The book Up From Slavery, written by Booker T. Washington, is devoted to the history of the struggle for civil rights. Booker Washington is famous for his less categorical approach toward white Americans. He considered that the rights should be granted to black people gradually and that they should deserve their fellow citizens’ respect through working for the benefit of society. Since childhood, Booker Washington wanted to learn, but he was forced to work to help his family, which is why his stepfather prevented him from attending school (Washington). However, his motivation was so great that he managed to find an opportunity to study. Washington explains his desire to obtain education by the fact that he always wanted to learn to read common books and newspapers. His motivation only increased when he met a colored boy who could read and was not afraid to do it in public, making him popular among the citizens of the town where Washington lived. However, Booker wanted not only to gain knowledge but also to become a respectable member of society.
Washington’s philosophy for growth had been forming since his early childhood when he sought opportunities to attend school. Throughout his life, he stuck to the idea that growth is constituted of three components: patience, hard work, and gradualness (Washington). Examples from his childhood and teenage years clearly illustrate this idea. For instance, when Booker was rejected by a hotel keeper on his way to Hampton because of his race, he did not lose his desire to obtain education and continued his journey (Washington). It complies with the first component of his philosophy, patience, since the boy clearly understood his final goal and calmly overcame difficulties that appeared on his way.
Another example from Booker Washington’s life experience that illustrates his philosophy concerns his entrance exam to Hampton. He writes that he was so badly dressed and looked poorly after his long and exhausting journey that the head teacher at first did not let him pass the exam with other students. However, later she asked him to sweep the floor in the recitation room, and the boy, who had a great experience in sweeping because of his hard work for Mrs. Ruffner back in West Virginia (Washington). He tidied the room so well that the head teacher did not find any dust or dirt there, and his work impressed her so much that she admitted him to enter the Institute. This situation shows that hard work always pays off though its results may be seen in the long-term perspective. Thus, Washington had to do a lot of things when he worked for Mrs. Ruffner, but the skills he got then helped him impress the head teacher and be admitted to Hampton.
The last postulate of Washington’s growth philosophy concerns its gradualness, which may be seen in his life journey as well. After he learned to read in a night school, his ambitions started to grow, which boosted his personal growth. When he heard about Hampton, it became his biggest dream, and he started to work harder and seek opportunities to earn more money to go to Hampton (Washington). All the challenges he went through before his journey to the Institute and during it hardened his character and taught him not to give up. His ambitions grew gradually, from lesser to greater, and his personality grew as well, which enabled him to become a respectable and successful orator in the future.
Work Cited
Washington, Booker T. Up From Slavery. General Press, 2017.