Compare Malcolm X And Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass tells the story of his pursuit of knowledge in “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave,” and Malcolm X explains his own change in “Learning to Read.” Throughout the courses of their development as readers and writers, Douglass and Malcolm X discover their personal motivation to learn and explore methods to obtain self-education, and once it is achieved, they reflect on what literacy opens up for them.
Even though these men grow up in different situations, they both had dirty hands, and somewhere along the way, they discover the inherent power in the mastery of language and begin to pursue an education in order to obtain said power. Douglass figures this out at a younger age than Malcolm X, when his master scolds his mistress after …show more content…
Instead of allowing this to put an end to his learning, Douglass uses the concept to fuel his commitment to educating himself. At a young age, he figures out ways of manipulating the world around him in order to further his own education, despite both his master and his mistress forbidding him to become any more literate than he already was. To continue learning how to read, Douglass uses the spare time from quickly completed errands to befriend the white boys in the streets, and with a bribery of bread, he “convert[s] [them] into teachers” (38). Over time, these lessons provide him with enough education to read and comprehend texts, and he decides to move on and learn to write. After familiarizing himself with a few letters in a ship-yard, Douglass challenges any well written boy he knows to see who can write better, and though the boys knew they were going to win, they did not know they were helping Douglass obtain the lessons he was banned from