Similarities Between Frederick Douglass And The Count Of Monte Cristo

Douglass lived in the slave times. It was illegal to a slave to read and write. Any slave caught reading or writing would be severely punished or even killed. Slave owners felt that if they learn they will soon rebel and start to fight back. Douglass even grew up not even knowing his own age. His master’s wife is what

Douglass was a slave, who had an attitude like no other slave and had the motivation to learn to read and write. Douglass states, “The more I read, the more I was led to abhor and detest my enslavers.” This shows how Douglass loved to read, and how he became of more knowledge as he read. Books saved Douglass from a very dull life, he read so much that he became smart enough to escape from slavery. Douglass ended up becoming a very fluent reader and writer, before he escaped and after he escaped. This is very much like Charles Blow, and how he saved himself from a terrible life by reading

Douglass found out education was the key to success and freedom so his determination to

Much less, his envy for his fellow slaves indicates to us the effects that learning had on him. For example Douglass wrote: “I would at times feel like that learning to read had been a curse rather than a blessing. It had given me a view of my wretched condition, without the remedy” (146). Being that he is the only educated slave among all the other slaves in his household, Douglass’s thoughts were only present in his mind and he wasn’t able to express any of them to a white man, or even to his mister and mistress. Thus, Douglass was stuck in his own circle of thoughts which made him wish if he was a totally different person. For instance, He wrote a lot about situations where he tried to talk to some fellows on bailey’s ship-yard about slavery and tell them how lucky they are to be free, but then as soon as he starts arguing with them about why he doesn’t have the right to be free they seem to be troubled with him and his words; Which eventually made Douglass so upset that he wished to be just as stupid as all the other salves happy with their lives not knowing what’s going on. His Knowledge and awarnace opened many roads for him that are filled with obstacles and challenges that he will never be able to overcome. Living like a salve while not being a slave at the same

Frederick Douglass appears to be rather smart and well minded compared to the other slaves. He was briefly taught how to read and write by Sophia Auld. Once Sophia’s husband, Douglass’ master, found out she was teaching him how to read and write, he immediately ordered her to stop teaching. Douglass stated, “The very decided manner with which he spoke, and strove to impress his wife with the evil consequences of giving me instruction, served to convince me that he was deeply sensible of the truths he was uttering”. “What he most dreaded, that I most desired. What he most loved, that I most hated. That which to him was a great evil, to be carefully shunned, was to me a great good, to be diligently sought; and the argument which he so warmly urged, against my learning to read, only served to inspire me with a desire and determination to learn” (Douglass). That quote by Frederick Douglass is very powerful, and goes to show how strong his motivation was to better his life. Soon after that, Douglass was able to teach himself a bit more on how to read and write.

Fredrick Douglass wrote the very empowering story called, “Learning to Read and Write”. The entire work had emotion and painted a great picture of the life he lived struggling with his intelligence and trying to gain as much information as he could without getting caught. Douglass took any opportunity many others would not even notice.

Mr. Douglass was not rich whatsoever. As a matter of fact, he was a slave. He didn’t have much, but the young lad had two positive personality traits that guided him on his path to learning to read and write. Douglass was very perpetual. Despite the fact it took him longer due to not having a constant teacher, and not being able to get a chance to find a book or paper all the time, he refused to give up the fight. Do doubt about it, he was determined to learn the skill even if took until he was old and gray. Which it didn’t. He was also very resourceful with where he got his information and how he caught it. Whenever he found a book or paper, he would often collect it and read it. Other times he would give extra bread to the poor white kids in exchange for them giving him some more knowledge. Since he was a serf, food was not an issue, so he was able to use a little

In Douglass’s memoir, he states, “Though conscious of the difficulty of learning without a teacher, I set out with high hope, and a fixed purpose, at whatever cost of trouble, to learn how to read”(Douglass, 2015, pp.130). His desire and determination to read and write at whatever cost of trouble discloses the reality of the consequences he is willing to take. In his memoir, he develops friendships with some white kids. He later quotes, “As many of these as I could, I converted into teachers. With their kindly aid, obtained at different times ad in different places, I finally succeeded in learning to read”(Douglass, 2015, pp.132). Although formal education was nonexistent, he managed to achieve a desire of his. Douglass strived in learning to read, but he also missed out on

Frederick Douglass was an abolitionist and a former slave who was against slavery. However not many slaves knew how to read like he did. He would have to trade bread with the poor white neighborhood kids for lessons. Slaves were strictly forbidden to read at that time. But for Frederick that didn’t matter to him he wanted his people to have freedom and wanted to show that everyone should be treated equally.

As a young boy, Douglass learns how to read without a proper teacher to help him. Because of this, he was “was compelled to resort to various stratagems,” to learn how to read, such as utilizing the young white boys with an education who lived near him (50). Even though his master and his master’s wife were against him, he found the means of teaching himself anyways, which shows his cleverness, and his ability to learn without a proper teacher shows his intelligence. Later on in his life, he also manages to teach other slaves. If the slaves were caught going to Douglass’s Sabbath school, they would be harshly punished, but they go anyways, which shows their dedication to learning, as well as Douglass’s.

Frederick Douglass, a famous abolitionist leader and writer, was born into slavery in the early 1800’s. Douglass published many books and papers illustrating the time in which he lived, all of them portraying his perspective of growing up as a slave in Talbot County, Maryland. During this time slaves had no rights. They were bought and sold constantly, and were consider property the slave owners. Slaves mainly worked in the fields, but Douglass on the other hand, was lucky enough to live as a servant to the Master and his family. In his essay, “Learning to Read and Write”, Frederick Douglass described the events that took place in his early childhood and adolescence years that helped him acquire the skills to learn to read and write. These skills are ultimately what enabled Douglass to free himself from slavery and pursue his own passions to fight slavery with his words. In Contrasts, Peter Elbow is a modern day English professor who has published numerous essays regarding methods on how to improve People’s writing skills. One of his methods is known as “Freewriting.” Although these two essays were published nearly two centuries apart, they contain similar methods of organization and purposes within their writing. The authors used a step-by-step method of writing where each supporting detail adds the previous one and guides the reader closer to the main principle of the paper.

Frederick Douglass’ values education because it makes him feel less like a slave. Frederick states, “I now understood what had been to me a most perplexing difficulty-to wit, the white man’s power to enslave the black man. ”(41) Frederick’s help of his value in education gave him the ability to feel as more than just a slave. Frederick was able to now understand why white men were so afraid for slaves to learn how to read, write, or be educated.

Mrs. Auld teaches Douglass to read, and as shes being scolded by her husband for doing so, Douglass learns a lesson from Mr. Auld, that “[he] understood the path from slavery to freedom… it gave [him] the best assurance that [he] might rely with the utmost confidence on the results… which… would flow from teaching me to read”(p.48). With the sincerity of the lecture Mr. Auld gives his wife, Douglass is too convinced by it. Except, he understands that now he must learn how to read because of this. Douglass was smart enough to take the underlying tone and context clues in Mr. Auld’s speech to realize that intellect is equivalent to freedom, something he wishes to obtain. Another example of African American intellect is when those who attended the Sabbath school “[did not] come to Sabbath school because it was popular to do so, nor did [Douglass] teach them because it was reputable to be thus engaged. Every moment they spent in that school, they were liable to be taken up, and given thirty-nine lashes. They came because they wished to learn. Their minds had been starved by their cruel masters. They had been shut up in mental darkness.”(p.88). These people had gone to the school not because they felt it was right to do, but because they felt depraved of knowledge and needed some source of intellectual

The fact that Douglass was a slave greatly hurt his chances of acquiring an education. Since he was a slave, it was illegal and dangerous for people to teach him how to read and write because they could get in trouble with the law. Slaveholders and masters feared educated slaves. An educated slave

Although Douglass’s mistress ceased to instructed him because he lived in a society where it was derogatory to teach blacks how to read, it didn’t make him overwhelmed, illiterate, stupid, or uneducated (Douglass 101-102). It didn’t make him too scared get help or to disobey the rules of society because of the choice he made (Douglass 101-102). For example, according to the excerpt “Learning to Read and Write,” he befriended the boys he met on the street and did them many favors to make them his teachers (Douglass 101). That is to say that Douglass was ambitious and serious about his education though nobody pushed him to learn. He also “[gave bread to] the hungry little urchins, who, in return, would give me a more valuable bread of knowledge” (Douglass 101). In addition, by going one part of [his] errands quickly, [he] found time to get a lesson before his return” (Douglass 101) and in time, he successfully mastered the skill of reading (Douglass 101). In other words, Douglass tried to prove his point that our circumstances don’t define us by showing that despite his disadvantages, he wasn’t dumb or illiterate (Douglass 101). He became a