Malcolm X Learning To Read Summary

Both Malcolm X and Frederick Douglass educated themselves. Malcolm X was educated till the 8th grade. As for Frederick he wasn’t educated at all. Once Malcolm was in prison he came across an inmate called by the name of Bimbi. Bimbi was a great speaker and a well-educated man which made Malcolm motivated to start how to read and get educated. Malcolm read books in prison but did not understand what the book was about. Malcolm got ahold

In his essay, Malcolm X writes about how learning to read and write opened his eyes to the oppression that surrounded him and the world. Malcolm is a black man that was put in prison when he noticed that he felt uncomfortable when he did not understand anything that he read and that he could not write correctly. His incapacity to read and write was what inspired him to request a dictionary, something to write on and a pencil. That initiative changed his life forever. He copied down the whole dictionary, which helped him to learn words and their meanings. “ With

Literacy is power. Being taught to read and write is important to function in society. You learn to read and write to express your feelings and communicate with others. Frederick Douglass and Malcom X both succeeded in learning how to read and write, but in different ways. The education of Malcolm X was learned more formally. Frederick Douglass learned from his surroundings and the people around him. Malcom and Frederick battled in reading and writing, but learned in similar and different ways.

Fredrick Douglass was a slave, who secretly learned how to read and write in many different forms such as his mistress and pieced together the elements of literacy through outside sources such as old books, and writing tools from young children. Unlike Malcom X, he received an education although it was limited, and went to prison where he accessed books from the library. Malcom X stated in his essay Learning to Read, “An inmate was smiled upon if he demonstrated an unusually intense interest in books.” Meaning reading was not allowed for slaves. Unlike Douglass situation, if he would have shown interest in a book he would have been punished for it. Being a slave Douglass had to keep his development in reading and writing hidden while Malcolm insisted on writing letters to Elijah Muhammad with his new acquired vocabulary. This proved that Malcolm’s education was easier to gain unlike Fredrick Douglass, through slavery reading and writing was much

Can reading really be influential? Do you believe that reading can change lives? Malcolm X, one of the most influential man of his time thought so. One day he was able to turn his life around by just picking up a book and learning how to read. Whether it was in a jail cell or in a library he was reading wherever he went. In Malcolm X’s essay “Literacy Behind Bars” he writes about the topic of how reading changed his life. Throughout his life in prison, Malcolm X shares his experience of how learning how to read had changed his life forever. This essay shows how the ability to read and write opens new pathways into your imagination that you may not be able to experience if you lacked the ability to do so. Learning how to become literate did not come easy back then especially since he was African American. During his life in prison he realized that you do not need a college education to be successful; you just need to know how to read and write. The way Malcolm structured his essay helped improve his ethos much like other things did. Malcolm X’s encouraging tone was evident throughout the essay. He writes his essay with such a tone, because he is explaining his personal struggle of learning how to read and how it paid such dividends in his life after prison. By using this type of tone he appeals to people’s emotions through the use of logos, which in result helps build his ethos. As well as his tone he also uses different rhetorical devices to keep the reader engaged. The use of irony throughout the essay in appealing to the reader because it keeps them interested in the essay that they are reading. Similarly, his use of opposition within the essay makes the reader think about what they are reading. People may need to reread a sentence or two because how the opposition is used in the essay, which keeps them focused and aware of what they are reading. By utilizing several rhetorical devices, including pathos, opposition, and ethos, that being said, Malcolm X conveys the message of how reading changed his life.

April 3, 1964, Malcolm X gives his well renowned speech; The Ballot or the Bullet in Cleveland Ohio. His purpose behind the speech is to encourage African-Americans of the United States to stand up to the unfair treatment that he believes they receive. Throughout the speech, Malcolm X creates an ambition in the audience, encouraging change through the numerous uses of ethos, logos, and pathos. Malcolm X uses his personal experiences to show the audience that he has experienced the same negativity that they do everyday. X suggests everyone should be treated equally; religion, gender and race aside. His audience was made up of a majority of African-Americans, he uses the common ground of wanting to achieve equal treatment to show his audience he is on the same side as them. Through the organization of the speech, it is rhetorically effective. He practices the phrase “The Ballot or the Bullet” which uses repetition, forcing listeners to remember the phrase which later becomes more effective. X begins using ethos by introducing himself, immediately gaining the attention of the audience as well as respect of the audience. X then makes the current problem in the African-American community extremely clear to the audience, this is his use of pathos, where he engages them in his thought process and bringing them in using emotion. The speech uses rhetoric to emotionally and logically

The Autobiography of Malcolm X, written by Malcolm X himself and Alex Haley, concentrates on Malcolm X’s unapologetic and autodidactism. Although his approach to education was unorthodox, once Malcolm X started to read he could not stop. His thirst for education became unquenchable. During his time in prison he managed to self-educate about the religion of Islam and identify his true self. Living in America where black kids are discouraged and laughed at for trying to pursue a professional career, Malcolm X dropped out of high school because the education system failed him. His teacher told him that a person of his kind was not suitable for a sophisticated sifficticated role as a lawyer, instead a good carpenter was more reasonable. What that

When Malcolm X refers to freedom in the final sentence, he is referring to being at liberty. He is saying that he is no longer constrained by his lack of education and his inability to read. Malcolm X carefully studied the dictionary to solve the problem of his own illiteracy. Having risen from a world of thieving, pimping, and drug pushing to become one of the most articulate African Americans. What an enormous frustration he must have felt writing numerous letters that fell on deaf ears. Knowing that he had something to say but not being able to convey it in letters. According to a study conducted by the U.S. Department of Education and the National Institute of Literacy, thirty-two million adults in the U.S. cannot read. That is fourteen percent of the Population. These numbers are astonishing! Furthermore, nineteen percent of high school graduates cannot read. There are many benefits that come with being able to read and write. Some of these include economic security, access to health care, and the ability to actively participate in public life. Malcolm X went behind bars partially because of negative educational opportunities. He ends up finding freedom when he learns of the connections between culture and education that society has denied him. He did this by copying and studying the pages of the dictionary, page by page. He would also stay up at night reading, and was careful to make sure that the guards at the prison did

He had specific goal for his reading and learning although he spent seven years in prison. His goal was to serve the black man in term of Black and White separatism in the 1950’s in United States. His meaningful goal led to great reading and learning of certain subjects, such as Black history, Genetics, slavery, Chinese world history and philosophy. Constantly, he says, “You will never catch me with a free fifteen minutes in which I’m not studying something I feel might be able to help the black man (X 85). Moreover, Malcolm’s education is really an educational experience. Unlike Mark’s education, Malcolm had to begin his fundamental education by learning the vocabulary. Henceforth, he daily spent numerous hours on reading books to gain knowledge and understanding. He himself did that spectacular job without any specific guidance, except for his curiosity only. He said, “I could spend the rest of my life reading, just satisfying my curiosity-because you can hardly mention anything I’m not curious about” (X 85). On the other hand, reading for the sake of knowledge was a significant way to help Malcolm feel a sense of freedom in spite of being in prison. Truly, the more he read, the freer he felt. He concludes that “I don’t think anybody ever got more out of going to prison than I did. In fact, prison enabled me to study far more intensely than I would have if my life had gone differently and I had attended some college.” (X 85)

In the excerpt “Learning to Read” from his 1965 Autobiography, Malcolm X argues that he had more opportunity to learn about the world and specifically black history in prison than he would have received in a formal education setting. He describes the process in which he essentially taught himself how to read and write, and how it lead to an awakening of his desire to learn everything he could through voracious reading. X illustrates to the reader the painful histories that he read about and the powerful knowledge which he gained to show that one needs little more than access to a book collection and the motivation to learn in order to become educated. This reading resonated with me as a learner whose love for independent learning often takes a backseat to the demands of academia and provides a key concept which I plan to instill in my students as a future teacher.

In Baca's essay “A Homemade Education,” he explains that Malcolm X taught himself to read and write by copying the dictionary word for word; he began with letters and words which would later piece together to make sentences and paragraphs and eventually well thought out speeches such as “The Ballot or the Bullet”. During Malcolm X’s life span, he faced the hardships of a racist society and through the use of language he was able to become a prominent figure during the era the civil rights movement. All things considered, African Americans during this time did not have multiple opportunities for education, so Malcolm X Writing liberated his soul by allowing him to express his emotions and experiences to a greater audience. Language would not only free Malcolm X’s soul, but countless amounts of others as well, through the words he delivered with his advancements of the abolishment of segregation

He goes to further explain that he would give bread to the poor kids, in order for the kids to give him an educational lesson. He considered that the bread of education was more valuable than food. On the other hand Malcolm X had access to a full library of books, but his true battle was finding time to read. “So when ‘lights out’ came, I would sit on the floor where I could continue reading…”(X 284). Malcolm X describes the methods he used to continue reading even after he should sleep.

The context in which a statement is made can change the entire meaning of what was said.  This is why many times people will use context as a defense for statements they make that offend or cause some sort of public backlash.   The manner in which a person delivers a message and what messages the rhetor chooses to deliver can be a great indication of foundation of that persons value and belief system. There are a number of value systems present in Malcolm X’s “The Ballot or the Bullet” speech that he delivered in the storied election year of 1964. There are many statements made in the ballot or the bullet

Malcolm X and Frederick Douglass Timed Writing In the essays “Learning to Read” by Malcolm X, and “Learning to Read and Write” by Frederick Douglass, the two authors use rhetoric and structure, like imagery, irony, and diction, to promote their beliefs that African Americans have been treated unfairly by Caucasians throughout history, and in order for one to feel empowered, one must have knowledge. Malcolm X was imprisoned, and spend every waking minute reading anything he could get his hands on. While Frederick Douglass obtained knowledge through non-traditional ways, and did whatever he could to learn how to read.

Learning how to read is one of the most common processes in the world. For me, learning how to read is the most useful ability that I have learned throughout my entire life. For others, most people learn how to read though different languages in different ways. For Malcolm X, he found reading to be appealing and devoted so much time to it. Malcolm X recounts his personal history of learning to read and how he finds reading to be the most important skill and influence everything in his life. He retells his history of reading several books and dictionaries and how th process slowly affected his life. He elaborates how reading increases a performance and efficiency to heighten their potential. In “Learning to Read, “ by Malcolm X, he