Literary Analysis

With the Help of Literacy

            Is it possible for one to imagine the world he or she lives in without literacy? Can one imagine not being able to read the words around them and not being able to express themselves in writing? What kind of emotions would that inability to read and write stir up inside oneself, would one feel frustration or anger? Illiteracy causes ignorance of the issues present in a society. Therefore, literacy is important. The majority of society today is literate, and writers compose beautiful pieces of literature for numerous purposes to convey significant messages to their audiences. The purpose and what message they are trying to convey to readers through their writing is most essential. Malcolm X is one of those people. He describes in his writing how he self-educated himself in prison. In his narrative, Malcolm X illustrates his deep appreciation of literacy and emphasizes its significance in life.

Malcolm X’s narrative explained how he was able to turn his life around and pursue a life involving reading after being influenced by a specific person in prison. He made use of the time that he was locked up and turned it into something he can gain from. Everything started with him envying a man name Bimbi in the prison for his knowledge and being able to control his conversations that made Malcolm want to learn how to read. Malcolm felt that by being able to control conversations he had with who he wanted to, it signifies a form of power he can possess. He wants to be heard and verbalize what he wants with whomever he desired and in his eyes, Bimbi is able to because he was knowledgeable and Malcolm was not. Because Malcom wanted to “emulate” Bimbi in the way that he could also feel knowledgeable and control his own conversations, he wanted to educate himself on words. (X, M p. 1) People may have been the start of Malcolm having the desire to learn to read, but there were also personal and emotional factors that led him to where he is today.

Emotions and how Malcolm views himself or wanted to be view as played a significant role in leading Malcolm to start his path on reading. His strong desire to be heard but being unable to articulate his words and feelings to Mr. Elijah Muhammad on paper caused great frustration to Malcolm. He was not concerned with solely just speaking and conveying his feelings through verbal speech but he wanted to be able to write letters that contained his emotions. His emotions also contributed in a different way to his desire to begin reading. Malcom states “In the streets, I had been the most articulate hustler out there – I had commanded attention when I said something. But now, trying to write simple English, I not only wasn’t articulate, I wasn’t even functional.” (X, M p. 1) Malcolm X’s emotions and pride also led him to want to become literate. Since he was used to being respected and known in the streets he longs for that same type of status. Because his pride seems to be extremely important, his desire to learn to read increased even more. Since he is in a normal society where people are literate, he feels small and unrecognized because of his illiteracy which will cause him to change his act in prison. Due to these emotional factors, Malcolm will start his journey on enhancing his limited vocabulary using the resources that are available to him in prison.

Malcolm utilized a dictionary that was available in prison and he was determined to enhance his vocabulary which will then expand his knowledge on the issues around him. He copied word from word from the dictionary and started working on his penmanship. Every day he would copy page from page and began learning these words and what they mean. (X, M p.1)  This shows that Malcolm knew he must start somewhere with words and learning them would eventually lead him to be able to read a book. As he gradually learned numerous words from the dictionary, he developed a stronger and more sophisticated vocabulary. Because of this enhanced vocabulary, he was on his path of being a literate person and he was able to read books and witness these extravagant words in context. Malcolm begins to read several books and as he did it allowed him to become less ignorant and more cognizant of the society he was living in. By learning to read and write in prison, Malcolm was able to learn and finally understand the truths of slavery. He is no longer ignorant of the issues regarding slavery and the south; he is finally knowledgeable enough to form his own ideas and views on the issue. Malcolm stated “I never will forget how shocked I was when I began reading about slavery's total horror. It made such an impact upon me that it later became one of my favorite subjects.” (X, M p.4) This shows that if Malcolm never learned to read or write he would have been completely oblivious about the horrors of slavery and its impact on the African American people. Now that he has educated himself of the accounts of slavery all over, he is able to act on what he believes, because he is able to use the words he learned to read which allowed him to be able to understand the world around him.

Malcolm X was able to develop a passion for reading after comprehending the interesting topics that appealed to him in the books he read. He stated that “Every night at about ten P.M. I would be outraged with the "lights out." Fortunately, right outside my door was a corridor light that cast a glow into my room. The glow was enough to read by… So when "lights out" came, I would sit on the floor where I could continue reading” (X, M p. 3). By doing this, Malcolm is risking his life in a way because the guards may come around and find him reading instead of sleep. This also proves how determined he is to continue reading and educating himself, because he now realizes the importance of being able to read. The more novels Malcolm started to read, the more his infatuation with books grew. By reading he is dealing with his troubles of being in prison. He is turning this horrible event of being in prison into a positive and commendable situation because he takes the advantage of the resources like the dictionary and books in prison. These actions committed by Malcolm is allowing him to escape the harsh reality of prison and it also enables him to discover his potential life purpose.

Literacy allows and assists one in finding their voice which will lead them to a successful path in life. Malcolm X was able to become a disciple of Elijah Muhammad and then a powerful leader of black America because of the fact that he was literate. The journal “Nowadays, Even the Illiterates Read and Write” states that “Attainment of high levels of literacy is likely to be related to the nature of employment and the chances for a family to live in dignity in a given society.” (Berliner p. 351)This shows how important it is to be literate because it can help one attain to a higher level in life than if they were illiterate. Looking at Malcolm X’s position after being able to read and write, he became someone respected by many who had similar views as him. He also proved that by being literate you can move from a tough position to a good one. Malcolm became a leader despite the fact that he went to prison in his younger days. He was able to achieve what he wanted because of the two most essential skills discussed in his narrative, and that was reading and writing.

            Malcolm X’s narrative also shows how important literacy can be in order to converse with people not only verbally but on paper. While he was in prison, the only way to really communicate with others is through letters. It frustrated Malcolm because at first he did not know how to read or write enough to compose a letter expressing himself to Mr. Elijah Muhammad. (X, M p.1) After the determination of trying to learn and reading numerous books, he finally was able to compose letters filled with his feelings and thoughts to the people he wanted. He stated “Mr. Muhammad, to whom I was writing daily, had no idea of what a new world had opened up to me through my efforts to document his teachings in books.” (X, M p.6) Just like Malcolm, anyone is able to converse verbally with another person, but to put those words down on paper is another skill. By possessing those skills, one can not only write letters but basically express themselves or their inner thoughts in any way. That is why being literate is important because when one is unable to see another but they still want to be able to communicate with them, writing is the best way. The piece “Being Literate” by John T. Guthrie states “We all communicate our feelings, hopes, ideas, and failures with other people... For most of us, this occurs through conversation, in talking with our friends, families, therapists, ourselves. But it is the person who can communicate through the medium of print, as well as conversation, whom we call literate.”(Guthrie p.451) This illustrates how being literate means being able to communicate with words on paper and not just by speaking because anyone can physically speak to one another. Placing thoughts and ideas in print, or being literate is an important skill that one must possess in life and that was what Malcolm X’s narrative was trying to convey to its readers.

            The most important idea that Malcolm X was trying to convey through his narrative was that being literate is extremely important. . By being literate, one can become more cognizant of the society they live in, discover their own voice which can lead to success, and be able to speak through just a pen and paper. Possessing the skill of reading and writing can open up many different paths for a person which proves that literacy is indeed an essential skill to possess in life.

           

References

Berliner, D. C. (1996). Research in the Teaching of English. Nowadays, Even the Illiterates Read and Write , 344-351.

Guthrie, J. T. (1979). Journal of Reading. Being Literate , 450-452.

X, M. (n.d.). Learning to Read .