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Piazza
Matthew Piazza

Mr. Wolfe

English 101 and English 101 Lab

14 Oct. 2023

1. Introduction

A. Malcolm X and Fredrick Douglas were two major historical figures from two

different time periods.

B. Background Information: Malcolm X and Fredrick Douglas struggled to learn

to read and write. Fredrick Douglas was a slave taught by his mistress;

however, later down the road she changed and became more evil. Malcolm X

was a criminal who taught himself how to read and write while he was in

prison.

C. Fredrick Douglas's piece and Malcolm X’s piece are similar regarding their

love of books and knowledge; however, they differ in relation to style.

2. Body Paragraph 1

A. Fredrick Douglas and Malcolm X’s pieces both mention books

a. Fredrick Douglas

1. “When I was sent off errands, I always took my book with me, and by going

one part of my errand quickly, I found time to get a lesson before my return.”

2. “I got ahold of a book entitled The Colombian Operator.”

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Malcolm X

1. “I saw the best thing I could do was get hold of a dictionary – to study, learn some

words.”

2. “I spent two days just riffling uncertainly through the dictionary’s pages.” “I’d

never realize some many words existed!”

B. Fredrick Douglas and Malcolm X have both benefited from books very much by

using them to learn words and write them.

3. Body Paragraph 2

A. Both Fredrick Douglas's and Malcolm X’s stories talk about the challenges

they faced to gain knowledge.

a. Fredrick Douglas

1. “I had no regular teacher.”

2. “The first step in her downward course was her ceasing to

instruct me.”

b. Malcolm X

1. “I believe it took me a day. Then, aloud, I read back, to myself,

everything I’d written on the tablet.”

2. “In my slow, painstaking, ragged handwriting, I copied into my

tablet everything printed on that first page, down to the

punctuation marks.”
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B. Fredrick Douglas and Malcolm X both faced obstacles and overcame those

obstacles to gain knowledge.

4. Body paragraph 3

A. Fredrick Douglas and Malcolm X both have Similarities; however, one major difference is

their style.

a. Fredrick Douglas

1. Multiple Characters were introduced and the background of some of those characters made

it a storytelling stylw

2. “My mistress was, as I said, a kind and tender-hearted woman.”

3. Malcolm X

1. Malcolm X has more of a speech style, the reason I say this is because his speech

mostly talks about himself and his story not introducing or mentioning other characters.

Fredrick Douglas and Malcolm X both tell their story through different styles, one being more

storytelling with more characters and the other in a speech–like style talking more about himself

and his story.

Closing

Fredrick Douglas's piece and Malcolm X’s piece are similar regarding their love of books and

knowledge; however, they differ in relation to style.

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Both Fredrick Douglas and Malcolm X had a love of books and they used books to learn to read

and write and gain knowledge. Although their stories both have similar endings, their style of

storytelling differs. Fredrick Douglas had more storytelling, and Malcolm X had more of a

speech style.

The significance of these two pieces is how both historical figures overcame the challenges of

reading and writing in their times. It teaches that anyone can learn if they really put their mind to

it.