The Importance of Reading and Writing

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Living in the Southern United States during eighteenth century was a difficult time for African-Americans. Majority of them were slaves who received manipulation, sexual abuse and brutally whips to the spin. They were treated this way in order to stop them from gaining hope, knowledge and understanding of the world. Some African Americans managed to obtain these qualities from books and use them to escape from slavery. Frederick Douglass, an abolitionist who wrote an autobiography, from which the excerpt "Learning to Read and Write" explains how he developed literacy. In the excerpt, an African American slave banned from learning to read and write, breaks the law in an attempt to free his mind from the restricted beliefs of his master. One significant idea portrayed from Douglass's ordeal is that reading and writing is a vital skill that benefits humanity.
Writing is essential for passing on human history. Things you see today such as bibles, textbooks and hieroglyphics are key to understanding the people who lived before us. Without these written information, one would not know about the true hardship and bloodshed of the past. Frederick Douglass created his autobiography in order to show his conditions within slavery. This act was one of the many influential factors that motivated the abolishment of slavery. His ideas are still viewed today to show people the importance of reading and writing. Similarly, an the essay "Superman and Me" by the author Alexie Sherman explains his difficult life living on a poor Spokane Indian Reservation. Overtime, he develops the ability to read by picking up his father’s comic book and using the pictures to help him understand the content. By reading at an early age, he was more than capable of ...

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...ad and Write" teaches us the importance of learning how to communicate effectively. If we do not know how to read and write, we can not ensure the expansion of knowledge that makes our civilization grow and prosper. All levels of the education system should teach the importance of reading and writing because they enable us to create new ideas that can change the world. If we do not teach it now, who would know about us in the future?

Works Cited

Douglass, Frederick. “Learning to Read and Write”, 50 Essays, A Portable Anthology. Ed. Samuel Cohen. 4rd Edition. Boston/New York: Bedford St. Martins, 2007. 118-124. Print

King, Martin. "I Have a Dream..."(Copy Right 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr.) Speech by the Rev. Martin Luther King At the "March on Washington" ."National Archives . The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration . Web. 23 Feb 2014. 1-6.

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