Fredrick Douglas in his essay “Learning to Read and Write.” Reflects upon how he learned literacy with no teacher. In language, we learn from the world around us. In my personal experience of growing up in South Korea, I firshed learned to speak Korean, and did not even realize that there were other languages until I was older, when I was then taught English in school. While I do well with English, it is
Allow for an analogy to better explain what is meant by this. In my youth I owned a rabbit. It lived in a spacious rabbit hutch. During my time as proud rabbit owner, I was able to capture a wild rabbit. I placed the other rabbit with my domesticated rabbit hopeful the two rabbits would start a rabbit family. After several days of captivity, I found my captured rabbit dead. I did not realize at the time that I could not confine this animal in the way I wanted to—in the way that worked so nicely for my domesticated rabbit. Language, though it can be enjoyed and known from a distance, cannot, like other disciplines be confined in the same way.
It comes as no surprise to anyone that our lives are lived at the level of our language. Our expression through language both explains and shapes our reality. As a result, the intricacies into the essence of how language works are essential to both the fundamental epistemic and metaphysical question of philosophy. Jose Antonio Vargas in his essay “My life as an undocumented Immigrant” shows that his mother wanted to “Give him a better life” and for this reason she wanted him to learn English. With language and indentity language is often associated with a better life, of improving a person’s life if only they can become able to speak a language that can enable them access to a job and economy.
Work Cited
Douglas, Frederick. Learning to Read and Write
Jose Antonio Varga. “My Life As an Undocumented Immigrant.”
