Malcolm X Essays (617 words) - African-American Muslims,

Malcolm X I read an excerpt from the book, The Autobiography of Malcolm X, by Malcolm X and Alex Haley. In this part of the book Malcolm discusses his quest for knowledge. He starts off by telling us about how he wrote his Harlem, hustler friends and told them all about Allah and Mr. Elijah Muhammad, the two main figures in the Islam religion. He never got a single reply and figured it was because the average hustler and criminal couldnt read. He also thought that maybe they thought he had gone crazy, because after all he was writing them about the devil; the white devil. Maybe his letters never even got there. White men, men who might have just thrown the letters out, censored all of his mail. However, no one ever said anything to him about them or ever treated him differently because of it. As Malcolm X be3gan to write more letters to a wide variety of people he became frustrated with the fact that he could not communicate with them as he wanted to. It was because of these letters that I happened to stumble upon starting to acquire some kind of homemade education. He hated it because he had been the most articulate hustler on the streets of Harlem, and could get anyones attention with his words. He was admired for the eloquent words he spoke and was not used to being ignored. For now even the simplest English was hard for him to write. His quest for an education had begun, but it would be a long one. He decries how it all really began while he was being held at the Charlestown Prison. Bimbi, a fellow prisoner, was very intelligent and Malcolm envied his gift. Bimbi encouraged him to read and Malcolm would try but would end up quitting because he would skip the words he didnt know and keep reading. The problem with this was that he could never fully understand what he was reading and would put the book down. So he decided that he needed to learn how to read and write properly. He decided that the best way to go about it would be to get a hold of a copy of a dictionary and study it. He requested a dictionary, some pencils and some pads of paper. When he first got the book he spent a while just looking through it wondering where to start. He decided that the best place to start would be with the As. So he just started copying. He copied every word and punctuation mark on the first page. It took him the entire day, and when he finished he read aloud what he had written over and over again. The next day he woke up thinking about the words that he had written and to his surprise he even remembered what some of them meant. So he went back over the list again until he knew what every word meant. He was so fascinated that he copied the next page and had the same experience when he woke up the next morning and reviewed them. He eventually copied the entire dictionary while he was in prison. As his word-base broadened he was able to pick up a book and read it all the way through. Being able to do his made him feel important and smart. He became so good at reading that he spent all of his free time reading, and because of this his time in jail went by quickly. In fact, up to then, I never had been so truly free in my life. English Essays

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While reading the story â€Å"GIRL† by Jamaica Kincaid I came to the assumption the author was trying to persuade the reader into believing that society expects much more out of a women then they do a man. I feel, now in today’s society this is somewhat true. I disagree though, with the speculation that our society puts all the jobs and responsibilities of everyday life on women’s shoulders. I do agree that women take on a part similar or equal to men in the everyday work category whether it happen to be in the job field or in the household. I also agree that in some societies this may differ. For example, my family is the type of family where both parents contribute greatly. My mother and father both work full time jobs. When they come home from work they help each other with the chores around the house. My mother though, does not support the family or do everything around the house by herself. She is not expected to do everything by herself, which contradicts t he viewpoint the story was trying to get across to the reader. Previously, in society women where expected to do the housework and take care of the children while men held the full time jobs and â€Å"brought home the bacon†. In the United States today many more women work to help support their families while in the same aspect there are many more men who decide to stay home, attend to the children and do what was earlier in past years referred to as â€Å"women’s work.† Men now take a part in society that was previously held by women or housewives. So, if this is the case, if many males are doing the jobs that where previously done by females is it the men who are expected to take on more responsibilities then women in society I do not think this is the case. So in stating this I believe I have proved the point that women do not have a heavier load then me do in our country today. Now even though I have stated this point I believe that many people do not have the same ... Free Essays on Girl Free Essays on Girl Throughout time mother/daughter relationships have had problems. On the mother/daughter relationship in the story â€Å"Girl† by Jamaica Kincaid, is Dictatorial, Commanding, and Frustrating. Due to mothers indiscretions early on in there lives the daughters are forced to pay for them. The story the â€Å"Girl† is a very good example of how the mother tries to fix her mistakes through her daughter’s life. Mothers will preach to them what not to do but in reality they really are pushing them towards doing, it. The mother in the story is very dictating towards her daughter. She tells her daughter how to â€Å"Wash the white clothes on Monday and put them on the stone heap; wash the color clothes on Tuesday and put them on the clothes-line to dry; don’t walk barehead in the hot sun.†(Kincaid p405) The mother is always telling her daughter what to do because she’s trying to prevent her daughter from making the same mistakes she made when she was her age. In the story you only hear one reference to her father. To me that’s a sign saying maybe the mother didn’t do what she’s telling her daughter to do and that could be the reason the father not there. The mother is probably the woman the baker wouldn’t let touch the bread. â€Å"always squeeze bread to make sure, it’s fresh; but what if the baker won’t let me feel the bread? you mean to say that after all you are really going to be the kind of woman who the baker won’t let near the bread?.†(Kincaid p406) The mother is just trying to prevent her daughter from becoming the town outcast. There relationship is also very commanding. â€Å"always eat your food in such a way that, it won’t turn someone else’s stomach; on Sundays try to walk like a lady and not like the slut you are so bent on becoming; don’t sing benna in Sunday school;†(Kincaid p406) The mother is so commanding because, it doesn’t seem like the daughter really listens. If she were listening the mother woul... Free Essays on Girl While reading the story â€Å"GIRL† by Jamaica Kincaid I came to the assumption the author was trying to persuade the reader into believing that society expects much more out of a women then they do a man. I feel, now in today’s society this is somewhat true. I disagree though, with the speculation that our society puts all the jobs and responsibilities of everyday life on women’s shoulders. I do agree that women take on a part similar or equal to men in the everyday work category whether it happen to be in the job field or in the household. I also agree that in some societies this may differ. For example, my family is the type of family where both parents contribute greatly. My mother and father both work full time jobs. When they come home from work they help each other with the chores around the house. My mother though, does not support the family or do everything around the house by herself. She is not expected to do everything by herself, which contradicts t he viewpoint the story was trying to get across to the reader. Previously, in society women where expected to do the housework and take care of the children while men held the full time jobs and â€Å"brought home the bacon†. In the United States today many more women work to help support their families while in the same aspect there are many more men who decide to stay home, attend to the children and do what was earlier in past years referred to as â€Å"women’s work.† Men now take a part in society that was previously held by women or housewives. So, if this is the case, if many males are doing the jobs that where previously done by females is it the men who are expected to take on more responsibilities then women in society I do not think this is the case. So in stating this I believe I have proved the point that women do not have a heavier load then me do in our country today. Now even though I have stated this point I believe that many people do not have the same ...