When one goes to prison, there is a choice that one can make. They could either be compliant and just serve there time without making any changes in there live or they could use the time to better themselves as a person. In “Literacy Behind Bars” by Malcolm X when Malcolm entered prison he was motivated to learn to read and write due to his envy of his sophisticated friend and problems with reading books and truly understanding the outside world. Throughout the course of the text, Malcolm  states that although incarcerated he has  “never had been so truly free in [his] life”. Which gives the reader a irony of a imprisoned man never being so free in his life.

The sense irony that the reader gets when associating a imprisoned man with being free is a direct result of Malcolm’s perception of literature. Malcolm’s perception of Literature correlates with Freedom because before he was imprisoned he wasn’t well taught in these areas and therefore struggled in everyday life, being more imprisoned in his everyday life due to his lack of knowledge that created limitations for him. A prisoner to his own thoughts as many would say, Malcolm states in his auto biography “But every book i picked up had few sentences which didn’t contain anywhere from one to nearly all of the words that might as well have been in Chinese”.  Showing the reader how when he would read certain things his lack of knowledge on literature would hinder his understanding of the text as if it was in a foreign language. Malcolm also stated in his auto biography,”Where else but in a prison could i have attacked my ignorance being by being able to study intensely sometimes as much as fifteen hours a day.” This quote shows the relationship of  Literature and Freedom because with Malcolm having all this time to himself that he wouldn’t usually have in the real world , he would have the time to work on his deficiency that would hold him back which was literature . There fore making the connection of the literature giving him freedom because he would now be able to function in the outside world without any of the complications that he had before.

Malcolm X was a very interesting man. While imprisoned Malcolm X stated ” I had never been so truly free in my life.” The reason why he said he has “never been more free” was because during his duration in prison Malcolm X spent time reading many things. In prison Malcolm began reading a dictionary as stated in page 1. He did this to help expand his vocabulary, but as time passed he realized that he now had the ability to pick up a book and proceed to understand what the author had to say. This narrative suggest that there is a direct connection between freedom and literature. As Malcolm X began to read more he felt mentally free. As he was in prison he was able to Malcolm expanded his knowledge and was no longer held back by the limitations of not being able to properly read or write. In prison as he expanded his knowledge and capabilities he felt more free. There is now no barrier stopping Malcolm X from understanding what is actually taking place around him in society and what is being said. Malcolm with his growth in knowledge feels more free than ever before since now he can understand literature. This shows the direct connection from literature to freedom. As you read more literature you open your mind to take in more knowledge. This helps you grow and in a sense become more free. That is how this narrative suggests the direct relationship between literature and freedom.

the narrative suggest that literature/reading can stimulate your mind as it did for Malcom X  but  our   freedom can sometimes be  a distraction and hinder us from getting  more into  literature Malcom x even said  it he said ”one of the biggest troubles with college  is their are to many distraction’s  also he says ”where else  but in prison could I have attacked my ignorance by being able to  study intensely sometimes as much as fifteen  hours a day”. Malcom X was locked up but reading helped him feel mentally free and alive,  even though he did not have have freedom he had more time to develop his mind and get more into his reading.  In his narrative he said  ” my reading of books months passed with out even thinking about being imprisoned  In fact up to then, I never been so truly free in my life”.   Malcom X  was trapped but literature made every day feel like he was free  the days in prison was just passing by him he didn’t even realize cause he was so in tuned to literature. Once you find the right book or the right piece of literature you could feel so calm not only physically but mentally it just relaxes you and no matter where you are whether your in a confined place or in a place where you cant get out reading can make you feel free.

This narrative is suggesting that literature is connected with freedom. With literature, Malcolm X gained knowledge. When he gained knowledge, he felt a sense of freedom. Malcolm X felt free in prison because he was able to spend all his time learning. While he was in prison, he used his time to educate himself. He wanted to learn how to read and understand what he was reading. In prison, he gained a better understanding of the things that were occurring around him. Malcolm X states, “with every additional book that I read, a little bit more sensitivity to the deafness, dumbness, and blindness that was afflicting the black race in America.” This shows that reading books helped him become more aware of how the black race was being treated. Jealously is a reason why Malcolm X started teaching himself how to read and write. While Malcolm X was in Charlestown prison, he was jealous of a guy named Bimbi, who was full with knowledge. Malcolm X also wanted to be full of knowledge. Malcolm X states, “Immensely proud to realize that not only had I written so much at one time, but I’d written words that I never knew in the world.” This shows that Malcolm X enjoyed learning. He was very dedicated to teach himself how to read and write. Once he taught himself how to read, he was always reading. He only slept three to four hours every night because he would stay up reading. During his time in prison, he spent fifteen hours studying every day. Reading helped him distract his mind from the fact that he was in prison. Being in prison helped Malcolm X open his eyes to a new world, a world where he was able to educate himself and gain more knowledge.

Being in prison means that you are not going to have the liberty to do anything, but this is not the case for Malcolm X.

In the beginning, when he was in prison he looks a way to be freedom by reading, when she started, at the start Malcolm did not understand a few words so he skipped it, but after he starts to looking the words that he does not understand in the dictionary to have a meaning of those words and understand the text that the was reading after he had a piece of knowledge about the words that he did not understand, he realized that his world was bigger than he imagined. Malcolm says “I spend two days just riffling uncertainly through the dictionary´s pages. I’d never realized so many words existed! I didn’t know which words I needed to learn. Finally, just to start some kind of action, I began copying”.

The narrative suggests that Malcolm had freedom, but not physical but freedom through the understanding of literature that he had ignored for years, This narrative also suggests that people can have greater freedom of mind through books and language understanding than through the world around them. after Malcolm understand what he was missing after years before being in prison he starts to read every day in their free time even in the night when guardians were passing around with the poor corridor light that barely enters to the room, reading change completely the life of Malcolm after prison, he reads every day even when he was in an airplane, the literature of the language change the mind of Malcolm forever because after this he can feel more freedom and let Malcolm transmit their express in a more complex and precise way than before.

When describing how he felt after learning how to read and write, Malcom X states that he has “never had been so truly free in life”, regardless of being incarcerated. The narrative shows the relationship between literature and freedom by explaining how even though Malcolm X was in jail he still made a way to educate himself. As it is explained in the narrative, his ambition for reading and writing began when he was first incarcerated in Charlestown Prison. Malcom X became envious of the knowledge that Bimbi had that he then began to read books even though he barely understood them, shortly he began to write down words that he didn’t know and find out the meaning with a dictionary. Every time he learned new words and looked at his progress, X became “immensely proud to realize that not only had [he] written so much at one time, but [he’d] written words that [he] never knew were in the world”. By realizing how much he had learned Malcom X became very proud of his growth that he continued to read even more. This gave him the feeling of freedom. It is quite ironic that he felt free due to his situation.The narrative shows how literature and freedom have a very close relationship to Malcom X. Everyone views freedom differently, and to Malcom X reading and writing is what made him feel free. In the narrative it is also stated that Prison was more helpful than it was harmful to Malcom X, he questions “Where else but in a prison could [he] have attacked [his] ignorance by being able to study intensely sometimes as much as fifteen hours a day. The sense of being trapped in one place opened him up to something better, the knowledge that he lacked.

When reading a good book, you might find yourself so engrossed in the book that everything else disappears around you. You find yourself paying more attention to the book than anything else. This is the power of reading. No matter what genre it is fiction or nonfiction while reading, at least one sentence is going to pull you in and want to keep reading more.

This is precisely what happened to Malcolm X. Malcolm X from the start was interested in knowledge from when he stated, “It had really begun back in the Charlestown Prison…Bimbi made me feel envy of his stock of knowledge. Bimbi has always taken charge of any conversation he was in, and I had tried to emulate him”. Malcolm was always interested in gaining knowledge, had trouble with it in the beginning but continued. When he continued, he learned how to read and write. This opened up a new world for him. He was so captivated with literature that even while incarcerated, he felt free. He had stated, “In fact, up to then, I never had been so truly free in my life.” This shows how strong the relationship between literature and freedom is, although some don’t realize it, literature is powerful. What this narrative suggests about the relationship between literature and freedom is that reading, especially if you’re someone that never believed in literature and the benefits of it or just never got a chance with it, unchains you and sets you free to learn about anything you want. Literature opens and expands your mind in a way that you would’ve never thought possible. It gives you a sense of being “free.” Knowledge is power, and the more literature you read, the more knowledge you will have.

The narrative suggests that there is a close relationship between reading and freedom. The knowledge that reading provides gave Malcolm X the ability to think critically, and an understanding of the world that can only be received through literature. For example, “My homemade education gave me, with every additional book that I read, a little bit more sensitivity to the deafness, dumbness, and blindness that was afflicting the black race in America” (581). The “sensitivity”, or understanding, that Malcolm X found through reading is closely associated with freedom. To understand a truth that society does not want you to know allows you to fight against an oppressive system, eventually freeing yourself from the grips of tyranny. In addition, “As I see it today, the ability to read awoke some long dormant craving to be mentally alive” (580). Malcolm X describes critical thinking here, the ability to read unlocked a thought process that he describes as being “mentally alive”, which means that what he had learned from literature allowed him to look at society and understand how it has been able to continuously keep black people down. Reading and freedom are so close in relation because it is not until you learn to understand and process information that comes from literature that you can shake off the shackles of oppression. Often times, oppression is not obvious, it stems from some tiny crack in society and blooms into a full blown culture that kicks a group of people down repetitively. Through reading, freedom can be reached, you can’t fight an invisible enemy, but reading works hard to reveal the not so subtleties in oppression.

Most people who are incarcerated choose to just survive every passing day until they have served their time. However, that was not the case for Malcolm X. He chose to expose himself to a whole new world through literature. Oftentimes, people overlook the power that came with it. The adventure that comes with reading and the imagination that comes with writing. Malcolm X exposed himself to this new world and in doing so he became more knowledgeable. In his narrative he states that “ In fact, up to then, I never had been so truly free in my life”. He felt more free than ever before even though he was still incarcerated which is ironic.

This goes to show the power that literature holds. It has the ability to make one feel free. When you’re reading you forget about all of your worldly problems and for a second or even more and in that time there’s nothing for you to worry about. No bills to pay, no job or school to worry about and in Malcolm X’s case not being incarcerated. Your only worry is the choices the characters you’re reading about might make. Same goes for writing. You have the freedom to decide how the story will play out. You’re in control and can make your characters do whatever you want.

The knowledge that Malcolm X picked up through literature changed his mindset. In the narrative he states, “My homemade education gave me,…a little bit more sensitivity to the deafness, dumbness, and blindness that was afflicting the black race in America”. This awareness played a part in pushing him to join the civil right movement as a black nationalist and an advocate for pan-Africanism.