Malcolm X Learning to Read and Richard

¶ … malcolm x Learning to Read and richard rodriquez the achievement of desire, as wellas one contrasting the same two articles. It gives an overview of the prevailing situation at the time the stories were writen. This helps in providing an in depth understanding of the impact of the stories.

Learnin To Read by Malcolm X and the Achievement of Desire by Richard Rodriquez

The Achievement of Desire and Learn to Read are both intriguing stories. They are motivational stories of two great men with deep-seated desire to learn. During this time, people from their ethnic groups had many constraints in achieving education. Both the stories of Malcolm X and Richard Rodriguez are great example of how people can overcome barriers to achieve educational success. The two stories share similarities and few differences outlined here in.

Malcolm X, through the desire to learn how to read and write discovered a new world of education. His story is motivational telling how someone in prison can poses a deep desire to read more than an average American. He pushed himself to achieve what many people have not. It is a clear indication that a person can motivate himself to achieve greater things. Malcolm, even though in prison felt as though he was free. His motivation engaged him to the extent of isolating him from his immediate predicament as a prisoner. Similarly, Richard Rodriguez tells the story of his educational achievements. He tells of his eagerness to read and learn more, he explains how this led to his discovery of self. In pursuit of his education, he felt culturally separated from his family. Rodriguez reveals how his socialization process and experiences many a times hindered his education, but his motivation to succeed in his studies led him to greater heights.

Probably what makes the two stories more impressive is the fact that the authors were all from minority groups. Malcolm X an African-American and Richard Rodriguez a Latin American, two ethnic groups with the lowest education rates in the United States of America at that time. These groups faced social economic barriers at that time in achieving such goals. In the case of Malcolm X, the fifties and the sixties were difficult times for African-Americans. It was at the height of racial segregation and few African-American showed concern for education. At this time in the history of the African-American history, they were subjected to unfavorable conditions unlikely to motivate any of them to obtain such success. Nevertheless, he found inner motivation to help him succeed in reading and writing, which became a vital avenue in acquiring knowledge about the history and the then social, political and economical state of the African-American. It was his greatest tool in the fight against racial segregation. Similarly, Richard Rodriguez in his story tells his parents of his teachers comment about his accent, suggesting that his Mexican background had an influence on his life.