# Learning to Read explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper.

## What happens

The chapter describes the determination of enslaved people to learn to read despite the opposition of their masters and the hostile Rebels. It highlights the arrival of Yankee teachers, the clever methods used to hide books, and the personal triumph of an older woman who, at nearly sixty, teaches herself to read the Bible and hymns, gaining a sense of independence.

## Themes in this chapter

### Freedom and Liberation

The act of learning to read is portrayed as a form of liberation, enabling the narrator to access the Bible and feel as independent as a queen.

### Resilience and Sacrifice

Despite being told she is too old and facing societal opposition, the narrator perseveres in her quest for literacy, demonstrating remarkable resilience.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown Narrator

The narrator recounts her own experience of learning to read as an older enslaved woman, expressing her longing to read the Bible and her eventual independence.

### Uncle Caldwell

Uncle Caldwell is remembered for greasing the pages of his book with pot-liquor fat and hiding it in his hat to avoid detection.

### Aunt Chloe

Aunt Chloe is addressed by others who discourage her from learning, but she persists and achieves literacy.

## Key lines

> Knowledge didn’t agree with slavery— ’Twould make us all too wise.

Education was incompatible with slavery because it would make enslaved people too intelligent to be controlled.

_This line underscores the threat literacy posed to the slave system._

> And I felt as independent As the queen upon her throne.

After learning to read and acquiring her own cabin, the narrator felt as self-reliant and powerful as a monarch.

_This metaphor emphasizes the profound sense of personal freedom and dignity achieved through literacy._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_7_se/chapters/learning-to-read
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_7_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_7_se/chapters