My name is Charlie and I'm in our English 110.01 class. I have lived in Marion, Ohio for most of my life and quite enjoy the town. I'm one of the local non-degreed librarians working at Marion Public Library. I am coming up on my ninth year working there. One of my hobbies is that of woodworking; so I must enjoy playing with dead trees either at work or at play. I like to be helpful in all that I do and I look forward to participating in class.
Just me and my Sun Conures Navi (Left) and Phoenix (Right)
The theme that stood out to me the most in our reading was the Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglas. More specifically the part of his denial of education due the "destruction" it would cause him as a slave and the "value" of him to be lost to any owner. I can't seem to wrap my head around how anyone could see education or self betterment as destructive. This literacy event was very eye opening to me considering today's standards; denial of reading is no longer an option to most, thankfully. I felt that in this writing I could picture Fredrick as if he were talking to me, not just words on a page but mentally there carrying on a conversation.
I agree with you about how impossible it seems that anybody would think that education would be destructive to a person, especially in this day and age. By the way, how long have you had your birds?
ReplyDeleteI've had Phoenix for over two years and Navi just celebrated a year with us in August.
DeleteI agree with both of you when it comes to the education thing. Now days in high school teachers pretty much tell you to go to college or you're not going to be able to get a very well payed job.
ReplyDeleteCool birds! I as well agree with y'all on the education thing. I can't imagine how it would be destructive for a person to have a education.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, Charlie. I find it fascinating that slave owners did not want their slaves to fully comprehend what was going on. They did not want them to know that others were living better lives than them.
ReplyDeleteAs with the above comment I believe the reason for not allowing the slaves to be literate was just another way to keep them living in the dark and not thinking about anything that was happening. Also your birds are pretty sweet, can they talk? I dont know a lot about birds but it would be cool if they could
ReplyDeleteBeing literate is a definite necessity in life. I also found Mr. Auld's (and many others at the time) opinions on slaves learning to read and write absurd. I can't see how it would be a bad thing for a slave to do so, and can only see how it would help one. However, I believe that many whites did not want to see slaves learn to be literate. They wanted a sense of power over all slaves, and them becoming literate would create a smaller gap between the two groups.
ReplyDeleteI agree Charlie. I think that the topic you talked about was the most important one as well. I think that since he was denied education, it made it seem so much more important to him.
ReplyDelete