Preview

Analysis Of Malcolm X's Coming To An Awareness Of Language

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
359 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Analysis Of Malcolm X's Coming To An Awareness Of Language
In his article "Coming to an Awareness of Language" Malcolm X tells during his imprisonment in Norfolk Prison, he was unable to articulate his thoughts to others. "I became increasingly frustrated at not being able to express what I wanted to convey in letters that I wrote". Malcolm X felt "inferior" when he would write his letter, because he was unable to convey his thoughts and write down a simple letter. It was a daunting task for Malcolm. Even though he stated "The average hustler and criminal was too uneducated to write a letter". Malcolm was smarter than a average hustler, but he wasn't satisfied with being average than a regular hustler, he wanted more. "Bimbi first made me feel envy of his stock of knowledge. Bimbi had always taken
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Summary of 'Learning to Read' by Malcolm X
    • 549 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Summary of 'Learning to Read' by Malcolm X

    In "Learning to Read," an excerpt found in The Autobiography of Malcolm X, author Malcolm X attacks his illiteracy while imprisoned for battling the white man. Malcolm in his conversations with other prisoners realized he wasn’t the most articulate hustler any more as he used to be in the street. Bimbi a fellow prisoner in Charlestown Prison would take over conversations because of his vast vocabulary and knowledge from reading. Malcolm was not only impressed but aspired to be as intelligent. Malcolm explains “Bimbi made me feel envy of his stock of knowledge.” When he started his sentence the highest education he had was at an eighth grade level he received as a child. So Malcolm begins reading to acquire the same eloquent speech, but he comes across a problem. Malcolm couldn’t understand but every few words in such sophisticated books as Bimbi read. Malcolm became frustrated because he could only read the words he knew but in the end had no understanding of what he just read. Malcolm felt as though he was reading another language, such as Chinese.…

    • 549 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Analysis Of Malcolm X: The Autobiography Of Malcom X
    • 142 Words
    • 1 Page

    Analysis Of Malcolm X: The Autobiography Of Malcom X

    Malcolm X, Detroit Red, Satan, and El Hajji Malik El-Shabazz. Although, Malcolm was the main character throughout the autobiography. These were the various names used by the prominent African-American civil rights activist, Malcolm X, during the various stages throughout his life. Malcolm Little, officially known as Malcolm X, was the son Louise Helen Little and Earl Little and was born on May 19, 1925. He was the fourth out of seven children and also had the brightest skin complexion out of all the children so as a child that led him to believe that he was treated better by his father, and evaded many of the beatings suffered by his siblings daily. Despite his bright skin complexion, Malcolm still encountered…

    • 142 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Reading Activity 1.2: The Autobiography Of Malcolm X
    • 390 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Reading Activity 1.2: The Autobiography Of Malcolm X

    Malcolm X spent time in the Charlestown prison during the Civil Rights movement. While confined, a fellow prison mate named Bimbi displayed a certain presence that Malcolm tried to imitate. Bimbi showed dominance when talking to others that Malcolm often grudged. As a result, Malcolm obtained a dictionary so that he can learn a few words.…

    • 390 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Learning To Read Malcolm X Summary
    • 289 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Learning To Read Malcolm X Summary

    Malcom little, known as Malcom X was human rights activist and Muslim minister, Malcom x, autobiography tittle “Learning to Read,” recounts his self-education and his endeavors to learn how to read and write while he was prison in Charlestown prison for a robbery he committed in 1946. Malcolm X’s purpose was to illustrate the struggle to educate his mind and his people from the pervasive racist ideology of the 1960’s. He experience and emotions of African Americans engaged in struggle of the civil rights. Malcom X begins his excerpt by acknowledging the frustration he felt trying to convey his own thoughts and feelings in letters to friends while in prison. He was not only physically imprisoned but a prisoner of his own mind as well. Malcom…

    • 289 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Rhetorical Analysis On Malcolm X
    • 244 Words
    • 1 Page

    Rhetorical Analysis On Malcolm X

    Serving his ten year sentence in a state prison Malcolm X encounters a religious teacher named Baines (Albert Hall) who provided knowledge on Islamic beliefs. He too was a manipulator. He taught Malcolm X not to have self-hatred in exchange for hate people of Caucasian descent. For instance, in one scene Baines interrupts Malcolm X in the shower as he is using his lye straightening products. Baines offers Malcolm X a drink, which is similar to a drug to get him high. Baines does this because he known this is the only way Malcolm will speak with him. He actually even states it to Malcolm in the scene. This was a manipulation tactic similar to the one used by Archie in the bar scene. Baines becomes the connection between Malcolm X and Elijah…

    • 244 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Comparison of Malcolm X and Deborah Tannen
    • 731 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Comparison of Malcolm X and Deborah Tannen

    As I read Malcolm X’s story I was very fascinated. It taught me that it took him much determination and ambition to accomplish what he had. It really amazed me how he could rise from being so illiterate to become one of the most articulate and powerful black leaders in America. It made me say to myself, “If he could do great maybe I can do wonderful.” One of his methods for motivation was his envy for ”Bimbi” (Malcolm X 86). His envy for Bimbi must have been so great if it kept him from being able to pursue his goals and his future accomplishments (Malcolm X 86). I truly wonder if I would be as patient as he was. Lets look at the facts. First off, his handwriting was so poor that he could not even write in a straight line, I could only imagine how discouraging that must have been. Reading wasn’t his strength either so he had to start as any other person started to learn to read, from the basics. He did this by himself. I honestly give him so much credit because if I personally had to teach myself to read and write, I don’t know if I’d be able to patiently accept all the failures and slow progression I would make. I’d be beyond frustrated to the point where I might give up. Then, something else that strikes me…

    • 731 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Comparing Letter From Birmingham Jail And Maya Angelou's A Homemade Education
    • 1371 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Comparing Letter From Birmingham Jail And Maya Angelou's A Homemade Education

    In "A Homemade Education", Malcolm X admits his frustration about his inability to express himself the way he'd like to. It can be said that Malcolm X was discouraged as he mentioned that he "wasn’t even functional" (Malcolm X 134) and though he did feel this way he turned the negative feelings into something to strive for. In the Charlestown prison Malcolm X was in there was another inmate named Bimbi who he envied because of his ability to use words and his knowledge. Malcolm X's envy of Bimbi drove and inspired him to seek and ultimately further his own education in a sense in deciding to read and copy out of the dictionary. Malcolm X gained a hunger for the knowledge he was obtaining as exemplified in the following quotation: " I could for the first time pick up a book and read and now begin to understand what the book was saying... in every free moment I had, if I was not reading in the library, I was reading in my bunk... In fact, up to then, I never had been so truly free in my life." (Malcolm X 135). Malcolm X used his time as way to learn everything he possibly could so that he wouldn’t have to be envious of the knowledge someone else possessed. In Maya Angelou's "Graduation", Angelou also showed her discouragement by the words of Edward Donleavy at her graduation who told the congregation of how many more opportunities whites had over blacks. Angelou's graduation was an occasion that had so many excited because they had worked so hard to accomplish the feat of gaining an education and they were also excited for what their future had in store for them; however, many of them including Angelou felt in the moment that those hopes and…

    • 1371 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Malcolm X And The Rhetoric Of Revolutionary Dissent
    • 386 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Malcolm X And The Rhetoric Of Revolutionary Dissent

    Celeste Michelle Condit & John Louis Lucaites argues that, Malcolm X the most thorough and relentless revolutionary dissident of the 1960s, who loudly implored his Black brothers and sisters to use “all means necessary” to bring about social and political justice and equality for Black America. It was impossible to know whether or not Malcolm X’s evolutionary vision would ever have produced a positive and peaceful program of political action capable of effectively organizing, motivating, and directing Black America against the system that oppressed it, for he was robbed of the opportunity to try at the age of 39.…

    • 386 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Rhetorical Analysis Of Message To Grassroots By Malcolm X
    • 698 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Rhetorical Analysis Of Message To Grassroots By Malcolm X

    In the excerpt from Malcolm X’s “Message to Grassroots,” Malcolm X uses effective stylistic devices such as colorful figurative language, effective repetition, and powerful diction to persuade his audience of his argument. Malcolm X feels strongly that America has treated the people of color unjustly, and he is angry about it. He is arguing that minorities need to forget their differences, so they can unite in a common cause to gain equality and liberty. Too, he says blacks, and other “unwanted people,” should wake up to reality. They must understand they are being treated unfairly, and by doing so, can “plot a course” to become educated and therefore have the ability to defend themselves against white oppression. Malcolm’s masterful use of language makes his speech effective.…

    • 698 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Malcolm X Rhetorical Analysis Essay
    • 520 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Malcolm X Rhetorical Analysis Essay

    Back in the 1960s, Malcolm X was an influential public speaker. He protested for equal rights of African Americans. At that time, in the United States, African Americans did not have the same rights as white people. He had a rough upbringing; he was born into a large family and had eight siblings. By the time he was twelve years old, his mother had been sent to a mental hospital, and his father had been killed after being hit by a car. He then spent the rest of his childhood in foster homes. In 1946 he was then arrested for stealing and was sent to prison. This is believed to be a significant motive for making his speeches.…

    • 520 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Rhetorical Analysis Of Learning To Read By Malcolm X
    • 1048 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Rhetorical Analysis Of Learning To Read By Malcolm X

    In Learning to Read, Malcolm X, one of the most articulate and powerful leaders of black America during the 1960s, describes his struggle of self-education while being incarcerated. Malcolm X composed his journey of self-in order to convey the message that the reader should strive to look for more than what is taught to them by the public school system, to, in a way, look outside the box.…

    • 1048 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Malcolm X/ Frederick Douglass
    • 624 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Malcolm X/ Frederick Douglass

    Despite these similarities, the self education of Malcolm X and Douglass has notable differences. As a slave, Douglass was putting himself in danger by learning to read and write. Nothing made his mistress more angry than “to see me with a newspaper” (Douglass 145). He had to be secretive, for fear of physical punishment. In contrast, Malcolm X learned to read in a much safer environment. After spending his adolescence and adulthood on the streets, his punishment for…

    • 624 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Malcolm X's Lack Of Knowledge In Reading
    • 1124 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Malcolm X's Lack Of Knowledge In Reading

    In today’s society, what can we do about the beliefs Malcolm X had towards knowledge in reading. One of the main questions will be the way this knowledge in books will change our attitudes in the culture will live on. At the end of the day do books change the overall spectrum of knowledge for anyone trying to become educated by themselves with no source of education background. The main point we have to make in the lives of any individual with a sense of trying to become educated they must have read a book of some source, in which has helped them realize changing their way of thinking into making important decisions. The main function we can do as an individual to prevent ignorance and spread vital information to those who are less educated a group which can help themselves grow intellectually in a…

    • 1124 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Malcolm X And Frederick Douglass Analysis
    • 1353 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Malcolm X And Frederick Douglass Analysis

    Nonetheless, he ends up at a similar conclusion: Knowledge will give him the ability to assume control of a situation and to influence others with his words—not only spoken, but written as well. It is a fellow prison inmate, Bimbi, who first inspires Malcolm X. “It had really begun . . . when Bimbi first made me feel envy of his stock of knowledge,” Malcolm X expresses. “Bimbi had always taken charge of any conversations he was in . . .” (1). Through Bimbi, by failing to imitate what the inmate did, Malcolm X finds his motivation to become literate. “As I see it today, the ability to read awoke inside me some long dormant craving to be mentally…

    • 1353 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Rhetorical Analysis Of Malcolm X's Speech
    • 3768 Words
    • 16 Pages

    Rhetorical Analysis Of Malcolm X's Speech

    An essay on Malcolm X’s famous speech given in Cleveland, Ohio on April 3, 1964.…

    • 3768 Words
    • 16 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More

Related Topics