Language is essential for one to gain basic human rights and becoming successful in America. Without the knowledge of the widely spoken language of America, one will face hardships and consequences by those who are of higher education and white supremacy. Once one becomes familiarized with the English language, he or she earns their human and civil rights and gains the ability to express oneself. Through the works of "Learning How to Read and Write" by Frederick Douglass and "A Homemade Education" by Malcolm X depicts the struggles of being illiterate and how it deprived them of the true definition of freedom. Freedom is the power to determine action without restraint and personal liberty, as opposed to bondage or slavery. Both Frederick Douglass …show more content…
Malcolm X who was born in the 1900s received an education up until eighth grade, unlike Frederick Douglass. Malcolm X describes how his passion for reading started due to the inability to write formal letters to his mentor, Elijah Muhammad. Unlike Douglass, Malcolm X did not have any consequences or restrictions when it came to learning. The setting of “Learning How to Read and Write” refers back to when Douglass was at the age of twelve while Malcolm X was in his early twenties during “A Homemade Education.” Both Douglass and Malcolm X became lead figures of their time through the mastery of English: after escaping to the North, Douglass became an abolitionist and Malcolm X became a political activist during the Civil Rights Era after being released from prison. Douglass and Malcolm X serve as role models to both, present and future students for their determination and perseverance to learn, regardless of any consequences that may come of it. Of these two authors, their reasoning for empowerment through language varied with time, purpose, and resolve upon acquiring the knowledge of the English …show more content…
Through the mastery of English, the two authors gained the power to not only sympathize with those victimized by racial oppression but also developed greater comprehension regarding of oppression and the social policies that bind them. However, with every gain, there is a loss to be made. The English language gave those bound by slavery a sense of freedom and security while ensuring the pathway to attaining human rights. Consequently, the English language also caused hardships for those who suffer the conditions of being a slave. Learning became a curse rather than a blessing for Douglass when he realized that not only himself but as well as his fellow slaves were victims of what he feared the most, the void of incomprehensive cognition (Douglass 148). Conflicted with his new found realization, he began to detest slaveholders and any who supported their cause. Imprisoned for burglary, Malcolm X used his prison years wisely by learning and reading about this history of various countries and their people. Malcolm X felt enthusiastic of mastering the English language through the technique of studying the dictionary. The limitations of his vocabulary were no longer an issue when writing a letter to Elijah Muhammad or reading a book and understanding the focus point. Malcolm X states: "In fact, up to then, I never had been so truly free in my life," (Malcolm X 131) in contrast to
The reading on Malcolm X had lots of points that hit everyday society in America for African Americans. Malcolm X was like any other man hustling on the streets to get by, like a lot you see in today society with the drug dealers and such. Starting off Malcolm X was not an intelligent man; he didn’t know how to write without a little slang to his words, he didn’t know how to articulate what he wanted to be said. Malcolm X was convicted of robbery and was sent to Charleston Prison, but was later sent off to the Norfolk Prison Colony School, this is where he gave himself the educated needed to be a well productive citizen. Malcolm X stated, “I saw that the best thing I could do was get hold of a dictionary-to study, to learn some new words (p.211). “I spent two days just riffling uncertainly through the dictionary’s pages.” “Finally, just to start some kind of action, I began copying.” Here Malcolm X is seeing his time being served in prisons to not only be a lessoned learned but to learn something that he knew he would never learn...
While knowledge can open many doors for success, it can also put a lock on various ones for people who don’t have an opportunity to practice it. This is portrayed in an essay by Frederick Douglass named Learning to Read and Write. It portrays the hardships he faced and the toll it took on him. Frederick Douglass was a slave who was born in Talbot County Maryland and then became a server for a family in Baltimore. He also became an active participant in the abolitionist movement in 1838. Michael Scot’s response toward Frederick Douglass was that gaining knowledge was more of a dissatisfaction rather than a worthy accomplishment for the reason that education made him realize he had no other option to his condition. For Frederick Douglass, learning
Literacy plays an important part in helping Douglass achieve his freedom. Learning to read and write enlightened his mind to the injustice of slavery; it kindled in his heart longings for liberty. Douglass’s skills proved instrumental in his attempts to escape and afterwards in his mission as a spokesman against slavery. Douglass was motivated to learn how to read by hearing his master condemn the education of slaves. Mr. Auld declared that education would “spoil” him and “forever unfit him to be a slave” (2054).
How? Malcolm taught himself completely while, Douglass taught himself some but mostly learned from others. Douglass made friends with all the white boys he met in the streets and converted them into teachers, he also bribed the poor boys to teach him with bread (Douglass 101). He ultimately got the idea to learn to write when he was in the shipyards. He learned letters and then was able to make four letter words which he used when he challenged other boys that he could write better than them, which gave him a good number of writing lessons ( Douglass 105). He also taught himself to write using a board fence, brick wall, and pavement as his copy book and a piece of chalk as his pen (Douglass 105). With Malcolm he completely taught himself how to write and read when he copied the dictionary. He did everything in the isolation of his cell where he could focus on only what he was doing and also staying up past lights out when he progressed to really serious reading ( Malcolm 2). They both had to sneak to read Douglass more than Malcolm. For Malcolm he only had to sneak to read after lights out. In contrast, Douglass would sneak books when he would go on errands so he wouldn’t get in trouble with his mistress and master, because they would punish him if they found
For Fredrick Douglass and Richard Wright, learning to read and write was far more than just a comprehensive and literate advancement. This would utterly aid both men to manifest a new perspective of themselves and the society they lived in. The process of learning to read and write would essentially reclaim a distinctness among their kin; moreover, impose a sense of freedom despite the complications they underwent. In an effort to fathom the current circumstances and relinquish their bewilderment about societal requisitions, Douglass and Wright bear the odds and limitations while still being able to attain, what they believed to be critical skills for a better understanding of how the nation’s principles were driven. . The sole purpose in
Malcolm X’s encounter with his English teacher became a major turning point of his life (Cone 45) , not only, Malcolm X did not have a clear sense of his identity, Cone suggested that he was not even in a supportive environment where he could search for it and fight openly against others who denied him that right. It represented the end of his attempt to become integrated into a white society. Malcolm X believed that no matter what he did he would
For Frederick Douglass, learning to read was more difficult because he had to hide that he was learning to read and write. It was difficult for him because it was prohibited for slaves to know how to read and write. He started to learn to read because help him at first. Then he started getting white boys to help him learn without their knowledge of what they were doing. Another way that he was learning was by reading a book when he was running errands for his mistress. Frederick Douglass learn to write by walking through a shipyard and learning the letter that were written on wooden plaques. He started out by copying the letters L, A, S, F on timber he found in the shipyard. But at the end of his journey he accomplished his goal with unknown help from people he was appreciated. For Malcolm, it was a bit easier because he had books from the prison 's library at his disposal for when eve he needed them. He also had notebooks and pens he could write with. Malcolm learned to read and write by copying the entire dictionary and then repeating what he wrote to himself. He read a lot of books to improve his vocabulary and because they made him feel free. Frederick loved to read to know what was going on with him and his fellow slaves. He started to hate being a slave and to think that white people were cruel once he started to understand what was going on thanks to learning how to
He even notices this change within himself – “It was then I began to change—inside. I drew away from white people…nobody, including the teachers could decide what had come over me. I was being discussed.” (p. 39). Not only is this a major event for Malcolm’s character development, but it also conveys the central idea of systemic oppression in the text. Malcolm was an intelligent kid and had higher marks than most of the kids in his school. However, his teacher told him “A lawyer—that’s no realistic goal for a nigger.” (p.38). Systemic oppression is developed in this text because no matter how intelligent a black person was, they could not be as successful as a white
“Learning to Read and Write” by Frederick Douglass and Malcolm X’s “Learning to Read” address their abilities of being self taught to read and write. A deficiency of education makes it difficult to traverse life in any case your race. Being an African American while in a dark period of mistreatment and making progress toward an advanced education demonstrates extraordinary devotion. Malcolm X seized “special pains” in searching to inform himself on “black history” (Malcolm X 3). African Americans have been persecuted all through history, yet two men endeavor to demonstrate that regardless of your past, an education can be acquired by anybody. Douglass and Malcolm X share some similarities on how they learned how to read and write as well
In the essay “Learning to Read and Write,” Frederick Douglass illustrates how he successfully overcome the tremendous difficulties to become literate. He also explains the injustice between slavers and slaveholders. Douglass believes that education is the key to freedom for slavers. Similarly, many of us regard education as the path to achieve a career from a job.
“The future belongs to people who belong for it today”(Malcolm X). In the article, “Learning to Read” by Malcolm X, and he talks about his adventures while in prison. Malcolm X was a hustler that was sentenced to seven years in prison for robbery in 1946. While in prison he tried to find different ways to give himself an education. Malcolm X goes on to further talk about what he went through while out of prison. He also explains what he learned and how it helped him later on in life while working with Elijah Muhammad who was the leader of the Nation of Islam. Malcolm X uses Ethos and Pathos to describe his way of educating himself as well as using strong word choice, good syntax, and good organization.
Although he was the top of his class, and class president, Malcolm X’s teacher unfortunately still had a very clear message for him – you won’t ever be what you dream of. Malcolm wanted to become a lawyer, but his teacher had a message for him: “A lawyer – [is] no realistic goal for a nigger” (X, Malcolm 43). This is a clear attack on African Americans and what whites still believed was their role in the United States – to serve as lower class citizens. Malcolm X, however, still became a successful leader later in his life up until his death, despite the condescending message of his
In the tale of Malcolm X it states, “It really began back in the Charlestown Prison, when Bimbi first made me feel envy of his stock of knowledge.” While he was in prison he began to realize that as his friend Bimbi began to talk he and take control of conversations that he wasn’t as educated as he believed himself to be. Also he’d begun to realize that being dumb and uneducated isn’t as cool as it seems when you begin to have a conversations with those who’re more educated than you are. In his tory he also states, “...nearly all of the words that might as well have been in Chinese...I saw that the best thing I could do was get hold of s dictionary-to study, to learn some words.” He felt the need to acquire the knowledge due to the fact that he wanted to understand his friend and have the knowledge to hold a conversation with Bimbi. Malcolm X wanted to expand his knowledge and his vocabulary.“Under Bembry's influence, Little developed a voracious appetite for reading.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcolm_X) His original goal for obtaining education as for the purpose of understanding hi friend Bimbi and due to that need to acquire more knowledge it lead to him discovering more about the complexities and ‘greyness’ along with the deafness and blindness that was affecting the people of America more specifically the black community in
In Learning to Read, by Malcolm X, he talks about his studies while in prison. Having only up to an eighth grade education, Malcolm X struggles with reading and writing. The main reason he decided to learn how to read was because of the letters he received while in prison, primarily from Elijah Muhammad. (X 354). He wasn’t able to write responses to them like he wanted to without using slang. Along with not being able to write letters, Malcolm X couldn’t read books without skipping over most of the words, thus motivating him to study an entire dictionary. With the use of said dictionary, he also improved his penmanship by writing down every word, definition, and punctuation he saw. (X 355). Once he memorized the whole dictionary, he was then able to read books. There wasn’t a moment where Malcolm wasn’t reading even at night when the lights were out, he still managed to use the little bit of light shining into his cell to read.
When people go to prison, the majority of them do not learn as Malcolm does when he studies in the prison library. Malcolm realizes that “The best thing I could do was to get hold of a dictionary- to study, to learn some words. I was lucky enough to reason also that I should try to improve my penmanship" (198). This shows how he has an open mind, because despite quitting school, he never loses the interest in learning. Reading dictionaries usually happen in school, but Malcolm X learns to understand words from different ranges of difficulty in prison. He learns to read and write on his own, and even pays more attention to education in prison than he did when he briefly went to school. Prison is what helped Malcolm X prepare for his upcoming life situations. His education in prison is the foundation of how his becoming of a well rounded speaker