The Expected Life
What would you do if you lived in a time where being starved, beat, or frozen to death with no family or education was what you expected out of your life? Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an autobiography, follows the life of a freed slave whose biggest intent in life ws learning how to read and write. This former slave endured many adversities, witnessed many horrifying events, and went through a tortuous life before becoming the exceptional writer he is known as today. Frederick Douglass's defiance, perseverance, and intelligence ultimately helped him escape slavery by helping him learn to read and write which seemed impossible during the 1800s.
Defiance is something most people would say is a poor quality, …show more content…
Douglass writes about what it was like to be taught by the poor, white boys and how their interactions would go. “I would sometimes say to them, I wished I could be as free as they would be when they would be got to be men. ‘You will be free as soon as you are twenty-one, but I am a slave for life! Have not I as good a right to be free as you have?’ “ (p. 23 ) When Douglass was learning how to read from poor, white boys, he already was very intelligent in terms of his outlook on life regarding serious topics like racism and discrimination. Douglass was also quite smart in his strategies in learning how to read. He watched ship carpenters get timbers and write letters like L.F. (larboard forward) to show what part of the ship the timper goes to, and from that he learned four letters. Douglass writes, “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.’ I would then make the letters which I has been so fortunate to learn, and ask him to beat that.” (p. 26 ) Douglass’s intelligence shines through in situations like these because not many people including adults would be smart enough or clever enough to come up with a system that literally tricked kids into teaching you to write by harnessing their competitiveness and overall nature. There are so many examples of when Douglass proves his intelligences through wisdom and quick
What would you do if you lived in a time where being starved, beat, or frozen to death with no family or education was what you expected out of your life? Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an autobiography, follows the life of a freed slave whose biggest intent in life ws learning how to read and write. This former slave endured many adversities, witnessed many horrifying events, and went through a tortuous life before becoming the exceptional writer he is known as today. Frederick Douglass's defiance, perseverance, and intelligence ultimately helped him escape slavery by helping him learn to read and write which seemed impossible during the 1800s.
Defiance is something most people would say is a poor quality, …show more content…
Douglass writes about what it was like to be taught by the poor, white boys and how their interactions would go. “I would sometimes say to them, I wished I could be as free as they would be when they would be got to be men. ‘You will be free as soon as you are twenty-one, but I am a slave for life! Have not I as good a right to be free as you have?’ “ (p. 23 ) When Douglass was learning how to read from poor, white boys, he already was very intelligent in terms of his outlook on life regarding serious topics like racism and discrimination. Douglass was also quite smart in his strategies in learning how to read. He watched ship carpenters get timbers and write letters like L.F. (larboard forward) to show what part of the ship the timper goes to, and from that he learned four letters. Douglass writes, “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.’ I would then make the letters which I has been so fortunate to learn, and ask him to beat that.” (p. 26 ) Douglass’s intelligence shines through in situations like these because not many people including adults would be smart enough or clever enough to come up with a system that literally tricked kids into teaching you to write by harnessing their competitiveness and overall nature. There are so many examples of when Douglass proves his intelligences through wisdom and quick