The Unknown is Not Always as Bad as the Known

“Learning to Read and Write,” by Frederick Douglass, is an excerpt from his autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. In “Learning to Read and Write” Douglass discusses his experience with learning how to read and write. He begins by stating his immense excitement and eagerness to learn to read and write. He makes friends with the white boys in hope for them to teach him. He successes and does it in a very discrete manner.

Once he learns to read and write he begins to read books such as “The Columbian Orator.” In his reading, he finds himself relating the author’s thoughts and words to his own. “They gave tongue to interesting thoughts of my own soul, which had frequently lashed through my mind, and died away for want of utterance” (par 6). He learned that reading is power and the knowledge he gained from reading begun to make him wish he never was able to read. He begun to hate his enslavers and view them as “robbers, who had left their homes, and in gone to Africa, and stolen [them] from [their] homes, and in a strange way reduced [them] to slavery” (par.6). Douglass begins to perceive himself as a beast, and envying his fellow-slaves for their ignorance, in reguards to reading and writing.

“Learning to Read and Write,” is a very relatable piece of literature. There is always something that one does not know and desires to know, but sometimes when learned, one finds it was best to never have learned it at all. When Douglass was unable to read and write he knew of no written stories about slaves and their masters. Once he entered the world of literature and was able to comprehend the writing it changed his perspective of his slaveholders.

Sometimes things in life are not meant to be experienced or found out about until later. I am not stating that Douglass should not have learned how to read and write. I am stating that he worked so hard and diligent to learn how to do something that he thought would make him happy, when it really just made him hate himself and his slave-owners.

So I guess the saying is true, sometimes “Ignorance is bliss,” what do you think?

English--the Foundation of America

In Dennis Baron’s essay, Don’t Make English Official-Ban it Instead, he discuss how people misuse the English language, meaning not speaking it correctly or implementing their own meanings and “slang” uses of words. He sarcastically suggests that English be banned and a replacement is put into effect for its void. He goes on to explain how it would eliminate the problem of having to choose whether to use the English of England or America, of Chicago or New York.

I agree with Baron that English is misused in today’s societies and societies before today’s time. I have been in the presence of people who try and use English words with absolutely no idea of its meaning. English is however, of vital importance, to America. It is our way of communication as well as a part of our culture. Just as Baron says in his essay, when he is discussing the supporters of the decision to make English the official language, “it is the glue that keeps America together.” Without English as our official language we as a people would not effectively be able to communicate with one another, especially after speaking English for so long. Trying to convert to another language would have a lot of people, possibly even families, “out of reach“ in terms of communicating with each other.

Just as English is improperly used and not deemed as something valuable, so are other languages. Spanish is used by some Americans as an attempt to show you can speak another language. A downfall of that is, some Americans do not speak it fluently or correct for that matter. Some people just do not view any language, not just English, as something that is not important. Without English and the many books that we have filled with wonderful words of the English language, children would have no imagination and America would not have any drama or adventurous novels to read.

So, contrary to what Baron said about banning English, even though it was in a cynical matter, English should not be banned and a replacement found. It is the essence of America.

Men are Just as Capable as Women !

"Lost in the Kitchen," by Barry is a essay in which Barry discusses how men have no place in the kitchen. Men are useless and don't know what to do in the kitchen area.

How can this be true we are all human and if women knows how to do something, what keeps a man from knowing how to do the same thing.

It's a matter of opinion, men, if they really want to can cook and clean just as well as a women. Women and men are equal.

If a women can cook and take care of the househould, what excuses a man from knowing how to do the same are not capable of learning how to ?