Wednesday, October 12, 2011
X Vs. Shermie
Malcom X starts his article explaining how he grew up in the streets and only went to school through eighth grade. He was, of course, African American. He explained that when he read books he didn't understand most words he was reading, so the books never made sense. On the other hand, Sherman Alexie started reading when he was three and read the Grapes of Wrath in kindergarten. He blamed his love of books on his father, because his father was obscessed with reading. Malcom X picked up reading in prison. He had a lot of free time and used it reading. He said, "I never felt more free". Alexie was made fun of for reading when he was a child. Malcom X was encouraged as a convict and Alexie was discouraged as a child. The pressure was a purely external. The two were both influenced heavily by the social situations in their lives at the time they began reading. X's literacy was praised because he was in prison and Alexie's literacy was shot down because he didn't fit the mold of an average Native American child.
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Yeah i mean i guess reading grapes of wrath in kindergarden is a little impressive.... But really, they have some serious differences yet similarities at the same time. Good post I like it it is similar to what I said.
ReplyDeleteGoing along with that, Malcolm's reading in prison helped him become a big player for the African American people when he got out. It was that literacy that he developed from reading and copying the dictionary that helped him be the influential person he wanted to be when he got out of prison.
ReplyDeleteI guess I never thought about the fact that Alexie was discouraged and Malcolm was encouraged. It's an interesting point that I didn't exactly pick-up on when reading through the articles. I noticed that both have a common goal of using there literacy as a source of power. Malcolm X wanted to demand peoples attention as he did in the streets and Sherman Alexie wanted to prove to the world that Native American's had the power to learn and be fluent in the English language.
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