Jimmy Santiago Baca once an inmate, now a winner of the international prize of literature, and Frederick Douglas, a national hero, are alike in that they possess important characteristics which assist them in obtaining an education and which lead them to improve their lives and inspire others. First, both men grew up with little to no parental guidance. Second, they are driven to accomplish their goals. Third, literature helped them to escape their dehumanizing prison of poverty, abuse and neglect. Baca was placed in an orphanage at an early age because his mother decided she was no longer capable of taking care of him and his brother. Baca’s mother chose a man over her family obligations leaving them to fend for themselves. Baca “always hoped
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Being calm and avoiding altercations is important because one fight gone wrong can mean more time in jail for the inmate. Writing frees Baca from jail by keeping him away from trouble, but writing also frees Baca from his previous unhealthy patterns by allowing him to let go of the past and to look forward to a healthy life after he gets out of jail. After Baca finished his sentence in prison, he wrote A Place to Stand to inspire others and to show that a non-criminal life can be possible after jail. Knowledge is a powerful tool that can be utilized by anyone to make a difference. Douglas’ time and effort to learn how to write frees him from slavery. “The more [he] read, the more [he] was led to abhor and detest [his] enslavers”(Douglas 71). When he finally manages to escape from slavery, he became leader of the abolitionist movement against slavery. Because of Douglas ' extensive knowledge of slavery, he began to author and distribute anti-slavery papers. So he could open people 's ' eyes of how cruel and dehumanizing it is to be a slave and why it should be abolished. By becoming literate and, Douglas inspired people to stand against slavery and gave hope to thousands of slaves that they will finally be liberated and not treated as an object anymore. Without Douglas slavery would have continued for a longer period of time, because of his actions against slavery now he is considered a national
Being calm and avoiding altercations is important because one fight gone wrong can mean more time in jail for the inmate. Writing frees Baca from jail by keeping him away from trouble, but writing also frees Baca from his previous unhealthy patterns by allowing him to let go of the past and to look forward to a healthy life after he gets out of jail. After Baca finished his sentence in prison, he wrote A Place to Stand to inspire others and to show that a non-criminal life can be possible after jail. Knowledge is a powerful tool that can be utilized by anyone to make a difference. Douglas’ time and effort to learn how to write frees him from slavery. “The more [he] read, the more [he] was led to abhor and detest [his] enslavers”(Douglas 71). When he finally manages to escape from slavery, he became leader of the abolitionist movement against slavery. Because of Douglas ' extensive knowledge of slavery, he began to author and distribute anti-slavery papers. So he could open people 's ' eyes of how cruel and dehumanizing it is to be a slave and why it should be abolished. By becoming literate and, Douglas inspired people to stand against slavery and gave hope to thousands of slaves that they will finally be liberated and not treated as an object anymore. Without Douglas slavery would have continued for a longer period of time, because of his actions against slavery now he is considered a national