Of Learning to Read and Write by Frederick Douglass - Literature review Example

Essay, English Topic: Response with summery to a literacy narrative: Learning to Read and Write There was a time when to read and write was a crime for the blacks (slaves). Illiteracy and slavery were alternative beats of the same heart for the blacks. In his article, Learning to Read and Write Frederick Douglass writes “Education and slavery were incompatible with each other”. He was born as a slave in 1818 in the darkest period of slavery in America and he did the impossible as he was an ambitious and strong-willed individual. He found his ways to read and write as he had realized that those were the important tools for achieving success in life. In this article, he appeals to the three parts of the rhetorical triangle: ethos, logos, and pathos. The title of the excerpt throws light on the character of Douglass. The first sentence of the story reads “I lived in Master Hugh’s family about seven years.” He was like any other slave, except that he was determined to learn and found a way out for it. This strong inclination sets the tone of the story. As such his writing was to show how he was different from other slaves and how he went about accomplishing his goals. This also indicates his inherent rebelliousness against the established procedures by the white society that suppressed the slaves by denying them the right to education. Thus, Douglass was ahead of his times. He tells about his grim experiences of life and the difficult process of achieving literacy. He grabs the attention of the readers by the force of his writings and he emerges as a credible and trustworthy author. The reason for writing this story is to create awareness with the audience the measures adopted by him to read and write and thus he appeals to the logos. He provides examples as to what brought him to the present level and his travails in the process. He writes, “The plan which I adopted…was making friends of all the little white boys whom I met in the street. As many of them as I could, I converted them into teachers”. Without his being aware of the science behind the procedures adopted by him, he was actually following the ‘study-buddy’ approach to learn the language. In his determination to accomplish his goal, he gives details about those facts and he chooses the best alternative available to him. This passage also mainly appeals to the pathos. This is a true story relating to the suffering, loss of dignity and self-respect, loss of identity and in short the existence of the slave was difficult for the printed page to capture. He makes liberal use of pathos in various parts of the article. He uses this device to derive sympathy of his audience and to make them reason about his pleas. Though the reading is applicable to all audience, his emphasis seems to be directed at the sufferers, the African-Americans, as they are able to connect well with his experiences. Douglas writes “The more I read, the more I was led to abhor and detest my enslavers. I could regard them in no other light than a band of successful robbers, who had left their homes, and gone to Africa, and stolen us from our homes; and in a strange land reduced us to slavery. I loathed them as being the meanest as well as the wicked of men.” This makes it clear that he is trying to educate the audience and the white audience should regret the way they treated the slaves. The emotional world of the audience becomes one with that of Douglass and the suffering slave community. At one stage of the story he makes mention of his sterling achievement about being able to read finally. He must have felt as if emerging out from a dark cave to a sun-lit area. This was possible only with his newfound ability to read and write. That was a big accomplishment for him and he was proud of his endeavors to get at that turning point in his life. By reading this article we feel proud of Douglas. He compares the life of an illiterate man with the dead one as existence of such an individual has no meaning. His literacy reveals a new world to him and he reads vast information about slavery and the atrocities committed by the white people on the slaves. Severe whipping was normal which often caused bodily harm to the slaves. Their working hours were long, from sun-rise to sun-set in the open farms, in all kinds of weather. With no educational facilities, no scope for personal empowerment was possible for the slaves, and the doors of world of knowledge remained shut for them from cradle to the grave and from the womb to the tomb, as if! With no economic power, with no power of education, with no social acceptance, and with condemnation from religious authorities, their existence was grim. Leave aside the issues related to the secular world, the slaves are deliberately denied access to their personal information, as no slave knows his date of birth and where his parents are! With no participation in civil society, they are as good as animals. Though he is appalled by the information that takes his inner world by storm, his first job is to hide the fact that he is able to read and write, as otherwise his life would be in danger. The house-lady was kind to him and tender-hearted and she was the one who supported in his efforts and helped him in learning the alphabets. But once Douglass made the mark, she was jealous of him and she stopped teaching and did not like the sight of his with the newspaper. This is thus a great emotional story that gives the message that an individual can achieve the desired objective in life with dedicated pursuit. In this article Douglas convinces the readers that knowledge is the route to freedom. When religion fails to provide any solace to the slaves, another option is the knowledge. The mental progression of the slaves is so poor that they need to know what suffering is and the clever options through which the whites practice the art to keep them under total subjugation. The whites sincerely believe that education ruins the slaves as it throws open the gates of awareness, and it is a dangerous development that is detrimental to the interests of the whites. Douglass unwittingly learns this trick of the trade, when his master advises Auld (his wife) not to teach Douglass how to read and write. In the years to come Douglass proves that ‘pen is mightier than the sword’. Knowledge helps the slaves to articulate the magnitude of the injustice being meted out to them. Learning to read and write gives impetus to the inborn latent talents of Douglass and he shapes as an orator. In a part of the reading he touches upon certain sociological, trade-union related issues. He throws light on the issue of white carpenters working with those black carpenters working free. He writes “if colored carpenters were encouraged, they would soon take the trade into their own hands.” This issue has relevance to the current disputes in our country as people argue that illegal immigrants are taking over the jobs in America. The reality is that they are not taking over, but do those jobs which the Americans are not willing to perform. Here is a real test for the American politicians and administrators to handle the situation. Most of the people in such low-paid jobs are illegal immigrants. They are not slaves but as for their economic plight they can be compared thus. They did not arrive here to work in banking institutions and big multinational organizations. Many of them have no knowledge of English. They are in the lowest level of the economic ladder and they earn just to survive and they get poor wages. In this passage, Douglas elucidates how he used his wittiness to learn to read and write. This is exceptionally ironic, seeing that slaves were deemed as unintelligent. He writes, “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.” He used his intelligence to outsmart whites. Through this passage, Frederick Douglass explains how he became literate. He used his intelligence to become even more intelligent. He used many different ways in which to learn to read and write. As for the novel methods employed by Douglass to read and write he uses rhetoric while backing up his claims. In fine, according to Douglass the psychological depression was too much to bear for the slaves apart from the suffering at the physical and mental levels. He writes, “I preferred the condition of the meanest reptile to my own”. This observation pierces the heart of all the right thinking people. He conclusively proves that one can know the true meaning of freedom by being literate. His writings are unforgettable lessons for the non-slave generations of blacks as for the suffering undergone by their forefathers, and how precious is the freedom they enjoy now. Viewed from any angle Frederick Douglass has given an excellent presentation about the living conditions of the slaves during the era to which he belonged. Work Cited Douglass, Frederick. Learning to Read and Write. Read More