Booker T. Washington Up from Slavery Through the Biographical Lens

Booker T. Washington born a slave on a farm in virginia during the mid 1850s. Washington lived with his mother and his two siblings. Washington had to juggle his education and work at the same time during his younger days. Booker T. Washington had to walk miles to go to school than rush back home to work at the farm he lived in. It was difficult, but he was determined. For that reason he learn how to read and write. Booker T. Washington started going to Hampton Normal Agricultural institute in Virginia. He worked as a janitor to pay off his schooling. General samuel C. Armstrong offer him a scholarship to Hampton normal Agricultural Institute in Virginia after he notice his hard work. Juggling between work and school. This lead to many of Booker T. Washington accomplishments and to do amazing things. For example, he did things like public speaking, and teaching at Tuskegee Institute. He was a big movement for the African American during the 1850’s (Beavers).

A biographical len is the best way to understand the book. The reason is you get first hand experience what he lived through slavery and how he overcame that to become one the the most influential person at the time. You get to understand Booker T. Washington life and his experiences. You get to see and understand his major influences and his trials he had to face. Also, the major accomplishments he had, you will get to understand his legacy, and his death. Booker T. Washington moved to west virginia with his mom “Jane” to start a new life with her husband. That cause Washington to start a new job and it was working in the salt mines to help support his family with extra income. A year later, Washington started working at a coal mine and then in 1871 he started working at Mrs. Ruffner as a houseboy. Mrs. Ruffner married to General Lewis Ruffner was very strict to Booker T. Washington on his cleanness and time efficiently. The reason she was so strict is because she was, ‘’New England ethos of timeliness, efficiency, and cleanliness’’, women. General Lewis Ruffner was the owner of the cold mine (Crenshaw 1896).

Using the biographical lens can be very useful because you understand what he had to go through. As you can see Booker T. washington did not have a easy life as a child. Most of his childhood involved him working. That jobs he had were not easy whatsoever, they were hard physical labor. Using the biographical len you get the best understand of the book because you know how much hard work he had to put in. Booker T. Washington when writing his book Up from slavery. I think he wanted us to understand what he had to go through. That nothing was easy for him and wanted you to feel the emotions and experiences he had to go through.

After a year later working for Mrs. Ruffner, Washington applied to the Virginia's Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute with his after some elementary education training. Under the principalship of samuel Chapman Armstrong, a former union commander of blacks troops in the Civil War who during his formative years in hawaii under his missionary parent’s guidance had to come belive in industrial, pragmatic education for the color people. Washington was to determined to be an educator and that put in ahead of his fellow community members. He manage to make a trip of nearly five hundred miles from Malden to Hampton mostly on foot with no food or water. In his autobiography, Up From Slavery (1901) that he had great determination when enter the school. His determination was made possible thanks to the head teacher “Mary F. Mackie”. She offer him a jobs a as janitor when she saw how well he swept the floor.

Thanks to the help of Mary F. Mackie he allowed Washington to work his way through school. Washing consider Mary F. Mackie to be one of his “Strongest and most helpful friends”. Washington as consider Armstrong “the noblest,rarest human being that it has ever been my privilege to meet”. According to Washington this allowed him to sleep in a bed at Hampton first the first time. He also was one of the youngest student at the school. During his time at the school Washington “learned what education was expected to do for an individual.” Hampton help him find his personality. For example, he enjoyed being in debates societies and he go on the honor roll.

Through this you see that the biographical lens is the best choice to understand the book Up From Slavery because you get first hand experience of his live as a slave. For example all the difficulties he faced as a child. Like growing up as a slave in the south. Furthermore, Washington has to manage school and work at the same time. His jobs were not easy; they were hard labor. It involved working in salt and cold mines. Through this you get to experience first hand what he was going through. When Booker T. Washington wrote his book Up From slavery this is what he wanted for you to understand. Even though Washington said, “ The early years of my life, which were spent in the little cabin, were not very different from those thousands of other slaves” (Washington 3). Meaning Washington overcame slavery to better himself by not going up.

Another way to view the book is through historical lens because most of Booker T. Washington life was impacted on the culture at that time. For example, Growing up during the 1850s was not easy because this was a time of slavery. During this time being an African American you did not really have a future and they were limited. Washington, Booker T. educator and leader know as the “Wizard of Tuskegee.” The reason was that Washington’s genius lay in his understanding of the politics of the politics of practicality and particularity. Furthermore, he was hard being a black leader and it was also dangerous at that time, but washington was able to manage his great personal fame and obtain results in education, agriculture, health, housing, and business (Crenshaw).

As you can see biographical is the best way to view this booker T. Washington Up from slavery because you get first hand experience to how it felt to be a slave. On the other hand a historical lens is also good because it explain that culture at that time and how it affected Booker T. Washington, but it is not better than biographical lens. The biographical lens explain more details and is better to analyze.

In conclusion using biographical lens you get the best perspective of the book and Booker T. Washington life. You get a better understand how his life was growing up as a slave and how difficult it was. You get to experience first hand how it was growing up as a slave during the 1850’s. Over, biographical is the best lens to use.

Works Cited

Washington, Booker T. Booker T. Washington up from Slavery: An Autobiography.

Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1963. Print.

Generals, Donald. "Booker T. Washington and Progressive Education: An

Experimentalist Approach to Curriculum Development and Reform." The Journal of

Negro Education 69.3 (2000): 215-34. ProQuest. Web. 9 Dec. 2015.

Beavers, Herman. "Washington, Booker T.." The Concise Oxford Companion to African

American Literature. Ed. William L. Andrews, Frances Smith Foster and Trudier

Harris. New York: Oxford UP, 2008. Oxford African American Studies Center. Wed

Dec 09 08:42:25 EST 2015. <http://www.oxfordaasc.com.tacomacc.idm.oclc.or

/article/opr/t52/e612>.

Dailey, Maceo Crenshaw Jr.. "Washington, Booker T.." Encyclopedia of African American