Meng Zhang (Tracey)
ESL 100D/E
Instructor: Liz Raptis
What People Get From Homemade Education
There is no doubt that people would never stop studying until they are dead. Even a
person got a diploma of doctor’s degree, which just only means he finished his formal education.
However, there is no limit to learning. Reading books, homemade education, is the only way to
satisfy the thirst for knowledge, which can compensate for the deficiency of formal education.
Malcolm X states in A Homemade Education “As I see it today, the ability to read awoke inside
me some long dormant craving to be mentally alive. I certainly was not seeking any degree, the
way a college confers a status symbol upon its students.” It is perfect explaining the target of
studying that acquiring knowledge is the target of reading books. Books offer an opportunity for
the people who want to acquire knowledge, but do not know how to study. Getting a diploma is
the least important result. Even sometime people do not get any degree; the knowledge is stored
in their minds, such as Malcolm X and Richard Wright. Both of these two men dropped out
school; however, they read books and studied reading and writing by themselves. They became
the knowledgeable people without any diploma. At least, Malcolm X became a political activity,
and Richard Wright was a famous writer, whose works have been going round. The homemade
education makes them providing with the ability to seek for knowledge, which a college student
may not have. Reading books can provide more knowledge than just studying in the school and it
is more important than getting degree.
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Malcolm X was an African American. During that time, there was racial discrimination
in the north. He was not treated fairly. As a result, he dropped out school. However, when
Malcolm X was in the prison, he wanted to study. He used all of his time to copied encyclopedia
to improve his penmanship, increase his vocabulary, and learn grammar. Later he read a lot of
books about their black people’s history and life, which were ignored in formal education.
Reading books made him happy because it brought him into a new world; however, at the same
time, he felt sad and angry for their African American’s experiments. All of these made him
becoming a political activist who educating his people and leading them to fight against the
discrimination and change their life. Richard Wright had a similar situation with Malcolm X,
although Richard lived in the South and earlier age than Malcolm X. In Richard’s time, racial
discrimination was more serious. African American was not treated as human. Like Malcolm X,
Richard Wright studied language and understood the thought of the white people, which made
him having a sense of distance and lonely with both white and black people. He not only made
himself knowledgeable, but also educated his people to create better life in the North.
There were two reasons motivating Malcolm X beginning his homemade education. First
reason was that he could not communicate with Mr. Elijah Muhammad in letter, when he was in
the prison. “Trying to write some simple English, I not only wasn’t articulate, I wasn’t even
functional.” It was a great challenge for Malcolm X, because this was his first time that he found
his poor language which limited him to study what he interested. Before that time, he had lived
on the street. Although he was articulate for street language, it was useless for writing letter
using the formal language. His limited vocabulary and grammar was the biggest barrier.
Moreover, in the Charlestown Prison, Malcolm X had an inmate, Bimbi, who “first made
me feel envy of his stock of knowledge. Bimbi had always taken charge of any conversation he
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was in”. “In the street, I had been the most articulate hustler our there – I had commanded
attention when I said something.” There were two total different situations before Malcolm X
went to the prison and after he went to the prison. Before he went to the prison, Malcolm X’s life
was in the street. In that place, he was a leader. All the people listened to him. His language had
power, and he could catch others’ attention. However, after Malcolm X met Bimbi, everything
was changed. Bimbi replaced his status. His knowledge made Bimbi could communicate in
every area; his knowledge made Bimbi’s language elegance. It was hard for Malcolm X to accept
it. His self-esteem under attacked. Malcolm X decided to be the same knowledgeable person like
Bimbi. He hoped to become the most articulate person no matter where he was.
Richard Wright had different motivation to begin reading books. The original reason was
that he was interested about H. L. Mencken. “The Commercial Appeal castigated Mencken
publicly.” In the white people’s eyes, “you ought to read the right thing.” There was not right or
wrong for books, but the white people in the South thought Mencken’s books were not the right
thing, which was because the South white people did not like his supporting ideas. During that
time, in the South, only Negroes had been treated as nonhuman. Richard, who was a 19 years old
man, worked as an errand boy. Everyone called him “boy”, which was scurrility and
discrimination. Mencken was the particular case. This white man had shared the same experience
with African American, which made Richard Wright “feeling a vague for him. Had not the South,
which had assigned me the role of a nonhuman, cast at him its hardest words?” Richard Wright
and Mencken suffered the same encounter, which made Richard thinking that they had a strong
connecting bond. In other words, these two men were the people who had the same illness
sympathize with each other. Richard Wright wanted to read books about Mencken. He wanted to
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know what this white man wrote, and the reason why this man was hated by other white people
in the South.
“I weighed the personalities of the men.” Richard Wright observed and thought which
person could lend him his library card. This man should be a white man, did not have strong
racial discrimination, and would not tell it to other people. At least, Richard Wright found the
perfect person. Richard Wright forged the note with that person’s allowing in order to borrowing
books. At the beginning, when Richard Wright read books, it was hard for him to understand. “I
was nearing my nineteenth birthday and I did not know how to pronounce the word preface”,
which was same as Malcolm X who thought he was study Chinese when he reading English
words. Richard Wright dropped out school, and he did not have basic knowledge about language.
He was lacking in vocabulary, and had no idea about grammar. He did not know any information
connecting or disconnecting of his life.
After reading books, everything was changed. When he read Mencken’s books, Richard
Wright found this person “was using language as a weapon” so this became one of his goals.
Mencken was fighting with words. It was the first time that Richard Wright realized the function
of language was not only a tool of communication, but also a weapon helping him changing him
life and the world. After continuing reading books, Richard Wright had some new feelings.
“Reading was like a drug, a dope.” Reading more books, the knowledge and feeling that he got
from books deposited in his heart. He wanted to do the same work like Mencken, but it was
impossible for him. He did not have ability to manage his language, no matter the vocabulary or
grammar. Richard chose reading novels instead school and grammar books to help him learning
language in order to realize one of his goals that using language as a weapon fighting against the
racial discrimination.
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No matter who Malcolm X or Richard Wright, were dropped out school and chose
homemade education to educate themselves, which means that the formal education did not work
for them. Malcolm X said “the history of Negro had been covered in one paragraph, and the
teacher had gotten a big laugh with his joke, ‘Negroes feet are so big that when they walk, they
leave a hole in the ground.’” In the school, Malcolm X learned the history written by the white
people, all the information was singing the praises of white people. They looked down and
ignored the black people’s history. If the black people or their history was mentioned, ridicule,
disdain, discrimination, and humiliation were followed by. There was only one paragraph
narrated black people’s history, teacher’s joke was obviously with discrimination, and the school
was full of unfriendly atmosphere. All of them led to Malcolm X drop out school.
Richard Wright “had no hope whatever of being a professional man.” In that age, status
was depended the color of skin. Richard Wright as a black people, he had been told that he could
not have ant capability to become a professional man and it was not necessary for him to become
a professional man, since he was born. It was a strong suggestion, and Richard believed it
without any doubt. If people do not have any gold, they will not have motivation to do anything,
which is human nature. It was also worked in Richard Wright case. He did not have reason to go
to school and the school was full of discrimination and humiliation. Consequently, he dropped
out school. Moreover, even though a black person finished his school, all of his knowledge was
useless, because the white people did not give and allow any opportunity to black people. There
is nobody wanting to do nonsensical things. Since there was no meaning for Richard Wright
continuing study in the school, he dropped out school was following the human nature.
Malcolm X and Richard Wright wanted to know their history, which was not covered in
the formal education. They wanted to learn reading and writing, which was impossible in the
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school. Basing on these two reasons, it was impossible for them getting diploma. The only one
meaning for them reading books in the library was satisfying their thirst for knowledge so they
made themselves a homemade education.
Reading books brought Malcolm X and Richard Wright into a new world, gave them a
new feeling, and made them thinking about their life. “In buoying me up, reading also cast me
down, made me see what was possible, what I had missed.” Ignorant people are innocence. If
Malcolm X and Richard Wright had not read book, they would look like ignorant children; they
would accept their life and thought it was a matter of course. However, the fact was opposition.
They read books. They opened their eyes and understood their life and world clearly. The truth
hearted them. There was not happy and comfortable in their life forever, only the sad, angry and
lonely existing in their life.
The original goals for Malcolm X were having ability to write a formal letter
communicating with Mr. Elijah Muhammad and becoming a knowledgeable person like Bimbi
controlling the situation in every conversion. As he read more books, Malcolm X had a large
goal that he wanted to educated his people in order to leading them changing their miserable life,
fighting against racial discrimination, and pursuing equal and wonderful life. He became a writer,
lecturer, and political activist leading the civil right movement.
The simple target for Richard Wright was that knowing who H. L. Mencken was and why
he was suffering the same treatment with African American. However, Mencken’s works were
the first time to make him realize that language could be using as a weapon. He had a desire to
become a person fighting with words. The truth is cruel. As the time going on, Richard felt
lonely. There was a great distance between him and other black people. Because he was educated,
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he had different world in his eyes than others. He was like the first human after eating apples.
Dark replaced light; suffering replaced happiness. When other uneducated black people
immersed themselves in the colorful and wonderful world, Richard Wright was bearing the ugly
and dark world. Because he was educated, he understood what the white people said and what
they thought. He clearly understood that he dream that he had better life like the white men did
never realize, which was more grievous than never having the dream. Because he was educated,
it was hard for him to hid his knowledge and bear this tragedy life. He wanted to move to the
North beginning a new and better life. However, an individual person did not have any power to
change the world. He educated his people teaching them their history and the situation of their
life. He got people who had the same dream together, which would have more power than single
person to change the situation.
Degree is just a symbol to symbolize which level education does people have, but it does
not have power to prove how many knowledge does a person stock. Malcolm X and Richard
Wright did not have diploma, but their knowledge and the achievements that they got were
beyond normal. As Malcolm X said, “my alma mater was books, a good library.” Book was
their teacher, library was their classroom, and society was their school. Their homemade
education changed their life, which realized the things that the formal education could not do.