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Up From Slavery by Booker T. Washington

 

This made him feel uncomfortable and soon enough he presented this dilemma to his mother. She explained to him how they didn't have enough money to afford one, but being the great mother that she was, that didn't stop her from making her son one herself. The lesson that he received from his mother and the experience with the cap was to never conform into being someone that you are not. Despite living nearly her whole life in slavery and never really having an opportunity to spend quality time with her kids, Washington's mother provided all that she could in order for her kids to live the life that she never had a chance to live. .
             If there was one wish that could have been granted to this woman, it would have been to see her children get an education and get somewhere far in this world (34). In order for that dream to become a reality, she made it her responsibility in providing anything that her children needed in order to become educated. A perfect example of this is when Washington asked his mother to acquire any type of book that he could read. Upon hearing this request from her son, she somehow got a hold of an old copy of Webster's "blue back" spelling book for him to read. This was one of the first instances Washington started to develop his passion for knowledge, all due in part to his mother. Ignoring the fact that his mother was not an educated individual, he still gave her massive amounts of credit for assisting in providing him with the tools he needed on his journey to greatness. He stated that "If I have done anything in life worth attention, I feel sure that I inherited the disposition from my mother" (14). What he means by this statement is that he credited his mother for all the good-natured qualities that he acquired from her. He would eventually use what he learned from his mother as a basis for everyday living. Although she was his mother and did play a huge role in her son's progression, Jane was not the most influential person in Washington's life.


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