The Library Card, By Frederick Douglass And The Library Card By Richard Wright

Knowledge is essential to one 's self, it can come in many forms such as education, literacy, information, and any form of insight. By being knowledgeable the sky 's the limit for anyone wanting to reach enlightenment, however, with knowledge there comes consequences. From reading “Learning To Read and Write” by Frederick Douglass and “The Library Card” by Richard Wright it can be seen that obtaining knowledge did not come easy to these men. Even when obtained it revealed that it was both a blessing and a curse, showing how it can play a conflicting role in people’s lives. Douglass was able to become literate with the knowledge he got from his mistress and from enriching himself further while Wright became enlightened from constantly reading …show more content…
Douglass was a slave while Wright was a free man. Living in the time of slavery compared to Jim Crow was very different. Slaves were property, not considered human beings while during the time of Jim Crow it was easier in the sense of not being someone 's property but being “separate but equal”, however this system was full of injustices. As Douglass was speaking to his poor white friends he mentions, “... I wished I could be as free as they would be when they got to be men” Freedom was something very far fetched to think about, but it was what all slaves wished for. Although for Wrigbt the situation seemed better because he was free, there was still an obvious difference between the treatment of African Americans and whites. The fact that Douglass and Wright did not coexist during the same time period provides an acceptable reason as to why there was such a difference between their actions, but both of them faced plenty of injustices throughout their lifetime. If both men were sat down in the same room, they would agree that the knowledge they obtained turned out to be a double edged sword for them, it resolved their ignorance, but created a deep hatred within