Frederick Douglass Reflection

From reading the article “Learning to Read and Write by Frederick Douglass” we see the point of view of Federick Douglass an African American who was the first slave to get education and gain freedom. In this specific writing we get to see his earlier years of being a slave before he runs away from his owners. We see how in his early year his mistress would show him how to read. But once she saw how much power she had over him she would deny him reading in the house. So Federick would ask the homeless white kids to help him read and in return he would give them bread. What got me thinking was when he wrote “You will be free as soon as you turn twenty-one, but I am a slave for life! Haven’t I as good a right to be free as you have?” These words used to trouble them; they would express for me the liveliest sympathy, and console me with the hope that something would occur by which I might be free.” What shocked me about this was these white kids felt like they couldn’t relate to Douglass. In this context they make it seem like these kids believe that African Americans weren’t even human. As Douglass finally learned how to read fluently he was confronted by reality and as he read even more books he saw how freedom looked even farther than it was at the beginning. He even wrote that he envied his fellow slaves for their stupidity. Douglass then soon decided to learn how to write before running away. He would go to a shipyard and would see how the ship carpenters would write letters on a piece of timber for abbreviations. He would then copy them on a board fence and would use chalk as a writing utensil. This article is in the same category as Hannah-Jones and Sean Wilentz because all these three articles are trying to show how African Americans help build this country but also the hardships that they faced and how they too had dreams. They all just focused on expressing different points. For example Hannah-Jones solemnly focuses on how African Americans were more involved in making this country and how some politicians at the time like Thomas Jefferson who said “every man is created equal” still had a child slave. Sean Wiltenz focuses more on arguing with an audience that believes that slavery was destined to end.