Texas Activist You did not know that a black human activist and a white tattoo artist were to have so much in common? Malcolm X, the well-known, tells of his great pathway to intelligence through his narrative “Literacy Behind Bars” while Alex Williams, a well-known tattoo artist from New York, tells of how he separated from schooling, in the profile named Drawn to a Larger Scale, to become the successful man he is today. After overlooking both pieces of writing many similarities and differences are noted not only in the the occasions and profiles, but also through their views of education to highlight how they achieved success. Both authors reveal their struggle with adversity, denoting their underdog status through occasions. A competitor …show more content…
Malcolm X and Alex Williams both knew their lack of education was an obstacle to their success , however they both moved differently on the topic. Malcolm X went on to spend 10 years in a Charlestown prison, where he decides to take advantage of the free time to catch up on his schooling. Malcolm X would spend his days reading, at first the dictionary for he could not understand many novels yet because he read lower than an eighth grade level. He would go through sleepless nights reading in his cell. These examples help show just how self motivated Malcolm X was to learn. He valued the idea of an education although he never really gotten one up to that point. Malcolm X wanted nothing more but to become wiser. Alex Williams, on the other hand, felt as if education was only meant for some people and he was not one of them. Alex Williams tried to achieve a higher education program at the University of Texas but then decided to drop out of a golden opportunity to chase a dream in the arts. If Malcolm X was given such a great opportunity he believes he would not have achieved as much as he did in prison. Malcolm X was such a self motivated person to get up and pick up a book and advance his intelligence. His mindset differs from Alex Williams because he was not quite sure what he wanted to do for a long while. Alex Williams seeked many friends and others for help for ideas and motivation. Malcolm X had so much internal drive that he went out and changed his life while Alex Williams did the same yet needed time and others help to figure out his