...Even though Frederick Douglass and Malcolm X are both African American men from two different time periods, both authors wrote with similar aspects. Douglass was a slave, while Malcolm was a criminal, both men did not have the ability to obtain a higher form education. It was their desire to learn that divided them from others around them, so the education that they gained changed them. Douglass and Malcolm both grew to understand the importance of an education, as well as being able to read and write, as well as any of the other simply basic parts of an education. In Frederick Douglass’ “Learning to Read and Write” and Malcolm’s “Learning to Read” we can find many similarities and many difference between then men. Frederick Douglass discusses the obstacle of learning to read, he states that “slavery and education were incompatible with each other” (Douglass, 2004, p.101). This quote shows us how hard it was to obtain an education for a slave. Obtaining an education wasn’t only hard for him but he had to do it in silence to protect him and his mistress, who had helped learn his education from his punishment. Although Malcolm X never was a...
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...“The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me” How does this Sherman Alexie essay compare to the Frederick Douglass and Malcolm X essays we read earlier in the semester? What implications does Alexie invoke with his use of the Superman imagery? In comparing the three essays, “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me” by Sherman Alexie, to “Learning to Read and Write” by Frederick Douglass and “Learning to Read” by Malcolm X, one immediately recognizes that all three authors place high importance on the value of reading and writing. When one has the ability to read and write, one has the ability to achieve many goals. One also has the ability to make a difference in the lives of others and society. In “Learning to Read” by Frederick...
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...Frederick Douglass’ Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass depicts many slave owners who torture their slaves, which reflects selfishness of white men in America during the eighteenth century. Douglass employs vivid metaphors to illustrate abusive imagery, characterizing the physical violence experienced by slaves during the Pre-Civil War period in America. He also exploits irony which reveals the violent atmosphere by exposing that religious slaveholders were worse than secular slaveholders. In addition, Douglass’ choice of words creates a dull tone with identifies with the attempts of slaveholders to keep their slaves ignorant of the world. Throughout the narrative, slaves face abuse as an outcome of their owner’s spite. Douglass conveys fierce metaphors which serve to illustrate the horrors of being a slave. He...
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...Zouheir Boussaid Serena Reavis ENG 111-0003S 22 June 2013, In “The Allegory of the Cave,” Plato presents his abstract view of human nature and truth, whereas Douglass presents his personal journal in “Learning to Read and Write.” Compare and contrast Plato and Douglass' essays and ideas. How might Douglass view Plato's allegory based on his experience? The most basic question that we can ask ourselves is: who and what am I? Moreover, the answer to this question about human nature (what a human being is) will greatly affect how we see ourselves. In Plato’s “The Allegory of the Cave”, he managed to let us visualize people living in a big cave, where these people were chained by the leg and by the neck and they couldn’t move. They can only see what is in front of them. He explains to us how the “The Allegory of the Cave” is the education of the soul toward enlightenment. According to Plato, the chains that bind the prisoners are the senses and the prisoners symbolize ignorant people, the raised wall symbolizes the limitation of our thinking. The idea of Plato’s essay describes how most people are trapped in their own world, unaware of what is happening around them. According to Plato the “The Allegory of the Cave” is the common man and it represents all people before they are fully educated. The common person sees nothing but the shadows on the wall of the cave. In Plato’s essay, the fire has a significant meaning to the common man; it is the source of light...
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...them Malcolm x , Sandra Cisneros and Frederick Douglass. They all struggled a lot to pursue their profession .they expressed themselves better after they discovered reading and writing. In their stories they described their conditions when they started reading and writing. This essay discusses how the readings of Frederick Douglass , Malcolm x , and Sandra Cisneros compare and contrast. Even though there is time difference between their lifetime , Malcolm x and Frederick Douglass were African- American and were imprisoned anyway .”you will be free as soon as you are twenty - one, , but I am a slave for life!”pg 115, para 3. On the other hand , Sandra Cisneros was neglected , which is not less than a prison for her . “but somehow I could feel myself being erased” In...
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...Although throughout the Narrative, Frederick Douglass has a tendency to skip around often and does not always follow a completely chronological ordering, the work begins with his childhood. Frederick Douglass gives a summary of how he, like many other slave children, has no idea when his birthday is but as far he can guess it must have been around 1818. He was separated from his mother right after he was born (which he imagines was because they did not want the bonds of family to develop naturally between families) but recalls how sometimes she would walk at night from a neighboring plantation to sleep with him. As this important part of this summary of “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass” makes clear, he tells the reader that she died but because of his lack of connection with her the news did not have much of an impact on him. All Frederick Douglass knows about his father is that he is a white man based on his light skin tone and rumors he’s heard to confirm it. Frederick Douglass then gives the reader a brutal short summary of that the rape of female slaves by their white masters actually benefits slavery because by law the products of the rape become slaves themselves. When you’re reading this analysis and summary of “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass” and throughout the text itself, you should notice the way Douglass makes reference not just to the cruelty of slavery as an institution, but also how he shows the way it has become institutionalized through...
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...are pro slavery. Frederick Douglass was a slave during this time. He wrote an autobiography called, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. He was treated poorly as a slave. He overheard his master talking to his wife about slaves needing to be illiterate and taught himself how to read and write in secret. Once he becomes educated he will try to escape. Eventually he overcame many obstacles and became a free man. It is clear in Douglass’s autobiography and the research conducted that his portrayal of 19th century America is accurate because slaves are mistreated badly, illiterate, and are given little resources to survive. An indication that Douglass’s portrayal of 19th century America is accurate due to his...
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...The Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass An American Slave Written by himself Throughout its autobiography, Douglass narrates his life as a slave, from his birth, in 1818, in a plantation of Maryland, to his evasion in 1838, which allowed him to take refuge in the North of the United States. He quickly became there a figure eminent and respected by the abolitionist movement to which he dedicated then all his energies. At first, we shall focus on the inhuman conditions from which Douglass suffered. Then we shall redraw the road he took towards freedom. We shall finally analyze how Douglass criticizes various institutions. The author makes us go right to the heart of the absolute horror of the institution of slavery. Throughout his personal experience, Frederick Douglass counts us the story of thousands of other slaves who were subjected to the same conditions under the influence of the white slaveholders in the southern plantations. Thus, this account illustrates how these human beings were condemned to a terrible tragedy that was inherent to their color. Being black justified their entrance to a process of dehumanization. From his youngest age, Douglass suffered from identity issue. He expressed his disorientation due to not knowing his father or his date of birth[1]. He was also deprived from experiencing the protection and the love that a family should bring. Indeed, he was separated from his mother at the age of one and in spite of his blood relationship...
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...Course Number and Title: American Literature 1 Number of Credits: 3 Instructor Name: Sos Bagramyan Email Address: sbagramyan@aua.am Telephone Number: 51 27 69 Office Location: Paramaz Avedisian Building, 132W Office Hours: Tuesday and Thursday, 8am-9am Term/Year: Spring 2015 ENGL 120 – American Literature 1 This survey course introduces students to American literature from the beginning of European contact to the present, focusing on major authors and different literary genres. It examines the historical influences on the evolution of this body of literature and the construction of a distinct and complex American identity. Through close reading, class discussion and their own research and writing, students will explore how themes such as gender, race, class, spirituality, economics, and the environment play a role in the formation and evolution of the American experience Three hours of instructor-led class time per week. Required Materials: All readings are located in PDF format on our course’s Moodle page. Academic Integrity: All graded assignments must completed individually. Plagiarism is a serious offense, and any attempt to pass off another person's ideas and writings as your own will result in severe disciplinary measures, possibly expulsion from the university. This also applies to your Informal Responses, which should reflect your own understanding of the material and not simply repeat what I or your classmates have already said. Students are required...
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...DISCUSSION QUESTIONS.......................................................................9 ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES.......................................................................................................9 ACTIVITIES FOR USING THE FILM ADAPTATION........................................................ 11 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES................................................................................................... 13 ABOUT THE AUTHORS OF THIS GUIDE.......................................................................... 13 Also available in a black-spine Penguin Classics edition Copyright © 2014 by Penguin Group (USA) For additional teacher’s manuals, catalogs, or descriptive brochures, please email academic@penguin.com or write to: PENGUIN GROUP (USA) Academic Marketing Department 375...
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...A TEACHER’S GUIDE TO THE SIGNET CLASSIC EDITION OF BOOKER T. WASHINGTON’S UP FROM SLAVERY By VIRGINIA L. SHEPHARD, Ph.D., Florida State University S E R I E S E D I T O R S : W. GEIGER ELLIS, ED.D., ARTHEA J. S. REED, PH.D., UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA, EMERITUS and UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA, RETIRED A Teacher’s Guide to the Signet Classic Edition of Booker T. Washington’s Up from Slavery 2 INTRODUCTION Booker T. Washington’s commanding presence and oratory deeply moved his contemporaries. His writings continue to influence readers today. Although Washington claimed his autobiography was “a simple, straightforward story, with no attempt at embellishment,” readers for nearly a century have found it richly rewarding. Today, Up From Slavery appeals to a wide audience from early adolescence through adulthood. More important, however, is the inspiration his story of hard work and positive goals gives to all readers. His life is an example providing hope to all. The complexity and contradictions of his life make his autobiography intellectually intriguing for advanced readers. To some he was known as the Sage of Tuskegee or the Black Moses. One of his prominent biographers, Louis R. Harlan, called him the “Wizard of the Tuskegee Machine.” Others acknowledged him to be a complicated person and public figure. Students of American social and political history have come to see that Washington lived a double life. Publicly he appeased the white establishment...
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...Description This course provides an overview of the social, political, economic, and global events that have shaped the American scene from colonial times through the Civil War period. Policies Faculty and students/learners will be held responsible for understanding and adhering to all policies contained within the following two documents: • University policies: You must be logged into the student website to view this document. • Instructor policies: This document is posted in the Course Materials forum. University policies are subject to change. Be sure to read the policies at the beginning of each class. Policies may be slightly different depending on the modality in which you attend class. If you have recently changed modalities, read the policies governing your current class modality. Course Materials Schultz, K. M. (2012). HIST2, Volume 1 (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. All electronic materials are available on the student website. |Week One: Contact, Settlement, Slavery | | |Details...
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...must be logged into the student website to view this document. Instructor policies: This document is posted in the Course Materials forum. University policies are subject to change. Be sure to read the policies at the beginning of each class. Policies may be slightly different depending on the modality in which you attend class. If you have recently changed modalities, read the policies governing your current class modality. Course Materials Schultz, K. M. (2012). HIST2, Volume 1 (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. All electronic materials are available on the student website. Week One: Contact, Settlement, Slavery | | Details | Due | Points | Objectives | 1.1 Describe the clash of cultures that took place in North America between the Native Americans, colonists, and Black slaves. 1.2 Describe the establishment of early colonies. 1.3 Describe the development of regional differences among the British colonies. 1.4 Explain the paradoxical rise of slavery and freedom in Colonial America. | | | Course Preparation | Read the course description and objectives.Read the instructor’s biography and post your own. | | | Reading | Read Ch. 1 of HIST2, Volume 1. | | | Reading | Read Ch. 2 of HIST2, Volume 1. | | | Reading | Read Ch. 3 of HIST2, Volume 1. | | | Reading...
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...the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, at the high end of Grades 6-8 text complexity band independently and proficiently. [RL.8.10]READING STANDARDS FOR INFORMATIONAL TEXT: RANGE OF READING AND LEVEL OF TEXT COMPLEXITY By the end of the year, read and comprehend literary nonfiction at the high end of the Grades 6-8 text complexity band independently and proficiently. [RI.8.10]WRITING STANDARDS: RANGE OF WRITING Write routinely over extended time frames, including time for research, reflection, and revision, and shorter time frames such as a single sitting or a day or two for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences. [W.8.10]KNOWLEDGE OF LANGUAGE Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening. [L.8.3]VOCABULARY ACQUISTION AND USE Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases; gather vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression. [L.8.6]SPEAKING AND LISTENING STANDARDS Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on Grade 8 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly. [SL.8.1a,b,c,d] | Students, with scaffolding as needed: * read and actively engage...
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...junior and senior high students to study. Although on one level the novel is an allegory of the 1917 Russian Revolution, the story is just as applicable to the latest rebellion against dictators around the world. Young people should be able to recognize similarities between the animal leaders and politicians today. The novel also demonstrates how language can be used to control minds. Since teenagers are the target not only of the educational system itself but also of advertising, the music industry, etc., they should be interested in exploring how language can control thought and behavior. Animal Farm is short and contains few words that will hamper the reader’s understanding. The incidents in the novel allow for much interactive learning, providing opportunities for students to dramatize certain portions, to expand on speeches, and to work out alternative endings. The novel can be taught collaboratively with the history department as an allegory of the Russian Revolution, allowing students to draw parallels between actual events and people and the imaginary ones created by Orwell. The novel can also be taught as a beast fable following the study of shorter fables by Aesop and James Thurber. Examining the work as a satirical comment on the corrupting influence of power, students should be able to trace the corruption of the pigs and perhaps relate their findings to individuals in our own...
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