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The importance of education in the prison system
Importance of education in prison
Importance of education in prison
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Going into prison, Malcolm X is illiterate. He is frustrated that he cannot express himself. Malcolm X decides “the best thing [he] could do [is] get hold of a dictionary - to study, to learn some words.” In the prison Malcolm X requests tablets, pencils, and a dictionary. Then he begins to copy the dictionary on to the tablets. He does this until he has completely the entire dictionary. Typical people do not learn to read and write by copying the dictionary, but by sounding out letters and copying the alphabet.
In this essay “Saved,”’ by Malcolm X. Malcolm is talking about how he went to prison and how that made him want to improve his language. So he got a holed of a dictionary and read it. while doing this, he though to himself he also could improve his hand writing so when he would read the dictionary he would also write down what he read. than he would read what he wrote down out loud, this made him a faster writer and a good reader. Now because of this, Malcolm loved reading he said he would stay up all night reading and only would get 4 to 5 hours of sleep, but that was all he needed.
As I grew up learning to read was something I learned in school, yet for Sherman Alexie and Malcolm X can’t say the same. These two amazing authors taught themselves, at different stages of their lives, to read. In Sherman Alexie’s essay “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me” and Malcolm X’s essay “Learning to Read” they both explain the trials and experiences they went through that encouraged them to work to achieve literacy.
In “Literacy behind Bars” narrative from an autobiography by Malcolm X in 1965, Malcolm X shows that being able to read is important and sometimes jail is the best place to learn. The author supports this by showing that he saw the people around him reading and wanted to be able to speak and read as well as them (640). He started out by reading and writing an entire dictionary which helped him read and understand more words (641). Malcolm X read everything that he could get his hands on and was able to learn more and use it later on in his career. He was able to concentrate more about learning in jail then he would have been able to do at a college because he had nothing else to do. Malcolm X would read late into the morning despite that guard
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
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...
The Autobiography of Malcolm X as told by Alex Haley is about a man who changed the history of America. Malcolm (Little) X preached what he believed about racism, discrimination, and segregation. He went through many changes in his fight for equality. The three transformations that really changed the way Malcolm thought and preached where his transformation in prison, his transformation into the Islamic religion (following Elijah Muhammad), and the biggest transformation of all, his pilgrimage to Mecca. In all of Malcolm actions, teachings and transformations we learn different points of view and we get a good look at different aspects of events. The life of Malcolm (Little) X as told in his autobiography should be read by all.
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
One day, Douglass eavesdrops on him and Mrs. Auld’s conversation. Mr. Auld persuades her that reading “could do him (Douglass) no good, but a great deal of harm.” (page 39) This antithesis along with the rest of his statement makes Douglass come to the realization that literacy is equated with not only individual consciousness but also freedom. From that day on, Douglass makes it his goal to learn as much as he can, eventually learning how to write,
In conclusion, I would like to say that this book is worthwhile reading although it is a quite thick and might take longer time to finish reading it. I might not good in reviewing a book or giving criticism for something. Reading this autobiography can benefit people in many fields. Different people will see things differently. So does when reading this book, certain people might take the lessons differently and it might benefit differently. For example, as a sociological study, it could provide fascinating insights into ghetto life and the ways which an individual learned to survive in the ghetto. Meanwhile as a religious work, it does tell about how an individual is struggling in order to find his God. And it cannot be denied as it is clear that in political work is the book has had its strongest impact.
... and unhappy (Douglass 78).” Learning how to read was as big a step towards freedom for Douglass as it was back. It made him aware of the circumstances but it also made him realize how difficult it would be for him to ever find himself a free man. However, knowledge overpowers ignorance in the sense that his masters could never take his ability to read away from him and because Douglass now knew his condition, he knew that he deserved a better life.
autobiography. He also illustrates his early experiences of segregation, as early as before he was born:
In his article, Malcolm describes the way he spent seven years in prison and uses his time to give himself an education. He gets a dictionary and starts to read it over and over to study the words
He was in jail thus he only had the library and his room to read and write he liked reading more in his room than at the library for that the reason that he preferred the isolation. He hated when they would announce, "lights out." Due to the fact that he wanted to keep on reading one of his books that’s why whenever that came into the announcement he would to go his bed and wait for the nightly security guards to pass by. Then as soon as they walked by his cell he would go into a little corner where there was a light glow. He would wait for exactly fifty-eight minutes to pass till the next security guards would pass by again. He would continue to jump from in and out of his bed to his little corner every time security passed again thus he wouldn't get caught. Malcolm said himself, “I knew right there in prison that reading had changed my life forever the course of my life. The ability to read awoke inside of me some long dormant craving to mentally alive.”
Having the knowledge to read and write may take someone into a completely different universe, it allows to see reality or escape from reality. It gives a better understanding of what goes on in the world, that being good or bad depending on how he wants to see it. Malcolm X wrote a short story " A Homemade Education," about how, his experience in prison allowed him to gain knowledge and to grow as an individual. Learning to read and write showed him, how to be mentally alive in a way that changed his life forever. He took it as an ability to grow, to make a change for himself and possibly make a difference in the world. Malcolm X explained how it 's never too late to get an education, there is always time for one to change in life. It is
Malcolm X’s “Learning to Read,” is a powerful piece about his time in prison when he taught himself how to read. Through his reading, he discovered the awful things that happened in history and became a civil rights activist. Malcolm X changed his feeling and position throughout his piece, “Learning to Read.” His emotions are clear in his writing, but the change in his writing is clear to be caused by a change in his own thoughts because of the things he learned. The essay shows his lack of reading skills when he was young, but also how interested he became in it, and how much he uses it. He says that reading is important to readers' lives just as it was to his, helping one to form their own thoughts and views. Without the ability to read and understand the world, it becomes difficult to build your own ethical views.