Malcolm X describe his life in prison as a place where he is truly free. Many question his thoughts about prison because the general idea of prison is imprisonment the opposite of freedom. However, he describes it as a location where he can truly learn. In other words, Malcolm use his imprisonment as a way for him to study better. He was able learn more of literature then he has ever been before. He read books, wrote down words that he didn’t know and then study them to get a general idea of what these words might mean. This has brought to a question of what’s the relationship between literature and freedom? The answer to the question is that literature is a thing where people can bring out their inner-self or realize their inner-self or even learning about the current situation where you can see many possibilities that would show in the future. According to the text it states “I have often reflected upon the new vistas that reading opened to me. I knew right there in prison that reading had changed forever the course of my life. As I see it today, the ability to read awoke inside me some long dormant craving to be mentally alive.” This means that since Malcolm was able to read in prison, his thoughts have come alive where he is able to make decisions by himself without others telling him what to do. This shows freedom because since he was able to read and write, he’s able to make decisions for himself by critically thinking of what to do in certain situations leading into a positive outcome and a sign of relief. As a result, literature and freedom are describe as a way learning the situation, critically think the best outcome that leads to peace of mind.

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