In Emile: or A Treatise on Education by Jean Jacques Rousseau, he stated an important quote, “The inner growth of our organs and faculties is the education of nature, the use we learn to make of this growth is the education of men, what we gain by our experience of our surroundings is the education of things.” (1). Rousseau emphasized how important education is and how it can be obtained through our experience of our surroundings and the situation that we are in.

This is applicable to “The Autobiography of Malcolm X” because he made use of his surroundings in order to achieve education. He originally was convicted of robbery and spent a total of seven years in prison. During his time in prison, Malcolm learned from the dictionary as he “started copying what eventually became the entire dictionary” (Malcolm 1). As a eventually learned how to read, he learned about history and what was happening in the world, including the horrors of slavery. Malcolm X stated, “I knew right there in prison that reading had changed forever the course of my life” (1). This emphasizes Rousseau’s quote about how important education is and how it can be obtained through our surroundings. Malcolm X did not let his incarceration bring him down, but he let this event be an opportunity for him to grow more as a person. His self education achieved in the prison cell eventually led to him being a leading spokesman for black separatism, which sought for African Americans to cut ties with the white community.