Sherman Alexie V. Frederick Douglass

Comp atomic number 18 and Contrast adjudicate Frederick Douglass V. Sherman Alexie As a infantile child, we are given certain opportunities and way to expand our knowledge right off the bat when it comes to reading and writing. exhalation to schoolhouse to get an study is what every parent aspires their child to do. Parents sine qua non the best for their children, to be accepted and to learn to their fullest extent unspoilt a kindred(p) every other child their age. However, there are many children and families who are not as privileged when it comes to receiving these certain opportunities.I ask myself a round-eyed question is education really taken for granted as if it is fitting a given and not a privilege? It visualizems that these days, going to school and learning is just pass judgment. Nobody takes the time to realize how privileged they are to have an education, where they can learn to express themselves creatively and form opinions when view for themselves wit hout others affecting you. Looking at two essays, The Joy of Reading and create verbally demigod and me by Sherman Alexie, and Learning to Read and Write by Frederick Douglass, comparisons surrounded by the two are largely visible.Both of these stories take an in depth aspect at these two young mens lives, as we center on what these stories are seek to tell, and what message(s) are trying to get across. not only do these two authors destiny similarities in upbringing, nevertheless they as well as share the same determination when it comes to educating themselves on their give and proving to others that ignorance truly is bliss. natural and raised on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Wellpinit, Washington, Sherman Alexie was truly a remarkable boy.Coming from what he considered to be a poor family by near standards, Alexie claims that him and his family lived on a combination of irregular paychecks, hope, fear and government surplus food (Alexie pg. 16). At the young ag e of three, Alexie taught himself how to read with a Superman comic book. Where Alexie was from, A smart Indian is a dangerous person, widely feared and ridiculed by Indians and non-Indians alike. (pg. 17). Expectations were at a low standard for Indian children like him. T each(prenominal)ers and students evaluate him to fail, especially in a learning environment of non-Indian students.Despite these stupid accusations, Alexie refused to not only be a statistic within his community, but a failure as well. This is sh make as he wrote, I refused to fail. I was smart. I was arrogant. I was lucky. I read books late into the night, until I could barely progress my eyes open (pg. 17). He jumped at the chance to read anything in his tracks, giving him the opportunity to expand his mind and knowledge base. He fought with his classmates on a daily basis because they expected him to stay silent if questions were asked in class.Alexie refused to do so he bypassed his classmates intellectu ally and would not let anyone take form him feel inferior. As he grew up to become a writer, we see pain in the story he tells. I loved those books, but I also knew that love had only one purpose. I was trying to save my feel (pg. 18). Alexie wanted to be somebody greater than what others expected him to be. People would put him pop endlessly, but he fought back just as much. He tried to save himself from the stereotypes of being just another(prenominal) dumb Indian.He had more determination to prove others wrong when it came too stupendous in reading to further excel in his daily life. When talking closely determination and power to succeed, many similarities are portrayed by Sherman Alexie and Frederick Douglass. Frederick Douglass was born a slave in 1818 in Maryland. For most of his life he lived in what he said, Master Hughs family (Douglass pg. 129). Douglasss mistress, individual he claimed to be a kind and tender-hearted woman (pg. 129), had begun to instruct him on how to read and write starting with teaching him the alphabet.Slavery is mainly what caused the change in Douglasss life. As his master found out about his married womans actions in teaching him how to read and write, she was instructed to stop. She quickly turned from adoring and tender hearted to cold and fierce. This eventually left Douglass to take his education into his own account and further teach himself. He stated that, The plan which I adopted, and the one by which I was most successful, was that of making friends of all the micro white boys whom I met in the street. As many of these as I could, I converted into teachers.With their kindly aid, obtained at different measure and in different places, I finally succeeded in learning to read (pg. 130). Douglass took matters into his own hands and did whatever he could to learn. Along with learning how to read himself, he also learned how to write by looking at earn on timber in old ship-yards. Copying toss off the earn he saw and making four letter names by associating them with certain objects. Much later in Douglasss life, he went on and became a leader in the abolitionist movement.Coming from a dark historical while living in slavery to becoming a great speaker and someone others can look up to as a role model. The similarities between these two men are uncanny. For one, the twain share a similar upbringing as young boys dealing with racism. For Sherman Alexie, he was a young Indian boy living on a reservation facing stereotypes how Indian children are expected to be unintelligent. As for Frederick Douglass, he was a young boy who grew up a slave and faced cold treatment from those who were once there for him.What these two shares is a common similarity when it comes to dealing with racism and all its ignorance. Both of these young men were forced to learn on their own due to others constantly doubting their intelligence and stereotyping. However, the main similarity between these two comes dow n to one word, determination. Determination and the desire to achieve are Alexie and Douglasss great qualities. Alexie was always told that Indian children were expected to be dumb and Frederick was automatically expected to be uneducated due to the fact that he was a slave, and that slaves were to not have an education.Both of them took the negative aspects of their life and made them positive. Doing this eventually led the both of them into having successful lives. By taking the time to educate themselves and better their knowledge, Alexie became a well-known writer, and Douglass an abolitionist leader and speaker. Alexie and Douglass proved that ignorance is bliss, and showed that judging someone without well-read who they are or what they are capable of will do naught but prove you wrong. Nobody has the right to ignorantly make assumptions about a person or their lives.This just goes to show how knocking someone down will make them come back ten times as strong. For Alexie an d Douglass, education was their main obstacle in life. They lived through how an education can either make or break you depending on the situation. What it comes down to is whether or not you are willing to achieve further and harder than to list to what others think they have to say about your success. Although both achieved success in a different outcome than another, they are both great examples of how each had a similar upbringing down to their determination for success.