Compare And Contrast Malcolm X And Frederick Douglass

Upon reading the essays, “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me” by Sherman Alexie, “Learning to Read and Write” by Frederick Douglass, and “Learning to Read” by Malcolm X, one can easily identify the commonalities amongst the three authors. All three men were born into what was considered to be minority ethnicities, during an era when education was discouraged amongst minority races. Alexie was a Native American, while Douglass and Malcolm X were both of the African race. There were also major differences between the writers. Alexie was a prodigy, Douglass was a suppressed slave, and Malcolm X was a criminal. Still, in spite of their varied backgrounds, it is evident that each of these men drew from a well of strength, from deep …show more content…
Their stories should also serve as a reminder to our generation that education is – and should always be recognized as -- liberating! Frederick Douglass perhaps traversed the most difficult of roads when comparing his story to that of the other two writers, Alexie and Malcom X. Douglass was a slave who, at first, was treated with gentleness and kindness by the wife of Master Hughes. He describes the mistress as “a kind and tender-hearted woman; and in the simplicity of her soul she commenced, when I first went to live with her, to treat me as she supposed one human being ought to treat another.” (Douglass 118) When her husband realized she was treating young Frederick with such thoughtfulness, even teaching him the alphabet, he immediately instructed her to cease her ways and to toughen up. He even suggested there was danger in educating a slave. (It was common thinking during times of slavery that if a slave knew too much, he would desire freedom even more.) The mistress instantly went from being a woman who “had bread for the hungry, clothes for the naked, and comfort for every mourner …” to transforming into an evil being who “became even more violent in