Benjamin Franklin VS. Malcolm X

3 Pages 651 Words

Education Assignment

Knowledge is defined as “understanding gained by an actual experience” says The Merriam-Webster Dictionary (415). Different life experiences effect the type of knowledge you obtain. Benjamin Franklin and Malcolm X are both considered leaders of their time. Although they have different social and political backgrounds, they claim to have gained their knowledge through books. Their social and political backgrounds have effected their reasons for reading, the kinds of books they read, and ultimately the people who they became.
Benjamin Franklin comes from a background of a white male in the 1700’s. In his autobiography, he say his father was determined to make a printer out of him, the same profession his brother was in. Benjamin signed an indenture at age twelve to serves as an apprentice until the age of twenty-one. There he has access to as many books as he wanted. The more books her read, the more knowledge he acquired. Benjamin then visited the library of a frequent visitor of the print-house, and there he was introduced to a fancy poetry that out him on to composing occasional ballads. Benjamin says “my father discouraged me by ridiculing my performances, and telling me verse-makers were generally beggars. So I escaped being a poet, most probably a very bad one; but prose writing has been of great use to me in the course of my life and the principal means of my advancement.” (453). Because he excelled so well in knowledge learned from reading, he changed his destiny of becoming a printer, into becoming a colonial patriot.
Malcolm X comes from a background of a black make in the 1950’s. He learns from the teachings of Eljah Muhammad. Malcolm has the education level of an eighth grader but was the most articulate hustler on the streets. In prison he learns that although he can command all attention when saying something, he couldn’t do that as a writer, nr was he even functional as a writer...