Free to Learn In this excerpt titled “Leaning to Read and Write,” from Frederick Douglass’ autobiography, The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, there is a definite literal and figurative connection between literacy and freedom. In this passage, Douglass tells us that when he learned how to read, he became more fascinated in the concept of freedom, because he found out that it was a wonderful thing that all people should …showed first 75 words of 1036 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1036 total…about how his fellow slaves don’t know what is happening around them. This is more of the figurative sense with the concept of “freeing” someone’s mind. Either way, literacy equals freedom in my mind. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Bibliography** “Learning to Read and Write”. Frederick Douglas. 1845. The New Millennium Reader. 2nd Edition. Stuart Hirschberg, Terry Hirschberg. ã2000. Prentice-Hall Inc. p. 251. "Douglass, Frederick." Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2001 <http://encarta.msn.com/find/Concise.asp?ti=02869000>. © 1997-2001 Microsoft Corporation.