Learning to Read and Write by Frederick Douglass Essay
Submitted By pasanchez01
Words: 2478
Pages: 10
Learning to Read and Write by Frederick Douglass
I lived in Master Hugh's family about seven years. During this time, I succeeded in learning to read and write. In accomplishing this, I was compelled to resort to various stratagems. I had no regular teacher. My mistress, who had kindly commenced to instruct me, had, in compliance with the advice and direction of her husband, not only ceased to instruct, but had set her face against my being instructed by anyone else. It is due, however, to my mistress to say of her, that she did not adopt this course of treatment immediately. She at first lacked the depravity indispensable to shutting me up in mental darkness. It was at least necessary for her to have some training in the exercise of irresponsible power, to make her equal to the task of treating me as though I were a brute.
My mistress was, as I have said, a kind and tender‐hearted woman; and in the simplicity of her soul she commenced, when I first went to live with her, to treat me as she supposed one human being ought to treat another. In entering upon the duties of a slaveholder, she did not seem to perceive that I sustained to her the relation of a mere chattel, and that for her to treat me as a human being was not only wrong, but dangerously so. Slavery proved as injurious to her as it did to me. When I went there, she was a pious, warm, and tender‐hearted woman. There was no sorrow or suffering for which she had not a tear. She had bread for the hungry, clothes for the naked, and comfort for every mourner that came within her reach. Slavery soon proved its ability to divest her of these heavenly qualities. Under its influence, the tender heart became stone, and the lamb‐Iike disposition gave way to one of tiger‐like fierce‐ ness. The first step in her downward course was in her ceasing to instruct me. She now commenced to practice her husband's precepts. She finally became even more violent in her opposition than her husband himself. She was not satisfied with simply doing as well as he had commanded; she seemed anxious to do better. Nothing seemed to make her more angry than to see me with a newspaper. She seemed to think that here lay the danger. I have had her rush at me with a face made all up of fury, and snatch from me a newspaper, in a manner that fully revealed her apprehension. She was an apt woman; and a little experience soon demonstrated, to her satisfaction, that education and slavery were incompatible with each other.
From this time I was most narrowly watched. 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 give an account of myself. All this, however, was too late. The first step had been taken. Mistress, in teaching me the alphabet, had given me the inch, and no precaution could prevent me from taking the ell.
The plan which I adopted, and the one by which I was most successful, was that of making friends of all the little white boys whom I met in the street. As many of these as I could, I converted into teachers. With their kindly aid, obtained at different times and in different places, I finally succeeded in learning to read. When I was sent to errands, I
p. 2 always took my book with me, and by doing one part of my errand quickly, I found time to get a lesson before my return. I used also to carry bread with me, enough of which was always in the house, and to which I was always welcome; for I was much better off in this regard than many of the poor white children in our neighborhood. This bread I used to bestow upon the hungry little urchins, who, in return, would give me that more valuable bread of knowledge. I am strongly tempted to give the names of two or three of those little boys, as a testimonial of the gratitude and affection I bear them; but prudence forbids‐not that it would injure me, ~ but it might embarrass them; for it is almost an unpardonable offense to teach slaves to read in this Christian
Related Documents: Learning to Read and Write by Frederick Douglass Essay
Project Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass was one of the most prominent figures of the abolitionist movement, a movement that fought to end slavery. A brilliant speaker, Douglass engaged in a tour of lectures, and became recognized as one of America’s first great black speakers. Douglass also wrote a personal narrative in 1845 titled Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (Taylor 34). Through his book , Frederick Douglass aimed to educate the uninformed Northern…
history. Frederick Douglass, an American slave born around 1817 in Tuckahoe, Maryland, suffered the cruel and inhuman effects of slavery.Throughout The Narrative Life of Frederick Douglass, Douglass details his life as a slave from his earliest memories, some of which include his corrupted masters and horrific living conditions, through his successful escape to New York and settlement in Bedford, Massachusetts. Within his narrative, three determining events lead to an evolution of Douglass, from a…
The Narrative of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave, by Frederick Douglass Like many slaves, it is unsure about Frederick Douglass’s exact birthdate. “By far the larger part of the slaves know as little of their ages as horses know of theirs, and it is the wish of most masters within my knowledge to keep their slaves thus ignorant. I do not remember to have ever met a slave who could tell of his birthday (Douglass, 1).” This was one of the ways that the slave owners mentally suppressed their…
October 2012 Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass was one of many gifted African Americans. He was born a slave, a spiritually guided man and speaker. He was born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey in Talbot County, Maryland. His mother was a slave and his father was rumored to be their white slave master. Slaves were not allowed to learn how to read or write but, with the motivation and encouragement by of his master’s wife, Frederick learned to read. While he was still learning how to secretly…
how to read important to you? It was very important to the slaves back then during slavery. Slaves did not have the privilege to learn how to read or get an education, they were forbidden to learn period. During that time of not being able to learn, oppression settled in on African Americans heavily because having an education and knowing how to read was very important to them, but living in a time of slavery they would be beaten or worse if they were caught trying to read. Learning to read and getting…
Compare and Contrast Essay Frederick Douglass V. Sherman Alexie As a young child, we are given certain opportunities and guidance to expand our knowledge right off the bat when it comes to reading and writing. Going to school to get an education is what every parent aspires their child to do. Parents want the best for their children, to be accepted and to learn to their fullest extent just like every other child their age. However, there are many children and families who are not as privileged…
Frederick Douglass, born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, was always determined to get more out of life than the slave generation he was born into. Being an obedient slave and being thankful for the “one week holiday” was never enough for Frederick and he knew that he would not die a slave. The separation, from his mother, Frederick endured as a child made it hard for him to have any strong connections on the different plantations he resided on. With his mother dying, when he was the age of…
Similarities of Compassion Between Douglass's “Learning to Read and Write”, and Lincoln's “Gettysburg Address” Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln had many similarities between them. Even though they were born into completely different circumstances, Douglass and Lincoln both shared a strong compassion for other people. Frederick Douglass was an African-American and was born into slavery around 1817. With a difficult upbringing into slavery, he still became one of the strongest orators…
Hatumata Gumane Professor Heather Collin SSH 101 November, 25, 2014 The life of Fredrick Douglass Waking up before the break of dawn, starving, freezing and deprived of sleep; Being dragged out of bed to work at least a ten hour day. These thoughts aren't entirely Inconceivable to us as they pretty much describe the lives of an African American slaves on a Day to day basis. Now doing all of this without any compensation…
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, by Frederick Douglass, was published in Boston, by the Anti-Slavery Office, No. 25 Cornhill in 1845. In his preface, William Lloyd Garrison pledges that Douglass's Narrative is "essentially true in all its statements; that nothing has been set down in malice, nothing exaggerated" (Douglass viii). Likewise, Wendell Phillips pledges "the most entire confidence in Douglass' truth, candor, and sincerity" (xiv). Douglass uses a primary source…