“Learning to Read” Excerpt

One of the details from, “Learning to Read” from The Autobiography of Malcolm X, that made a strong impression on me was the character development that he had throughout his life. We know that in 1946, he had gone to prison for robbery and in those seven years he wasted no time. He went from not being “functional” and “articulate” at writing simple English to leaving the impression that he had gone to school past the 8th grade. It is truly inspirational to see a person who started out as a street hustler become one of the most powerful leaders in America. We recall that in the excerpt Malcolm X gave us a description of what “homemade education” is. I make this term to be the epitome of determination and drive. He shows us that you can introduce yourself to knowledge that you never knew about and still master it, all it requires is infinite motivation and attempts. One of the elements that I can identify with is the sense of accomplishment throughout the text. Just like Malcolm X, it makes me feel excellent knowing that I have achieved something that I thought I couldn’t achieve on my own. Success is what makes me proud of myself and makes me feel satisfied with my understanding of the world.