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.

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