Double-entry Journal:
| “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 most wicked of men”. (paragraph 6) | While I’ve never personally connected with the situation being depicted, that being racism, slavery, and the results of both, I have experienced similar reactions and emotions when looking at the clear social class difference in this country and around the world.  |
| “After that, when I met with any boy who I knew could write, I would tell him I could write as well as he. The next word would be, “I don’t believe you. Let me see you try it.” I would then make the letters which I had been so fortunate as to learn, and ask him to beat that. In this way I got a good many lessons in writing, which it is quite possible I should never have gotten in any other way”. (paragraph 8) | In this quote Frederick Douglass depicts how he went about learning how to read/write with the only sources he could. He took advantage of the opportunities that would give him the knowledge that he was looking for, much like I love going into any educational activity. |
Quote Sandwich:
Frederick Douglass describes in his autobiography, Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass, the impact that his education had on him, explaining how “[t]he 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 most wicked of men”(paragraph 6). Douglass comes to the realization that the more he learned about the situation he was in the greater his distaste for his oppressors. The situation he was in was revealed to be more than a simple fact of life, but rather a reality that was constructed on immoral acts against his communities will.Â
Free write:
The first quote from Frederick Douglass that resonated with me was in paragraph 6 of chapter 7, that the more one learns the more they develop feelings towards something or someone. This to me reminds me a lot about the saying “ignorance is bliss”, since Douglass also goes on to describe how he wished he did not know the severity of the situation he was in. This moment reminds me about a lot of moments in my life, moments where I suddenly see so many immoral and saddening events happening with clear perpetrators. One of the earliest moments I can remember was in middle school, where I really learned about the difference between social classes. My family is not the wealthiest and back then was no different. I started noticing how almost all of my friends and peers had access to so many things that seemed normal to a child, yet I have never had the chance to interact with them. Phones, social media, texting, bicycles, cars, houses, my peers had all of this and more, however I couldn’t find any of those around me. Since then I resented my living situations and would help out whenever I could to try to improve the living conditions of my family. A more recent example that motivated a great deal of resentment towards the upper class was a few weeks ago when I was reading and watching videos about the most recent IPCC report (basically a climate change update). What the report said is very depressing, that we as a species have already caused irreversible harm to the planet, and at the rate its going there will be extinction level climate events. Watching videos on people breaking the situation down brought light to a very important issue, that those who have the power to stop the damage from worsening more do absolutely nothing. They claim that we, the average citizen, are responsible, that it is our lifestyles that caused this, when in fact many big companies cause more harm than millions of people could in their lifetimes. I resent those that valued profit more than our future, and resent those in politics that could stop it but won’t.Â
he reading I chose in which I found a relation to was in the text, “Learning to Read” by Malcolm X. In this text, I was able to get a glimpse into the life of a historical figure, with whom I’ve heard so much about. Not only was Malcolm intelligent beyond imagination, he also had an eagerness to continue reading. When it was time to sleep, he’d search for a light to dawn on his page. When it was time for lessons with Elijah, he’d still sneak in some readings here and there. Malcom stated, “Anyone who as read a great deal can imagine the new world that opened.” He also mentioned how much time had flied whenever he was with a book, to the point where he even forgot that he was imprisoned! I related so much to that statement. I’m not really a bookworm and I can’t guarantee that you’d find my nose constantly in a book. However, when I did find myself reading.. be it a physical book or a book found online, time truly does fly. In the words orchestrated by the author, I’d find myself entering a whole new world. (Just as Princess Jasmine had) In these readings I’d find myself putting myself in the character’s shoes, imagining different Point of views, and even asking myself questions as if the text had come to life! Whether we believe it or not, We have all experienced what Malcolm felt whenever he read. Maybe it didn’t take you to a completely different atmosphere, but something as small as the voice you’re using to read this right now, could help your mind travel further than you ever imagined.
Quote #1:
“In prison I realized that reading made me mentally alive”
I connected to this quote, because in reading, as I stated many times before, you open many doors, and increase your knowledge. Being mentally alive doesn’t necessarily mean to be a know it all, but it means to keep going, keep searching, and to keep reading. Upon reading that quote I realized I really needed to expand my horizons when it came to reading, and that was what I’m planning to do. To get my own glimpse of being mentally alive. My connection was simply an awakening.
Quote #2:
“In fact, prison enabled me to study far more intensively than I would have if my life had gone differently and I had attended some college.”
I connected to this, not because I was in prison, but because I know how what it is to find more knowledge when you’re in isolation. Like Malcom continued to say, in environments where we are meant to learn and be taught, we find ourselves drifting from the main goal, due to distractions. Yet, when you’re by yourself, you find yourself distracted by nothing, unless YOU chose to be. In isolation like prison for instance, you find yourself yearning to do something beneficial with your time. Something you wouldn’t really find yourself doing, if it were a more open setting.
The experiences I could refer to would maybe be the times where my teacher would give us 30 minutes full of reading time, where the atmosphere would be quiet, and everyone is racing to finish their chapter and write a summary. If it were a book like “A long walk to water” or “12 angry men” I’d find myself drowning in the book or hanging unto every word, (Just like Woodson). That’d be my own example of reading opening up a whole new world.
These are thoughtful responses. I like your description of Malcolm X’s learning experience as “eager” and how reading can seem to transport us to another world, out of space and time. You’re not alone in the amount of time you say you spend reading, at least for folks entering college, but it’s nice to see that you do love it when you’ve found the right book.
I like your explanation of being mentally alive and how it’s not about some body of knowledge you have, but about curiosity and interest.
Your point about being alone with your work (homework, reading, activity), especially without distractions, will serve you really well in college! And I’m glad you were able to connect it to Woodson’s TED talk, too.