Malcolm X "Learning to Read"

The narrative “Learning to Read” by Malcolm X is a humbling story and well worth a read. The first time I was introduced to it was sophomore year in high school, then again during the summer, and now in my English 101 class. I was astonished the first time I read it.  It was amazing how he set him mind to something and was able to achieve it; he taught himself to read by copying words from the dictionary and improve his penmanship by reputation. He did this all in jail.

After learning the words of the dictionary, he started borrowing books from the library. He read any type of book he could get his hands on. So many of us take for granted the education we are provided, K-12, but when I  read this narrative it made me stop and think. I thought about how lucky we are to be literate and how not everyone has the same opportunities.  The excitement that Malcolm expressed when he learned he could acquire knowledge from reading books. The books opened up new horizons that Malcolm was excited to explore.  He knew one thing for sure, people can take everything from you but they can’t take his education.