Douglas And Literacy

IS LITERACY THE VOICE OF PEOPLE?

Frederick Douglas is a black slave who lived in the XIX century and suffered abuses and discrimination of white people. Everything changes when he starts learning how to write and read. By writing he explains his story to make people learn about the cruelty of slavery and share his terrible experience.
Precious Jones is a young black teenager who lives in Harlem in the XX century. Abused and molested sexually by his father, with whom has 2 children. Her life is based on ignorance until she starts going to school, and ends up expressing her story and feelings by poetry.
Apparently, nothing in common in these two lives. But it is just apparently. They have more in common that we think. Thus, in this article…show more content…
That is what certainly did them both. They present their stories, they both represent their race. They both show us the metaphor of literacy of mean of personal evolution, of the way of finding a real and better life.
To conclude with I would like to say that I perceive literacy as a way of freedom, as a voice of oneself, as tool to carry out an evolution, to get rid of poorness, marginalization. Why is it important? Because life is based on communication and on social relations. Because literacy is the voice of freedom.

SOURCES

1) Lionsgate. "Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire Discussion& Resource Guide." Push. PDF file.
2)Donaldson, Elizabeth. "HANDING BACK SHAME”: INCEST AND SEXUAL CONFESSION IN SAPPHIRE’S PUSH." Push. PDF file.
3)Lewis, Brian C. "'Forgit the WHY ME shit and git on to what's next': What We Can Learn from Precious (and Push) about Developmental Writing Instruction." Minnesota English Journal (Sept. 2011): 80-84. Web. 29 Nov. 2011.
4)The life and Times of Frederick Douglas. Mineola: Dover publications, 2003. Web. 29 Nov. 2011.
5) Martin, Waldo E. The mind of Frederick Douglass. USA: The Unicersity of North CarolinaPress, 1964. Web. 1 Dec.