Frederick Douglass, Richard Rodriguez, and Maxine Hong Kingston all overcame significant obstacles and hardships in their lives, as documented in their writings. Douglass learned to read and write despite being enslaved, which helped him work to abolish slavery. Rodriguez succeeded academically although he faced stereotypes as a Mexican American. Kingston learned the consequences of defying Chinese traditions and cultural rules. All three demonstrated courage and determination in overcoming adversity through their life experiences.

1. 1
Hannah Vogel
McCray
ENG 111-D23
1/27/2012
Courageous life lessons
Through out history their have been individuals that have shared their stories with readers around
the world, writing essays about their life struggles, thoughts, feelings, and accomplishments.
Three of those individuals are Frederick Douglass, who wrote “Learning to Read and Write,”
Richard Rodriguez who wrote “Workers,” and Maxine Hong Kingston who wrote “No Name
Woman.” These three individuals demonstrated significant life lessons that they documented
onto paper to inform and to inspire readers.
In the reading “Learning to Read and Write,” Frederick Douglass is a young boy born into
slavery in Tuckahoe, Maryland. As a boy, Douglass was a house servant, he worked in shipyards,
and also worked in the fields. Mrs. Hughs, was Douglass’ mistress, who was also his slave
master’s wife, she was the first person to teach him anything, but her teachings were soon
stopped due to Mr. Hugh’s beliefs in the subject of slaves learning how to read. Douglass was
determined to do whatever in order for him to learn, and that determination that Douglass had
resulted in him being watched all the time. Where ever Douglass was he was followed to ensure
there was no reading going on. It was too late for Douglass to be stopped, the steps had already
been taken and there was no turning back now. Douglass befriended the “white boys,” and
convinced them into teaching him how to read. Even though he was an outcast, he knew that one

2. 2
day in time he would “fit in”. With Douglass becoming literate, he eventually would work to
abolish slavery.
Whenever Douglass had something to do, he would always grab a book, and tried to fit in
reading into his daily activities. Douglass was a smart, generous man, he would give bread to the
hungry in exchange for knowledge. “I am a slave for life,” Douglass thought constantly. This
thought troubled him tremendously, but reading kept his mine occupied and kept his mind
learning more and more. He stumbled on “The Columbian Operator” that was written around the
same time period that Douglass lived in, and the book was about a slave and his master.
Douglass could relate to this setting in every way possible, for that was his life, he was a slave
and was owned by a master. “What I got from Sheridan was a bold denunciation of slavery, and a
powerful vindication of human rights,” said Douglass (18). Master Hugh’s explained to
Douglass, if he continued reading he would find out horrendous things. Which entailed Douglass
to think “whites” are the most wicked of all people, taking blacks out of their homes, and selling
them into slavery. Upon wishing being a beast on himself, he was eager to learn about the
abolitionists up North that were trying to put a stop to slavery.
Richard Rodriguez is an American author who was raised by his Mexican immigrant parents in
San Francisco, California and wrote the short story “Workers” in 1982. Rodriguez explains in the
story what he has dealt with as an american with a background and physical appearance that has
resulted in him being stereotyped by people through out his life. Rodriguez is highly intelligent,
breaking all stereotypes that classify him as a “typical” mexican-american. He has received a

3. 3
B.A. from Stanford University, an M.A. from Columbia University, and a Ph.D. in English
Renaissance literature at the University of California, Berkeley. He is a courageous person
because he demonstrates strength in overcoming obstacles regarding his ethnicity, and his family
background. His dad was a worker and wanted to show Rodriguez what “real” work was, his
mother wanted him to wear a shirt when working because he would get too dark and look like a
typical worker. This baffled Rodriguez and most likely put fuel to the fire that made him work
even harder to get to where he is today.
Maxine Hong Kingston was born in 1940, in Stockton, California to first-generation Chinese
immigrants. Her first language was Chinese, and she was exposed to the rich oral traditions of
the Chinese cultural. Maxine learned at a young age what consequences arise when one disobeys
the Chinese way of life. She knows what will happen if she disobeys and goes against the rules.
Kingston knew that regardless of her living in China or California, the same rules applied. “The
Outcast Table,” whose business they still seemed to be settling, their voices tight. The powerful,
older people made wrong-doers eat alone. She may have gone to the pigsty as a last act of
responsibility: she would protect this child as she had protected its father. It would look after her
soul, leaving supplies on her grave. “My aunt haunts me, her ghost drawn to me because now,
after fifty years of neglect, i alone devote pages of paper to her.”
Frederick Douglass, Richard Rodriguez, and Maxine Hong Kingston all displayed enormous acts
of courage and determination through out their lives because of the obstacles that they faced and

4. 4
what steps the took in order to overcome them. They all dealt with different struggles, but they
also persevered through the hardships.