Malcolm X Textual Analysis

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The Autobiography of Malcolm X written by Alex Haley in collaboration with Malcolm X discusses the oppression of black people and how Malcolm X comes to resisting that oppression. Malcolm X says” Through reading, readers notice vistas that lead to the path of discovery, the discovery of consciousness.” In other words, reading prompts one to discover. This discovery is not of self, but the position of self in the environment. Malcolm X adds, “My homemade education gave me with every additional book that I read, a little bit more sensitivity to the deafness, dumbness, and blindness that was afflicting the black race in America.”From this Malcolm X concludes that not only is reading epiphanic, but it also reawakens one's dispirited freedom. Their freedom has been subdued for so long that they have forgotten about the feeling of freedom-the experiencing of freedom. Reading is what sheds light into their benightedness, …show more content…

Reading supplies a new viewpoint of Malcolm X’s environment and it pushes Malcolm X to expand that viewpoint. Malcolm X says “ For one thing, I had my first experiences in opening the eyes of my brainwashed black brethren to some truths about the black race” Malcolm X sees himself as liberator, someone that can educate others of their numbness and unknowingness. This confidence in himself is due to reading. Because of reading, Malcolm X discovers the truth, finding a way to liberate himself and to identify himself as free. In reading, there is a reward. The reward may not seem appealing to others because of their blindness and numbness, but if others do attempt to read, their reward might be their freedom, their understanding of freedom. Malcolm X’s freedom to speak and think freely amazes him and he wishes to spread that freedom, that knowing, and to call for action- to

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