Comparing Letter From Birmingham Jail And Maya Angelou's A Homemade Education

"Permanence, Perseverance, and Persistence in spite of all obstacles, discouragements and impossibilities: it is this that in all things distinguishes the strong soul from the weak." A quotation from Thomas Carlyle of which is supportive in making the statement that Maya Angelou, Martin Luther King Jr., and Malcolm X are all persistent. Maya Angelou's "Graduation," chronicles an early stage in her life where she sought educational fulfillment, while facing the challenges that came along with white supremacy. Malcolm X's "A Homemade Education" not only gives insight into how and why he learned to read and write, but also into how he gained his worldly views through his reading. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail" conveys his
In "A Homemade Education", Malcolm X admits his frustration about his inability to express himself the way he'd like to. It can be said that Malcolm X was discouraged as he mentioned that he "wasn’t even functional" (Malcolm X 134) and though he did feel this way he turned the negative feelings into something to strive for. In the Charlestown prison Malcolm X was in there was another inmate named Bimbi who he envied because of his ability to use words and his knowledge. Malcolm X's envy of Bimbi drove and inspired him to seek and ultimately further his own education in a sense in deciding to read and copy out of the dictionary. Malcolm X gained a hunger for the knowledge he was obtaining as exemplified in the following quotation: " I could for the first time pick up a book and read and now begin to understand what the book was saying... in every free moment I had, if I was not reading in the library, I was reading in my bunk... In fact, up to then, I never had been so truly free in my life." (Malcolm X 135). Malcolm X used his time as way to learn everything he possibly could so that he wouldn’t have to be envious of the knowledge someone else possessed. In Maya Angelou's "Graduation", Angelou also showed her discouragement by the words of Edward Donleavy at her graduation who told the congregation of how many more opportunities whites had over blacks. Angelou's graduation was an occasion that had so many excited because they had worked so hard to accomplish the feat of gaining an education and they were also excited for what their future had in store for them; however, many of them including Angelou felt in the moment that those hopes and