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. They both were in bad situations when they decided to learn to read and write. Douglass …show more content…
How? Malcolm taught himself completely while, Douglass taught himself some but mostly learned from others. Douglass made friends with all the white boys he met in the streets and converted them into teachers, he also bribed the poor boys to teach him with bread (Douglass 101). He ultimately got the idea to learn to write when he was in the shipyards. He learned letters and then was able to make four letter words which he used when he challenged other boys that he could write better than them, which gave him a good number of writing lessons ( Douglass 105). He also taught himself to write using a board fence, brick wall, and pavement as his copy book and a piece of chalk as his pen (Douglass 105). With Malcolm he completely taught himself how to write and read when he copied the dictionary. He did everything in the isolation of his cell where he could focus on only what he was doing and also staying up past lights out when he progressed to really serious reading ( Malcolm 2). They both had to sneak to read Douglass more than Malcolm. For Malcolm he only had to sneak to read after lights out. In contrast, Douglass would sneak books when he would go on errands so he wouldn’t get in trouble with his mistress and master, because they would punish him if they found
During the days of slavery many slaves did not know the alphabet, let alone reading and writing. Douglass feels distant from his close ones and is often stressed about his situation. Sometimes, he would be so tensed that he feels that there is no other option than to take his own life in order to be free and escape the misery of slavery. Frederick Douglass was stressed and he would find himself “regretting [his] own existence, and now wishing [himself] dead;” he had no doubt that “[he] should have killed [himself]” (146). Douglass is clearly suffering from the knowledge he gains because it leads him to be estranged and makes him often want to end his own life. This is not a good practice for anyone in life for the reason that life is precious and it should never be taken for granted. Before Douglass learns how to read, he was content with his condition as a slave, but this proved a cruel incident that occurred in his life by making him
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).
One day, Douglass eavesdrops on him and Mrs. Auld’s conversation. Mr. Auld persuades her that reading “could do him (Douglass) no good, but a great deal of harm.” (page 39) This antithesis along with the rest of his statement makes Douglass come to the realization that literacy is equated with not only individual consciousness but also freedom. From that day on, Douglass makes it his goal to learn as much as he can, eventually learning how to write,
First, the language and literary devices used by the two authors are very different. In his autobiography, Frederick Douglass uses a very educated language and makes his story able to be un...
For Frederick Douglass, learning to read was more difficult because he had to hide that he was learning to read and write. It was difficult for him because it was prohibited for slaves to know how to read and write. He started to learn to read because help him at first. Then he started getting white boys to help him learn without their knowledge of what they were doing. Another way that he was learning was by reading a book when he was running errands for his mistress. Frederick Douglass learn to write by walking through a shipyard and learning the letter that were written on wooden plaques. He started out by copying the letters L, A, S, F on timber he found in the shipyard. But at the end of his journey he accomplished his goal with unknown help from people he was appreciated. For Malcolm, it was a bit easier because he had books from the prison 's library at his disposal for when eve he needed them. He also had notebooks and pens he could write with. Malcolm learned to read and write by copying the entire dictionary and then repeating what he wrote to himself. He read a lot of books to improve his vocabulary and because they made him feel free. Frederick loved to read to know what was going on with him and his fellow slaves. He started to hate being a slave and to think that white people were cruel once he started to understand what was going on thanks to learning how to
In conclusion, two important literary nonfiction forms that Frederick Douglass identifies in “How I Learned to Read and Write” are a sense of place, and personal experience. Douglass’s essay executed examples of these two forms separately as well as together, numerous times throughout his piece. Douglass centralized his writing around his personal experiences, studying and accomplishing the ability to read and write despite the many difficulties he faced. The portrayal of a sense of place ingrained throughout his writing sheds a light on the locations and stages in his life he experienced these events. He was able to successful correlate these two forms together to create an unforgettable and inspirational story. A story of overcoming adversity, and achieving the impossible in a time whenever all odds were against him.
... 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.
According to the New York City writing project at Lehman College ,“... Reading, writing and thinking are interrelated activities that contribute to the student’s success in school, college, the community and the workplace.” Reading and writing and thinking are associated with each other and can actually help people reach success through the power of reflection. Reflection is being able to think of our past and present experience and really analyze how we can become better. Reflection also allows one to better understand what is going on around us. Frederick Douglass and Amy Tan’s literacy and language allowed them to achieve success through reflection. Frederick Douglass was a slave that learned how to read and write even besides the
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
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.
In addition to having helpers, Frank and Douglass both were good writers. Even though Douglass basically had no education at all, and Frank had a very good education, they both had the same desire to write.
As a relatively young man, Frederick Douglass discovers, in his Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, that learning to read and write can be his path to freedom. Upon discovering that...
In Learning to Read, by Malcolm X, he talks about his studies while in prison. Having only up to an eighth grade education, Malcolm X struggles with reading and writing. The main reason he decided to learn how to read was because of the letters he received while in prison, primarily from Elijah Muhammad. (X 354). He wasn’t able to write responses to them like he wanted to without using slang. Along with not being able to write letters, Malcolm X couldn’t read books without skipping over most of the words, thus motivating him to study an entire dictionary. With the use of said dictionary, he also improved his penmanship by writing down every word, definition, and punctuation he saw. (X 355). Once he memorized the whole dictionary, he was then able to read books. There wasn’t a moment where Malcolm wasn’t reading even at night when the lights were out, he still managed to use the little bit of light shining into his cell to read.
Having the knowledge to read and write may take someone into a completely different universe, it allows to see reality or escape from reality. It gives a better understanding of what goes on in the world, that being good or bad depending on how he wants to see it. Malcolm X wrote a short story " A Homemade Education," about how, his experience in prison allowed him to gain knowledge and to grow as an individual. Learning to read and write showed him, how to be mentally alive in a way that changed his life forever. He took it as an ability to grow, to make a change for himself and possibly make a difference in the world. Malcolm X explained how it 's never too late to get an education, there is always time for one to change in life. It is