Both Malcolm X and Sherman Alexie were depraved (in the sense of comparison) in the sense of literacy compared to, say, a middle class white family. Both also were very much the same in how they came to their gaining of knowledge: self-motivation. Malcolm X read most of his works in prison, trying to emulate another prisoner who was respected. Malcolm wanted to be that person; to be able to control conversations and be respected. Alexie, on the other hand, read because it became available to him with his own knowledge. “...I first understood, with sudden clarity, the purpose of a paragraph....” Alexie discusses, “The words inside a paragraph worked together for a common purpose(WAW, pg 364)” When he used the paragraph metaphor to relate it to his life and the things around him, he began learning to read and began to understand his world around him. Literacy, to me, is defined by both as a means of self-advancement.
Race and economic forces were their driving force behind their learning. Alexie started reading everything he could get his hands on because of the social stigma in his reservation. While Indians were supposed to be inferior to non-Indian adults, he made sure he was known as someone who was knowledgeable. Alexie tried to promote knowledge to other Indians in the reservation to help show that Indians are just as knowledgeable. Malcolm X, once he began to understand more material, began focusing on Black history. He made himself learn about the history that was never taught in his time “I had never forgotten how... the history of the Negro had been covered in one paragraph. (WAW, pg 356).” This drove him to read about black history, which eventually helped him be a more influential speaker once he was out of prison.
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