Literacy Behind Bars By Malcolm X

Response to “Literacy behind Bars” by Malcolm X In “Literacy behind Bars” by Malcolm X, Malcolm tells us how he went from a prisoner that didn 't know how to read a sentence, to an advocate giving thousands of speeches to better the lives of African Americans. Malcolm, learned how to read in prison. He came to the sense that he needed to learn how to read and write after he couldn 't even read a sentence off a book after he got jealous of one of his prison mates knowledge. Malcolm, spent his time copying every single word in the dictionary and learning each and every word until he was able to pick up a book and actually understand what he was reading. He spent the rest of his time in prison, and even most of his time when he got out of prison, reading books. As Malcolm said, “Reading had forever changed the course of my life.” With reading, the world around you opens. You can learn so many new things by a book and it can change your life. With Malcolm, he couldn 't read a book without understanding what he read. He struggled to read as if the letters were in “chinese.” I, as a hispanic, growing up as a first generation, I struggled in school when I was small. I grew up with Spanish being my first language because everybody around me, …show more content…
He saw the world more clearly, with all its problems. With reading he said, “Awoke inside me some long dormant craving to be mentally alive.” He craved reading. Learning english, it opened so many doors for me. I was able to read and write. I was able to speak and understand what people were saying. Once I learned english, school was so much easier. Learning the language helped me advance my education. I was able to graduate high school and now on my road to fulfill my career. English helped me continue my education to become someone better. By Malcolm learning how to read and I learning a second language, we had the chance to better ourselves both in an academic