Freedom

A detailed Summary of Freedom

The struggle for freedom is one that is common among both women and men of all races. For centuries, humankind has used many methods to control and enslave their fellow men and women, one of the most common being the denial of an education.

The lives of Frederick Douglass, in Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass written by himself, and Sara Smolinsky in Bread Givers written by Anzia Yezierska are two excellent examples of the struggle to educate oneself in the pursuit of freedom. While their social circumstances were quite different, Frederick Douglass was a black male slave in the South in the early to mid 1800s and Sara Smolinsky was a Jewish immigrant growing up in the lower east side of New York in the 1920's; they were both held captive by their oppressors. Frederick Douglass was a slave in the legal sense and Sara Smolinsky was "enslaved" by her father.

Both discovered that gaining an education was the key to their quest for freedom. Frederick Douglass came to this realization when he was about eight years old. He had gone to live with his new master and mistress, Mr. and Mrs. Auld. Mrs. Auld taught Douglass the alphabet, and had also begun to teach him how to spell small three of four letter words, when she

The challenges and struggles faced when trying to obtain an education can be compounded by the sacrifices one has to make. Sara not only sacrificed her youth and the immediate income she could have earned had she chosen to just go to work and get married. She also made some more personal sacrifices. Her relationship with her mother suffered as a result of her decision to go to school. When her mother traveled all the way from New Jersey to bring Sara a featherbed, Sara was grateful. She was very happy to see her mother, but at the end of their visit she tells her mother she is too busy to come back to see her in Elizabeth saying "I'd do anything for you. I'd give away my life. but I can't take time to go 'way out to Elizabeth. Every little minute must go to my studies" (Yezierska 171). This decision would come back to haunt Sara years later at her mother's deathbed. She made similar breaks in her relationships with her sisters in order to pursue her dream.

Both Frederick Douglass and Sara Smolinsky faced struggles as a result of their decisions to pursue an education. Frederick Douglass had to study secretly, always with the fear that he would be discovered. After Mrs. Auld was instructed by her husband to stop the lessons, "She finally became even more violent in her opposition than her husband himself" (24). Douglass said, "From this time I was most narrowly watched. If I was in a separate room any considerable length of time, I was sure to be suspected of having a book, and was at once called to give an account of myself" (25). Douglass pursued his education knowing that if he were caught in this pursuit he would surely be severely punished with beatings and loss of any of the small privileges he had living with the Aulds.

Sara Smolinsky struggled for different reasons. Before she could enroll in school she had to find a place to live. At that time in New York it was very difficult for a young girl of Sara's means to rent a room. She tried several places, each time told "no girls" and was about to "drop from weariness" when she noticed a sign for a cheap, private room. (Yezierska 158) She managed to convince the landlady to rent it to her. Next, Sara needed to find a job in order to pay the rent. She came upon a laundry that needed an ironer. However, when she went in to inquire about the job, she was faced with another uphill battle. The manager finally agreed to let her try and only gave her the work because he admired her "guts". (Yezierska 160) After all this, Sara had yet to even enroll in school. After her first day of work, she went for some dinner and then, as tired as she was, she said, "Great dreams spurred my feet on my way to night school" (Yezierska 161). In order to live on her own and attend school, Sara would have to labor at the laun

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Approximate Word count = 1889
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English