Frederick Douglass’ narratives of his life imply a theory that education, whether it be obtained by formal or unconventional means, paves the way for an individual’s success. Douglass’ own education, despite going through very alternative ways to attain it, gave him the knowledge and courage that he needed to have to understand that an escape from slavery would be his best bet at success. Chapter 7 of The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass especially focuses on Douglass’ learning of the true meaning of slavery from books and his resolve to escape from it.
This theory is definitely reflected in Malcolm X’s autobiography. At first a man with very low literacy skills, Malcolm X soon becomes frustrated at not being able to communicate through writing. He soon starts to “acquire some kind of a homemade education” (Malcolm X 1) and read, studies, and practices writing words from the dictionary he obtains from the Norfolk Prison Colony. Malcolm X even says, “Many who today hear me somewhere in person, or on television, or those who read something I’ve said, will think I went to school far beyond the eighth grade” (1). In reality, his literacy is self taught, knowing that in order to express himself in a way that will garner him respect, he would need to educate himself as much as possible.
Even though it takes place in a different century, Malcolm X’s reading of slavery and its “atrocities” has a very similar reaction to Douglass’ readings of it (Malcolm X 3). It opened both men’s eyes to the horrors of white exploitation of blacks and in Malcolm X’s case, other races as well. But Douglass’ readings caused him to wish to have continued to be ignorant instead of suffering with the knowledge of black mistreatment. Malcolm X, on the other hand, although he became more sensitive to the “deafness, dumbness, and blindness that was afflicting the black race in America,” he did not allow himself to be overcome with the negativity and suffer in silence (3). This is probably due to the difference in the two men’s circumstances: Douglass thought he was going to be a slave for life while Malcolm X knew that prison was going to be temporary for him and that he could make a change once released. This change is something he resolved to do and he accomplished it and also nationwide attention, making his mission to expose black mistreatment a success. This success was only possible through the unconventional means of education that he provided for himself.
I completely agree with Ariane’s thoughts of how Frederick Douglass’ theory on education from the narratives of his life are reflected in Malcolm X’s autobiography. Education, no matter how it is acquired, is very valuable and useful when trying to understand certain situations; in Douglass’ case it was understand and escape from slavery, while for Malcolm X, it was to articulate his thoughts in a correct, more formal manner, basically what he wanted to share with his role model, and later mentor, Mr. Elijah Muhammad, “I became increasingly frustrated at not being able to express what I wanted to convey in letters that I wrote, especially those to Mr. Elijah Muhammad” (1). Malcolm X, being a drop out, did not really receive formal education, and taught himself to widen his vocabulary while he was serving time in the Norfolk Prison Colony. He starts off by copying every word from the dictionary and then reading to himself what he wrote to slowly teach himself these words, “… I copied into my tablet everything printed on that first page, down to the punctuation marks” (2). As Ariane states, in order to gain respect for his thoughts, he must first learn how articulate what he means, which he does through his studies in prison.
Another issue I want to touch upon is their self-motivation to learn. Douglass found ways to learn to read and write, and being a slave it clearly was not an easy feat to accomplish. Down at Durgin and Bailey’s ship-yard, using the left over timber to write on, and telling other boys he could write as well as they do, which would then start a competition between the boys to top what the other one knew was how he got his education, “In this way I got a good many lessons in writing, which it is quite possible I should never have gotten in any other way” (21). Meanwhile, Malcolm X’s motivation to learn stemmed from wanted to articulate his thoughts, but starting off reading books he did not understand almost left him defeated, but his own motivation to better his vocabulary prevailed, “… I would have quit even these motions, unless I had received the motivation that I did” (2). Without this motivation, these influential people would not have had a great impact on American history, becoming icons for their era.