This is a response to Mohammed Uddin’s Post (https://blogs.baruch.cuny.edu/rethinkeducation/?author=18281)

I completely agree with Mohammed’s viewpoint on the transformation that Jefferson in A Lesson Before Dying by Earnest Gaine, and Malcom X in The Autobiography of Malcolm X go through while in jail. He states how the people that Jefferson and Malcolm X were when they arrived in jail were different than the people that they were when Malcolm X was freed and the time of Jefferson’s death.

Both characters went through similar transitions in jail; they both became more educated. Jefferson was helped by a well-educated teacher named Grant Wiggins, whereas Malcolm X, who was completely illiterate – “I not only wasn’t articulate, I wasn’t even functional.” (Malcolm X) – taught himself. This education held a key role in both characters’ transition into manhood. Education made both of them more aware of their surroundings and helped them understand life on a deeper level.

Mohammed used the quote, “Book after book showed me how the white man had brought upon the world’s black, brown, red, and yellow peoples.” (Malcolm X). This was a very good choice for a quote as it conveyed the idea that Malcolm X has now become more aware of what is going on in his surroundings, due to his newfound literacy.

The relationship between writing, freedom, and manhood is more like a chain. Writing, which includes the attribute of literacy, allows the characters to gain more knowledge through different mediums. It also gives them a voice; it gives them the freedom and opportunity to express their thoughts and feelings in a different way other than speaking. It also gave them more freedom to think due to the higher level of knowledge they now held. Ultimately, this attributes to their transition into manhood, because manhood is attained when one understands himself and his life. Manhood is characterized as a state where one is free to think for himself, express himself, and a state in which one is not ignorant of his surroundings.