Importance of Literacy: the Example of Benjamin Franklin and Frederick Douglass

Literacy in the time of Benjamin Franklin and Frederick Douglass was not available to everyone. Through their works Autobiography and Narrative (respectively), these authors demonstrate the power of having the ability to read and write. And since knowledge can help you form yourself, in this case even the American self. Throughout this essay, we will discuss the importance of literacy and how, throughout history, it has been revolutionary.

Benjamin Franklin was self-taught. As it says in the first lines of Autobiography, he emerged from an impoverished environment to a good degree of wealth and good reputation. It is admirable how, in a totally self-taught way, he was able to become a craftsman, philosopher and scientist. He is a clear example of how literacy, together with great perseverance and tenacity, can help one to form oneself. At the age of twenty, Franklin developed a plan of thirteen virtues with which he sought to cultivate his character. These were: diligence, temperance, justice, tranquillity, silence, orderliness, frugality, resolution, sincerity, moderation, quietness, cleanliness, chastity, and humility.

In the case of Frederick Douglass, life was much more complicated. Not only did he face the fact that he had no resources to provide him with a good education, he had to fight against slavery. Throughout his work Narrative, he tells us about his origins, how he was taken from one place to another, all the mistreatment... in short, the whole process he had to go through to get his freedom. On this path, there is always an innate desire to learn. This was the cause of many problems for him, but he never gave up. The feeling of wanting to be a free and cultivated person was stronger than the stones he encountered.

These two examples of achievement and consistency show the importance of literacy. Being able to learn to read and write helped them to want to prosper and fight against the injustices of the world in which they lived. This knowledge gave them the power to want to make changes. It made them revolutionaries, heads of change.

In conclusion, when we give a person the tools to think for themselves, we are not only helping them to prosper, we are giving them freedom. When we enjoy individual thought, we can analyse, dismember, and categorize any issue that matters to us. And if we disagree, always with justified claims, we can be the beginning of a change. When these two authors were children, I do not think anyone around them could have foreseen where they would go. But neither could they have stopped them. Knowledge is the power that gives you your own freedom. Sometimes this freedom causes a change. And this one is a revolution. For these reasons I think Benjamin Franklin and Frederick Douglass are the best example of the American self.