Analysis Of Frederick Douglass 'Learning To Read'

We are all born into a preconceived world. Our fathers before us have decided upon many things that define numerous facets of our lives. Their influence spans from what they defined as the good life to what it is we should accomplish in life. We are receptive to the beliefs of our fathers, because when we enter this world we are but little babies, whose minds are as moldable as play-doh. So we cannot do much but agree with what we are told by our elders. However, as we grow in years we start to experience things that conflict with what we were told. Like, for instance, a child born in a devout Christian family witnessing two men kissing at a park. Or suppose a black child watching the recent report of the murder of a seemingly innocent black

As a result of his want to read and write Douglass experienced hatred from his teacher, hatred for himself, and hatred at the world. What’s eye opening about his mistress’ condition of hatred is that it was made stronger by spreading enlightenment or by teaching Douglass; as Douglass says she went from being “pious, warm, and tender-hearted” (191), to being “more violent in her opposition (to his education) than her husband himself” (191). Thus the consequences of pursuing enlightenment are double-edged. By Douglass pursuing his desire in earnest, he inadvertently took a woman from grace to

By the contrary, we can observe in the Allegory that enlightenment creates divisions among two different perceptions. Plato remarks that attaining new knowledge makes it harder for one to understand other realities. For instance, Plato writes: “And if there was a contest and he had to compete in measuring the shadows with the prisoners who had never moved out of the den, while his sight was still weak, and before his eyes had become steady, would he not be ridiculous ?” (659) Like the escaped prisoner, people who used to different precepts will have a hard time adjusting to unlike “shadows’’, if you will, and as such their consideration for other dispositions might be ill-natured. Much of the world shares differing views founded upon different experiences, if we cannot come to interpret their shadows, how will we move forward as a race? As one society? Will we become “ridiculous” as Plato hints? All ready in our history conflicting perceptions have caused war and terror, which in more ways than one do make us look