Frederick Douglass How I Learned To Read And Write Summary
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How Slaveholders Educated Frederick Douglass In his story “How I Learned to Read and Write,” Frederick Douglass (2014) describes his journey from the darkness of ignorance to the bright light of education. His remarkable resolve to educate himself earns him an admirable reputation. However, Douglass does not succeed in educating himself without accidental help from his owners. Though his masters do not want him to learn how to read (Douglass, 2014, p. 128), their disregard with Douglass unwittingly leads to him controlling various resources. Even though Douglass could utilize these resources in any other way, he chooses to educate himself because he believes education holds more value than anything else does. Firstly, Douglass’s owners leave him an overabundance of bread (Douglass, 2014, p. 130). This…show more content… His owners also grant him time away from labor. Douglass first handles this free time by procuring the book The Columbian Orator. He declares he often plunges into this book (Douglass, 2014, p. 130). Douglass has many things he could do with this free time: he could sleep, he could eat, or he could even plan his escape. However, Douglass continues to sharpen his reading skills. Douglass’s also uses his free time to go to the local shipyards. He learns four letters from watching the craftsmen label the different boat pieces (Douglass, 2014, p. 132). Again, the possibilities Douglass possesses in this free time are endless; instead, he decides to further the education he values more than anything. Douglass also maintains enough time to aid some Irishmen dropping off a load of rock while they discuss escape strategies with him (Douglass, 2014, p. 131). Though Douglass does not interest himself in escaping presently, this conversation inspires him to escape later (Douglass, 2014, p. 131). His owners grant him this break time to manage as he wishes, and Douglass takes full