Reading Response to Malcolm X – Valon

“I suppose it was inevitable that as my word base broadened, I
could for the first time pick up a book and read and now begin to
understand what the book was saying. Anyone who had read a great deal
can imagine the new world that opened. Let me tell you something:
From then until I left that prison, in every free moment I had, if I was not
reading in the library, I was reading on my bunk. You couldn’t have
gotten me out of books with a wedge. Between Mr. Muhammad’s
teachings, my correspondence, my visitors–usually Ella and Reginald–
and my reading of books, months passed without my even thinking about
being imprisoned. In fact, up to then, I never had been so truly free in my life.”(paragraph 9)

“Prison Studies”, by Malcolm X, is a short reading of a black man living during the years of 1925-1965 who in fact was imprisoned. The writing mainly focuses on Malcolm’s time spent in prison and how it has positively impacted him. He discusses the ways he learned how to read and write which was by reading whatever he understood from books, getting a dictionary that he would be able to study from and learn new words/definitions, and he also wished to improve his penmanship, the art or skill of writing by hand, so he began copying words on to writing tablets. The time he was living in made it difficult for him to obtain a proper education, especially him being in prison. As Malcolm enhanced his ability to read, he refers to it as a “new world”, from being basically illiterate to understanding what the words mean in front of you seemed to be very fascinating to Malcolm which always kept him motivated to widen his intelligence. Unlike other prisoners who are in there for good and don’t plan on making change, Malcolm utilized his time while he was there since he was always reading in the library or in his cell. Reading was more than just a skillful attribute for Malcolm, he used it as an outlet because by keeping his mind occupied it made it seem like he wasn’t in prison. Another root for Malcolm’s peace was when he became a Muslim, the more he learned about the religion through Mr.Muhammad and strengthened his fath towards Allah, he found that he has never felt more free in the entirety of his whole life. To conclude, Malcolm remained resilient throughout his life which led him to reach his desires of being an