Frederick Douglass Learning To Read And Write Essay

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Literacy is defined as the ability to read and write. These talents may take years to develop, however once mastered, literacy can be a fantastic skill. Literacy allows people to explore new ideas and knowledge. An example of someone who utilizes the most of his resources is Fredrick Douglas. Although a slave, where it is forbidden to be knowledgeable, he overcame many obstacles and learned how to read and write. In one of Fredrick Douglas’ excerpts, “Learning to Read and Write,” he explains specific challenges he had to overcome in his journey to become literate. The potential that literacy provides is described through the ideas of communication, opportunity, and confidence. While these ideas were important during Douglas’ time period, they …show more content…
When Douglas is teaching himself how to write, he develops a plan which included confronting a boy and tricking him into writing. Douglas was confident enough in himself to tell these boys, “I could write as well as he” (Douglas 105). Without this confidence, Douglas probably would have had to find an alternate way to teach himself how to write. On the other hand, without being literate, Douglas would have lacked the confidence other educated people had. Confidence therefore aided Douglas in ways to find the limitless potential of literacy. In modern society, people may begin to feel isolated and have a low self-esteem if they do not know how to read or write. However, if people are literate it allows them to have confidence in themselves which in turn could help in preparing for a test. These examples show how imperative literacy is in order to be confident in both the past and the present. In American society, as well as Douglas’ society, literacy has been proven to have limitless potential. Although the ability to read and write is important, it also allows people to develop certain skills. Communication, responsibility, and confidence are significant topics when discussing the importance of being able to read and write. These ideas allow people to benefit in modern society in many aspects of life. Without literacy, man would be just like the clueless other slaves that Douglas worked
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