Thursday, February 26, 2009

F. Douglass Learning to read

I found that Frederick Douglass learning how to read in his slavery days is a testament that anyone can do anything as long as they put their all into it. After he was shipped to Baltimore, he was confused at everything that was around him. Douglass was a stranger and became a person who was consistently chased by others because of his birthplace. His new mistress Mrs. Auld, was very kind to him and read him the Bible and sang to him as well. He was determined to read and write because of her love and teachings towards him. Mr. Auld, her husband did not want him to learn to read write because he feared that Douglass would become powerful and learn to get his way out of the slave system. It took seven years for Douglass to learn how to read and write. Douglass can be an inspiration to African Americans because he teaches that through any ignorance, adversity can overcome it and a individual can achieve anything he wants in life through hard work and determination

1 Comments:

At 11:17 PM, Blogger A. Mattson said...

Yes, the life of Frederick Douglass is a great inspiration. Douglass is one of the most important figures of the 19th century.

Beyond his individual story, what does this episode tell us about the role of literacy in the South before the Civil War? Why were the slave masters so afraid of literate slaves? What could they have read that was so threatening and what does that tell us about the media at the time?

 

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