Learning to read and Write

In “Learning to Read and Write” Fredrick Douglass has to go through a lot just to learn how to read. It seemed like he went on a rollercoaster ride to learn just one thing. Although in those times slaves weren’t supposed to be learning that, Fredrick felt the need to. His Mater and Mistress didn’t know what they wanted to do they kept changing their minds. I think that the Mistress wanted to teach him but the Master didn’t approve of it so that’s why she stopped. The master felt that Fredrick was learning too much for his own good, but I just think that maybe his master was afraid that one day Fredrick would use his knowledge against him. This whole story relates to pathos because it is true. You can feel the determination that Fredrick has. You can also tell that he puts a lot of effort in to doing it as well.

Fredrick Douglass described his Mistress as kind and tender-hearted. I wonder what happened to make her change her character. In the beginning she was very willing to help him but as the story goes on he would get in trouble if he even thought about picking up a book. So he would find other ways to learn. As a young slave his Mistress taught him the alphabet and as he got older he wanted to learn more. It was like his mind was craving knowledge so he took his learning elsewhere. He started to ask white boys in his neighborhood to teach him what they had learned in school.

After learning how to read Fredrick felt the need to learn how to write as well. So he began to trick the neighborhood kids by giving them things in exchange for their knowledge on how to write. I guess you can say that Fredrick was trying to hustle the poor young boys, but I don’t think he cared. Knowledge was what he wanted and knowledge is what he was going to get. Every chance he got, he was somewhere reading a newspaper or writing something.

In the end all of his hard work paid off. He is now famous for many things. This has taught me to never give up. This also taught me that if you want something then go for it. Fredrick Douglass never let anything hold him back from doing what he wanted to do and I respect him for that.