances across racial and ideological divides, and in the liberal values of the U.S. Constitution.
Frederick Douglass was an American slave who wrote The Narrative of Frederick Douglass in1845, he demonstrated that literacy and being free was linked. He also shows that literacy was not permitted to African slaves. In addition, Douglass shows how he was introduced to the literacy by his mistress Sophia Auld. But for him to keep learning how to read and write it was going to be a challenge since Sophia’s husband master Hugh Auld rejected the idea that she continues giving him lessons. Master Auld warns his wife “If you give a nigger an inch, he will take an ell.”
Many of us take education for granted and don’t learn to our fullest potential, but Fredrick Douglass soaked in every piece of information up because he knew it was his way out. “Learning to Read and Write” is a famous article based on what Fredrick Douglass went through to earn a valuable education while being enslaved. Author Fredrick Douglass, wrote “Learning to Read and Write”, published in 1845. Throughout the article, he takes us through different events he goes through while being enslaved. Douglass begins building his credibility with personal facts and successfully demonstrating logic and pathos appeal.
The most difficult text based on this assignment was “How I Learned to Read and Write” by Frederick Douglas. Comparing all the text given, Frederick Douglas’s writing was more “wordy”. He seems to express his feeling, thoughts and emotions in complex abstracts that are very hard to follow. The vocabulary words used are more complicated – such as, commence – which leaves me no option than to open the dictionary. He often uses the word “commence” which means “start”.
In Fredricks Douglas passage "Learning to read and write" the sensory detail that was most reiterated was the sense of sight. From describing his interactions with his master's wife and mistress to the detailed descriptions of the encounters he had with multiple people in his surroundings that aided in his ability to learn to read and write. Douglas says in the passage that the more he read, the more he was led to abhor and detest his enslavers. Every opportunity Douglas had to set his sights on material where he could read books, write letters, and mimic signatures and various writings he took advantage of. In the passage he describes many scenes that were placed in front of him such as his masters Copy-book in which he copied everything he