Analysis Of Learning To Read And Write By Frederick Douglass

Picture this going through life without the ability to read or write. Without these abilities, it is impossible for a person to be a functioning member of society. In addition, imagine that someone is purposely limiting your knowledge to keep a leash on your independence. Not only is an American slave raised without skills in literacy, he cannot be taught to read unless someone breaks the law. In Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, the reader is given a detailed explanation of why slave masters keep their slaves ignorant and the effects such a strategy has on the slaves’ lives. In his autobiography, Douglass describes how the knowledge he obtains has substantial positive and negative effects on his psyche. He is given renewed passion and hope for freedom while struggling with the burden of enlightenment of his situation. Ultimately, however, education shapes his fate, and he achieves freedom and prominence as an advocate for abolition.

During the 1800’s, the institution of slavery was still ongoing in the few slave states left in America. Slavery was still proving to be unjust and unfair, not allowing for African Americans to be considered equals. However, some slaves were able to overcome the many restrictions and boundaries that slavery forced upon them. In Frederick Douglass’ essay “Learning to Read and Write,” Douglass portrays himself as an intelligent and dignified slave who’s able to overcome the racial boundaries placed upon him. Frederick Douglass saw that his only pathway to freedom was through literacy, so his goal was to learn how to read and write no matter the circumstances. Douglass realized

     It is at this time that Frederick Douglass learns one of the greatest freedoms of all. He is set free, in an educational sense. Douglass has been taught a few reading lessons form his mistress. Soon after his master discovers this, and commences the teaching at once. Soon thereafter, Frederick Douglass uses some smart tactics to resume his learning. He in a sense manipulates the children around him into teaching him how to read and write. This grand achievement taught Douglass something, as he says, “From that moment, I understood the pathway from slavery to freedom. It was just what I wanted, and

Frederick Douglas was born into the slave trade in Talbot County, Maryland. He was sent to work on a plantation for the Hugh’s Family for about seven years. This is the location where his learning truly began. His mistress was a “kind, tender-hearted, woman” who treated Frederick as a human instead of property the family owned. This was a dangerous thing for both parties at this time in history it was considered wrong. Frederick States “Slavery proved as injurious to her as it did to me” which I see the connection he had made to her change of personality because of slavery. She had heavenly qualities that slavery was able to divest from her. It was injurious to Fredrick not only for the lashings a salve would

Douglass’s escape from slavery and eventual freedom are inseparable from his movingly narrated attainment of literacy. Douglass saw slavery as a

Frederick Douglass, the author of the Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass was a self-taught slave that was able to escape the brutality of slavery in the year of 1838. Frederick Douglass’s book is separated into 3 main sections, including, a beginning, middle, and end. The purpose of the narrative is to improve the audience's understanding of Douglass’s experience of being a slave, the horrible treatment slaves received, and how Douglass was able to overcome and escape slavery. All throughout the narrative, Douglass uses many rhetorical devices, including, diction, imagery, and syntax, which helps the audience understand, one of his main chapters, chapter 5. In this chapter Douglass implies that the overall purpose is to emphasize the animalistic, inhuman treatment slaves received, how Douglass felt about leaving Colonel Lloyd’s plantation, and his luck of being able to move to Mr. and Mrs. Auld's.

In a Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave written by himself, the author argues that no one can be enslaved if he or she has the ability to read, write, and think. Douglass supports his claim by first providing details of his attempts to earn an education, and secondly by explaining the conversion of a single slaveholder. The author’s purpose is to reveal the evils of slavery to the wider public in order to gain support for the abolition of his terrifying practice. Based on the purpose of writing the book and the graphic detail of his stories, Douglass is writing to influence people of higher power, such as abolitionists, to abolish the appalling reality of slavery; developing a sympathetic relationship with the

The “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass” is an autobiography in which Frederick Douglass reflects on his life as a slave in America. He writes this book as a free slave, in the North, while slavery was still running its course before the Civil War. Through his effective use of rhetorical strategies, Frederick Douglass argues against the institution of slavery by appealing to pathos and ethos, introducing multiple anecdotes, using satirical irony, and explaining the persuasive effects of slavery and reasoning behind keeping slaves uneducated.

Reading opened his eyes to his “wretched condition” (2057) and he longed for independence and freedom. He did not desire this for himself alone, but also for his fellow slaves. He “imbue[d] their minds with thoughts of freedom” and sought to “impress them with the gross fraud and inhumanity of slavery” (2077). Douglass took the lead in devising the plans of escape; his skill in reading and writing was instrumental in his plans. While at Master Hugh’s, Douglass acquired the copy-books of his master’s son, Thomas. He taught himself to write and soon “could write a hand very similar to that of Master Thomas” (2059). This ability helped Douglass to formulate the plan of escape from Mr. Hamilton. He wrote several “protections” for himself and the other runaways under the name of Mr. Hamilton’s. Though this escape attempt was unsuccessful, it is a testimony to the Douglass’ genius which would not have existed without his education. His ability to read and write planted the desire for freedom and enabled him to attempt to achieve it.

People often wonder about the struggles of slave life, including the fact that it was extremely difficult to become literate as a slave. Frederick Douglass, who was once a slave who learned to read and write, outlines these obstacles and the effects that they had on him in a chapter titled “Learning to Read and Write” within his autobiography. Said chapter reveals Douglass’s innermost thoughts and attitudes towards many things during his time as a slave, including his mistress, slavery itself, and reading. Douglass displays an appreciative and later aggravated tone towards his mistress, an outraged tone towards slavery, and an enthusiastic tone that later becomes resigned and despairing towards reading, exemplifying that tone can strongly influence the portrayal of a topic.

Throughout the history of slavery in the United States, it was common practice not only for slaveholders to neglect to teach their slaves to read or write, but also for them to outright forbid literacy among slaves. This was done in order to limit the slaves knowledge and modes of communication, making it more difficult for them to learn about the abolitionist movement or for for them to share their situation with the world outside of slavery. Like many other slaves, Frederick Douglass was not allowed to learn to read or write. In his autobiography; “The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass”, Douglass retells how he managed to become literate in a time where most African Americans were forbidden from literacy, and how this knowledge allowed him to eventually escape slavery.

In the excerpt “Learning to Read and Write”, Frederick Douglass talks about his experiences in slavery living in his masters house and his struggle to learn how to read and write. Frederick Douglass was an African American social reformer, orator, writer, and statesman. Some of his other writings include “The Heroic Slave”, “My Bondage and My Freedom”, and “Life and Times of Frederick Douglass”. In this excerpt, Frederick Douglass uses an empathic tone, imagery, certain verb choice, contrast, and metaphors to inform African Americans of how important it is to learn to read and write and also to inform a white American audience of the evils of slavery. I find Frederick Douglass to

In the extract “Learning to Read and Write,” Frederick Douglass tells the intended audience about his experiences as a slave living in his master’s house and how he went through many trials to learn to read and write. In this excerpt, Frederick Douglass uses imagery, contrast, pathos, ethos, logos, an empathic tone, certain verb choice, and metaphors to inform African Americans of how crucial it is to learn how to read and write and to inform an audience of caucasian Americans of the wrongdoings that slavery has brought about. Frederick Douglass is often persuasive using pathos to get across to the intended audiences.

1. Douglass taught himself how to read and write. At first, Douglass’s mistress taught him how to read the alphabet before her husband prohibited her from doing this. After that he started to teach himself how to read by reading books and newspapers, and how to write by copying his little Master Thomas’s written in the spaces left in the copy-book when his mistress goes to the class meeting every monday afternoon. However his most successfully way of teaching himself how to read was to make friends with the white boys whom he met in the street. He bribes them with food to get them to teach him. He also learned how to read and understand the meaning of the name on the timber.

Frederick Douglass, a famous abolitionist leader and writer, was born into slavery in the early 1800’s. Douglass published many books and papers illustrating the time in which he lived, all of them portraying his perspective of growing up as a slave in Talbot County, Maryland. During this time slaves had no rights. They were bought and sold constantly, and were consider property the slave owners. Slaves mainly worked in the fields, but Douglass on the other hand, was lucky enough to live as a servant to the Master and his family. In his essay, “Learning to Read and Write”, Frederick Douglass described the events that took place in his early childhood and adolescence years that helped him acquire the skills to learn to read and write. These skills are ultimately what enabled Douglass to free himself from slavery and pursue his own passions to fight slavery with his words. In Contrasts, Peter Elbow is a modern day English professor who has published numerous essays regarding methods on how to improve People’s writing skills. One of his methods is known as “Freewriting.” Although these two essays were published nearly two centuries apart, they contain similar methods of organization and purposes within their writing. The authors used a step-by-step method of writing where each supporting detail adds the previous one and guides the reader closer to the main principle of the paper.