Despite the world being full of diverse people with varying accomplishments and skill sets, people oftentimes assume the qualities and traits of an individual based purely on the stereotypes set forth by society. Although these stereotypes are unavoidable, an individual can be liberated, empowered and ultimately overcome these stereotypes by obtaining an advanced education.
Stereotypes that are created by society can control how people view an individual and how that individual views themself. “We were Indian children who were expected to be stupid.” (Source B) Sherman Alexie shows the low educational standard set forth by society’s stereotypes of Indians, and later goes on to explain the low educational expectations the Indians had for themselves when he says “Those who failed were ceremoniously accepted by other Indians and appropriately pitied by non-Indians.” (Source B) Likewise, in Source D, Maya Angelou says, “Hadn’t he heard the white folks? We could not be so the question was a waste of time…There was no “nobler in the mind” for Negroes because the world didn’t think we had minds, and they let us know it.” (Source D) Maya Angelou observes what the speaker at graduation seemingly doesn’t: that their entire school was stereotyped based on their race by the white speakers, and it ruined the day she had been looking forward to for years. The white speakers at her graduation make it abundantly clear that they only really care about supporting the athletic department of their school since that’s all they believe the students are capable of being successful at. Both Source B and D report what was expected of the authors by society based on stereotypes. They were both expected to be unintelligent, purely based on their races. But...
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...solved to learn how to read to empower himself and ultimately free himself from the ignorance that was being pushed upon him by the white population. Both Frederick Douglass and Malcolm X realized that education was the key to liberating themselves from their less than satisfactory lives.
Stereotyping is, and always has been, a problem that lots of people have to face, and the stereotypes can shape who they are. The stereotypes, however, can be overcome through the liberation and empowerment that comes from education. By obtaining a higher level of education, an individual can create their own identity, rather than conform to the stereotypes placed on them by society.
Works Cited
Frederick Douglass “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass”
Malcolm X “Learning to Read”
Sherman Alexie “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me”
Maya Angelou “Graduation”
Another inspiring women abolitionist in the 18th century, Jarena Lee, produced The Life and Religious Experiences of Jarena Lee, which is a women’s spiritual autobiography. Lee believed God called her to preach, despite the impropriety of women preachers due to the time period. Lee experienced hostility and prejudice as she traveled and spread the word of the Gospel, but continued to fight for her devotion to faith with the intention of fulfilling her calling from God. In The Life and Religious Experiences of Jarena Lee, Lee formats her text as a sermon and associated her qualifications with her production of a religious service in order to convince her audience of her abilities. Also, Lee associates herself with male ministers because of shared characteristics and experiences.
Literacy plays an important part in helping Douglass achieve his freedom. Learning to read and write enlightened his mind to the injustice of slavery; it kindled in his heart longings for liberty. Douglass’s skills proved instrumental in his attempts to escape and afterwards in his mission as a spokesman against slavery. Douglass was motivated to learn how to read by hearing his master condemn the education of slaves. Mr. Auld declared that education would “spoil” him and “forever unfit him to be a slave” (2054).
Everyone remembers when they learned to read and write some more than others. Even well known people like Frederick Douglass and Malcolm X. They wrote narratives, “Learning to Read And Write” by Frederick Douglass and “Learning to Read” by Malcolm X, to show us when, where, and how they learned to read and write. Both authors go through struggles that we would never think could or would happen. Even though they go through struggles they still became eager to learn more to better themselves. It gave them power they never thought they could achieve. They have many similar and different trials that they went through so they could learn how to read and write.
The book Into The Wild, written by Jon Krakauer, tells the story of Chris McCandless a young man who abandoned his life in search of something more meaningful than a materialistic society. In 1992 Chris gave his $ 25,000 savings to charity, abandoned his car and most of his possessions, and burned all of his money to chase his dream. Chris’s legacy was to live in simplicity, to find his purpose, and to chase his dreams.
Through the mastery of English, the two authors gained the power to not only sympathize with those victimized by racial oppression but also developed greater comprehension regarding of oppression and the social policies that bind them. However, with every gain, there is a loss to be made. The English language gave those bound by slavery a sense of freedom and security while ensuring the pathway to attaining human rights. Consequently, the English language also caused hardships for those who suffer the conditions of being a slave. Learning became a curse rather than a blessing for Douglass when he realized that not only himself but as well as his fellow slaves were victims of what he feared the most, the void of incomprehensive cognition (Douglass 148). Conflicted with his new found realization, he began to detest slaveholders and any who supported their cause. Imprisoned for burglary, Malcolm X used his prison years wisely by learning and reading about this history of various countries and their people. Malcolm X felt enthusiastic of mastering the English language through the technique of studying the dictionary. The limitations of his vocabulary were no longer an issue when writing a letter to Elijah Muhammad or reading a book and understanding the focus point. Malcolm X states: "In fact, up to then, I never had been so truly free in my life," (Malcolm X 131) in contrast to
Frederick Douglass had a Mistress, who started to teach him, but it was illegal. He would not have come to realize all he was missing out on if she did not give him that taste of learning. The more he learned, the more he realized that being a slave for the rest of his life was senseless. All the information he was receiving made him think more and more of being a free man. To read and learn if he went north he could be free, made him crave freedom more. Reading and writing was his way out of slavery or at least to a better situation. Malcolm X's need for education was when he realized that he could not read a full book and get an understanding of it because he did not know many words. Reading a sentence he would skip over so many words. He also admired the way a fellow inmate could hold a conversation. Realizing all the words in a dictionary and knowing that he only knew a few got to him. His curiosity took over; Malcolm started to see knowledge is power. To be a black man with knowledge made you even more powerful.
Freedoms have been excluded from certain individuals throughout history. They created literary works to express their beliefs and viewpoints on the subject, containing similar and different aspects such as their overall messages, styles and textual structures. These literary works include, “I Have a Dream," by Martin Luther King Jr., "Cairo: My City, Our Revolution," by Ahdaf Soueif, and, “Reading Lolita in Tehran," by Azar Nafisi.
... and unhappy (Douglass 78).” Learning how to read was as big a step towards freedom for Douglass as it was back. It made him aware of the circumstances but it also made him realize how difficult it would be for him to ever find himself a free man. However, knowledge overpowers ignorance in the sense that his masters could never take his ability to read away from him and because Douglass now knew his condition, he knew that he deserved a better life.
...uable bread of knowledge” (page 46). I believe that Frederick Douglass viewed education, as his way out of slavery. It was important for him to learn how to read and write because he has to let others people in the north know slavery is really like. Most people up in the north have not seen what slavery is like, and Douglass would be a perfect person to tell this story to everyone cause he is someone who has been a slave and now is a free man.
Malcolm X’s “Learning to Read,” is a powerful piece about his time in prison when he taught himself how to read. Through his reading, he discovered the awful things that happened in history and became a civil rights activist. Malcolm X changed his feeling and position throughout his piece, “Learning to Read.” His emotions are clear in his writing, but the change in his writing is clear to be caused by a change in his own thoughts because of the things he learned. The essay shows his lack of reading skills when he was young, but also how interested he became in it, and how much he uses it. He says that reading is important to readers' lives just as it was to his, helping one to form their own thoughts and views. Without the ability to read and understand the world, it becomes difficult to build your own ethical views.
Douglass and Malcolm X shared similarities in having an ambition to achieve how to properly read and write, they were self taught, and made use of their circumstance no matter the difficulty. Douglass and Malcolm X were different throughout their educational background, circumstances,and slightly different ways of educating themselves. Douglass was a slave with no educational background who wanted to learn how to read and write knowing that it was better opportunities that were being held from him while being a slave. He took risk and every opportunity he could take , “ I was compelled to resort to various stratagems” (Douglass 100). With his circumstances as a slave he had to keep his reading and writing on low key due to the possible consequences of being caught with learning materials. Malcolm X was a criminal with some educational background. He had a desire to express his thoughts and knowledge but was held back by his eighth grade education and imprisonment at that moment. With this obstacle, he wanted to be able to speak properly and to share his thoughts in a proper letter to the great Mr. Elijah Muhammad, “How could I sound writing in slang,...say[ing] it, something such as, ‘Look, daddy, let me pull your coat about a cat, Elijah Muhammad-’ ” (Malcolm X
Television has affected every aspect of life in society, radically changing the way individuals live and interact with the world. However, change is not always for the better, especially the influence of television on political campaigns towards presidency. Since the 1960s, presidential elections in the United States were greatly impacted by television, yet the impact has not been positive. Television allowed the public to have more access to information and gained reassurance to which candidate they chose to vote for. However, the media failed to recognize the importance of elections. Candidates became image based rather than issue based using a “celebrity system” to concern the public with subjects regarding debates (Hart and Trice). Due to “hyperfamiliarity” television turned numerous people away from being interested in debates between candidates (Hart and Trice). Although television had the ability to reach a greater number of people than it did before the Nixon/Kennedy debate, it shortened the attention span of the public, which made the overall process of elections unfair, due to the emphasis on image rather than issue.
In the essay “Learning to Read and Write,” Frederick Douglass illustrates how he successfully overcome the tremendous difficulties to become literate. He also explains the injustice between slavers and slaveholders. Douglass believes that education is the key to freedom for slavers. Similarly, many of us regard education as the path to achieve a career from a job.
The PSSAs are tested that the whole state takes, they are mostly taken in April. The PSSA stands for Pennsylvania System School Assessment. They are for grades 3-8. The point of the test is to show what you know. Most people think that they are hard, they are not that hard if you prepare for them.
All four readings contain elements that help comprise what I perceive a community to be defined as. Marcus Aurelius, a former Emperor of Rome, once stated in what was essentially a personal notebook that animals, trees, and plants all over the world are “working together” to achieve one common goal, while we the people struggle to get out of bed everyday and do what he believes is the sole purpose in life which is to work. As a community, sharing ideas and helping others is an essential component of what makes a community so great. Aurelius does an exceptional job of