His argument is expressed in the story of his life’s journey – a journey that is intellectual, spiritual, physical and political. Douglass’s first realization that having an education meant freedom came during his stay with the Auld’s. Mr. Auld scolded his wife for teaching Douglass how to read. He tells her, “if you give a nigger an inch, he’ll take an ell” (29). This meant that Douglass was on his own to educate himself.
Little do they know when they first meet what a great difference they would each eventually make for each other. William is the first to help Jamal by helping him in his writing. Jamal is a great writer but just doesn’t know it yet. William helps Jamal find himself in his writing, and Jamal becomes a great author. One lesson Jamal learned was to write with his heart first and revise later with his mind.
In Malcolm X's "A Homemade Education," Malcolm discusses his struggles with the language of literature. Being in prison, he explains how his interest and determination to be "able to read and understand"(717) literature led him to a freedom he had never had before. He leaped head first into reading while broadening his vocabulary copying the entire dictionary from which he "also learned of people and places and events from history"(716). As he followed the teachings of Elijah Muhammad, he became interested in black history and slavery. Due to slavery's impact on Malcolm, he became a minister of Mr. Muhammad’s; gaining knowledge that would lead him to fighting for African American's human and civil rights.
He goes to school and learns to read and write. He is exposed to slavery, as Miss Watson owns Jim, but accepts this as a societal normal. Huck is of course an adolescent and questions things such as clean clothes, sleeping inside, and school, but he gradually accepts them and starts to be comfortable in proper society. Huck’s “sivilized” world is thrown
Ever since his brilliant insight, reading clicked for him. He was even able to take the concept of what paragraphs meant and compare them to real life This was a talent he grew up with and never gave up, as we know since he became a writer himself and now visits those schools hoping to enlighten those boys into the lifestyle he grew up livings with possibly even giving them the chance of survival. Sherman metaphorically gives us enlightenment that he is Superman. Just like how he saw Superman breaking through those doors in the comic book, he broke down those social barriers of a failing Indian in the non-Indian
Douglass also draws attention to the false system of values created by slavery, in which allegiance to the slave master is far stronger than an allegiance to other slaves. When he is seven or eight years old, Douglass is sent to Baltimore to live with the Auld family and care for their son, Thomas. Mrs. Auld gives Douglass reading lessons until her husband intervene; Douglass continues his lessons by trading bread for lessons with poor neighborhood white boys and by using Thomas' books. Soon, Douglass discovers abolitionist movements in the North, including those by Irish Catholics. Several years later, as a result of his original owner's death, Douglass finds himself being lent to a poor farmer with a reputation for "breaking" slaves.
In Malcolm X's "A Homemade Education," Malcolm X discusses his struggles between the language on his childhood streets growing up and the language of literature. Being in prison, he explains how his interest and determination to be able to read and understand. He become more frustrated because with the fact that he couldn’t communicate with people, as he wanted to. He was admired for the fluent words he spoke and was not used to being ignored; even the simplest English was hard for him to write and read. From this situation he recognized his seek for an education.
Ina Koraqe Engl 91, Prof. Tara Thompson October 22, 2013 Reflective Essay Reading Autobiography Reading is a long career which everyone of us has to built on its own path. To read isn’t that boring as it sounds. Reading is an “external” part of my academic life. We don’t have a good relationship, but we get along. At this point, I think it depends on what are your reading interests and how reading meets your interpretation skills to be understood or to get you involved on its field.
Furthermore, when Malcolm would read, he skipped over the words he didn't understand. This made it very hard to understand most of the materials that he read. Bimbi, another inmate, who seemed to captivate his audience with the spoken word, impressed him. Malcolm needed to learn what words meant and how to write and, then, he was waking up to a new world. Malcolm X had few choices but a significant desire to command the written word.
Do any of these teachers teach us how important good writing skills are to our lives and our futures? [This class has already taught me more in one week than in my entire prior education.] Do they really make sure, this is no joke? My opinion, no they do not. For this reason, it has affected the future endeavors for myself and I am sure many others.