Malcom X's Essay 'Learning To Read'

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Have you ever felt like a prisoner of your own mind? Well, only you can hold yourself back from reaching your true potential and being a better you. In the essay called “Learning to Read,” Malcom X discusses how his mind and body were held captive behind bars. He made a miraculous transition in his life as a grimy Harlem Hustler to an influential Muslim Civil Rights leader. On many occasions he found himself playing with fire while death was lurking right around the corner. I myself have clearly walked the many miles in shoes that resemble his, but also found a separate path that lead me towards a different road in life. The two things we have in common are that I have been incarcerated, and also used that time to better and strengthen my mind through self-taught methods. While on the contrary, we differentiate because I never approached practicing or following a religion. My first resemblance to Malcom X was how he lost his freedom. In his youth days he mischievously paraded the streets of Harlem causing crime which eventually lead to a sentence and conviction. Throughout my childhood, I remember terrorizing my neighborhood and city. The result of that behavior and lifestyle …show more content…

While Malcom was in prison, he realized that no one would understand him or take him seriously with his jazzy pimp jargon. He requested for stationery materials and got a hold of a dictionary to begin his journey towards becoming a better intellect. He mastered words daily and used them to reach out to people that he thought he would never speak to. This was the exact same thing I did after reading his biography. I was influenced quickly and began to start writing words down rapidly from the dictionary. I practiced and used them in sentences to build my vocabulary and speech. I could feel my mind, body, and soul all growing at the same time! With that being said, this method helped me to become the person that I am

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