Martin Luther King Jr. and Frederick Douglass Essay -- Compare Contras

Martin Luther King Jr. and Frederick Douglass When comparing two essays, there are many different aspects that the reader can look at to make judgments and opinions. In the two essays that I choose, MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. 'Letter from Birmingham Jail', and FREDERICK DOUGLAS'S 'From Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave,' there were many similarities, but also many differences. Some of them being, the context, style, structure and tone. Many times when readings or articles are being compared, people over look the grammatical and structural elements, and just concentrate on the issues at hand. I believe it is important to evaluate both. Both readings are about African American Men who are being discriminated against. Frederick Douglass was born 1817 and died 1895. His story is about his journey as a slave in Maryland. When Douglass was put into slavery, he was with a mistress who had never owned a slave before, so it was all very new to her. Mrs. Hugh Auld helped teach Douglass how to read and write, but her husband found out and told her that she should not, for it was dangerous and unlawful (125). Although Mrs. Hugh Auld stopped teaching Douglass, he knew enough to start his own education and eventually that lead him to freedom. Through all of Douglass?s teachings, he realized that slavery had a negative effect on him. Although his education was obviously good for him, he had his doubts. Before he was naive to all that was going on around him and what he was involved in. He obviously knew that he did not want to be a slave, but he did not know all of the information around and involving it. As his education grew, so did his anger and resentment for this world that... ...dge. King uses his knowledge by gathering people with the same beliefs, to try to better the situations they were in. Douglass did not use his knowledge to the degree that was possible. He absorbed more knowledge instead of releasing it. So although the two readings look fairly similar when glanced over, there are many different aspects of both papers, that give them capability to give out knowledge and background on a subject that was very important to the authors. Work Cited Jacobus, Lee A. Martin Luther King Jr. ?Letter From Birmingham Jail.? A World Of Ideas: essential readings for college writers. Bedford/St. Martin?s, 2002. 179-97 Jacobus, Lee A. Frederick Douglass. ?From Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave.? A World Of Ideas: essential readings for college writers. Bedford/St. Martin?s, 2002. 125-137