Malcolm X Learning To Read Summary

Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and the Civil Rights Struggle of the 1950s and 1960s. A Brief History with Documents written by David Howard-Pitney is a great history book that gives us an entry into two important American thinkers and a tumultuous part of American history. This 207-pages book was published by Bedford/St. Martin’s in Boston, New York on February 20, 2004. David Howard-Pitney worked at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers Project at Stanford University in 1986, and that made him a specialist on American civil religion and African-American leaders ' thought and rhetoric (208). Another publication of Howard-Pitney is The African-American Jeremiad: Appeals for Justice in America.

He states that readers from different levels will appreciate the inspiration of the book. A reader may reflect that Malcolm was a person who went from the inside and emerged on the outside. Sirc quotes Penn Warren to explain the thought process, “the man who, from humble origins and with meager education, converts, by will, intelligence, and sterling character, his liabilities into assets”. Sirc uses this quote to speak to the students understanding of the effort it takes to experience life from outside a racial box. Malcolm was “making it” (Sirc 52), however one particular student of Sirc’s found the task “daunting but inspiring” (Sirc 52).

Education is Power The Civil Rights Movement took place during the mid-1950s and late 1960s where African Americans protested against the injustice of not receiving the same civil liberties as white Americans. Activists who took part in the Civil Rights Movement, used a non-violent approach to protesting such as the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the Greensboro sit-ins, and the march from Selma to Montgomery in order to bring about equality. African Americans began to receive equality as shown by the implementation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968. In Malcolm X’s, “Learning to Read”, he encourages his audience to learn from his mistakes through stories of his background that reflect his beliefs that under-educated people need to become aware of the less than positive history of the oppression of African Americans if they plan on attaining their freedom.

Malcolm X’s prison studies inspired him to fight for the rights of African-Americans. This example relates to the article because it shows how Malcolm X was inspired after focusing closely on improving his vocabulary and reading skills. Sample Body Paragraph 2 The article makes an interesting point when it says that, “Most people are not there, and they’re not there to know that they’re not there.” Basically,

Malcolm X 's "A Homemade Education" uncovers a story of how he gained knowledge by himself and how it guided his thoughts and ideas in becoming a more knowledgeable speaker. Although Malcolm X is a very outspoken person about racism in the United States and throughout the world, he had the right to be upset but goes a little overboard on blaming whites. The main focus of "A Homemade Education" by Malcolm X is his endless attempt to increase his knowledge by teaching himself how to fully understand different words of the dictionary. Although he was inspired by a fellow inmate when he was in Charlestown Prison, Malcolm, young as he was back then, began reading intensely but couldn’t understand exactly what he was reading because of his writing and reading skills. Starting from being illiterate, Malcolm X used every resource he had to broaden his language abilities and be able to communicate to the world and his people.

No matter how someone may be living their life there will always be obstacles to face. Everyday someone may face an obstacle they come across by and figuring out how to overcome something. Wheather it is a work related obstacle or a school obstacle there are many possibilites and opportunities to over come these series obstacles. Malcolm X wasn't an ordinary inmate in a prison. From being in a prison he was trying to become an educated man.

Frederick Douglass and Malcolm X were great revolutionary leaders. Their motives inspired others to be against the segregated 20th century. Frederick Douglass is famous for writing “Learning to Read”. The intended audience would have been anyone. Learning to Read was written in 1845 and it is a narrative.

In Frederick Douglas’ essay “Learning to Read,” and Malcolm X’s autobiography one of the most important similarities is that they both used their learning to read as an escape of the white man's persecution. Additionally, both lived in centuries of great oppression, gained their education while imprisoned or enslaved, and overcame the immense obstacle of being black in a white man's time. However, there are obvious differences between the two, such as Douglas simply wanted equality for himself, while Malcolm took his learnings and transformed them into a seething hate of the whites. Douglas was a very clever man who was peaceful and smart, whereas Malcolm had an aggressive mentality. Instead of despising the white race, as Malcolm along with

In “Learning to Read”, Malcolm X uses rhetorical analysis to argue how African Americans continued to struggle in gaining education due to racism. He informs people that through our history books, there have been modifications that restrain the truth about the struggles black people faced. Malcolm X encouraged his audience to strive to get the rights that they deserved. He demonstrates that knowledge is very important because the truth empowers us. In his interview he persuades his audience with diction, tone, pathos, ethos, and appeal to emotion to make his point.

Malcolm X's "Literacy Behind Bars" is about the expansion of his world that provokes a burning passion within himself through the world of reading. While incarcerated, the author meets a man named Bimbi who leads the discussion with his stock of knowledge, prompting Malcolm X to further his skills in literacy. Taking small steps, he first broadens his vocabulary by reading alphabetically in the dictionary and copying pages. He reads aloud to himself until the words begin to stick with him. Not long after moves onto books, devouring them at a relentless pace, Malcolm X became so engrossed with reading that he begins breaking curfew rules just to continue reading by using the light outside of his cell.

This journal article belabours the point that is also a common theme in “The Autobiography of Malcolm X”: Malcolm’s changing views on civil rights. Again as a result of his tumultuous childhood because of the “white man”, Malcolm generalizes all white people as essentially haters of blacks because of the negative experiences he’s had with them and the tragic ways they treated him. But, as he grows older and matures, Malcolm has the eye-opening experience of seeing people of all colors worship next to each other. This is an interaction between blacks and whites that creates a positive environment as an outcome.

Learning to read by Malcolm X is an autobiographical piece describing his self-education. Malcom describes being “Increasingly frustrated. At not being able to express what I(He) wanted to convey in letters.” This gave him the drive to learn to read and write during his time in Charlestown Prison, and Norfolk Prison. He started his self-education by reading books, piecing together the bits that he could understand using context to complete sentences he could not comprehend.

A Homemade Education by Malcolm X, is an informative essay about the author Malcolm X dedication to further his education by himself. In this essay the author talks about how he was envious, how he turned that into motivation, and how he didn't let the fact that being imprisoned would keep him from pursing his goals. The essay " A Homemade Education" was very meaningful. The most meaningful thing to me about this essay was the dedication behind the authors purpose to further his education.

a. Explain the process by which the author improved his reading and writing abilities. The process by which the author improved his reading and writing abilities begins when he is in prison. At first, he studied in prison under the teaching of Mr. Elijah Muhammad, and he wrote letters to people, whom he knows in the outside world. After these letters were sent, he found out that it was difficult for him to express his feelings because of the lack of vocabulary.

Malcolm X was admired by many, for his courage and intelligence. In his essay “prison Studies” Malcolm X writes about his journey in prison, he tells us how he met his friend Bimbi who inspired him to become better and so he started his own “prison” education. Malcolm X’s idea of freedom is knowledge. In his “Prison Studies “he said :” I never had been so truly free” ( “prison Studies” Malcolm X) . Back in his prison days, he used a small light that pierced through his cell just to be able to continue reading the dictionary.