Malcom X And The Allegory Of The Cave - 854 Words

Education is a life-altering event that involves becoming more open- minded. When one’s horizons are expanded they begin to understand and view more. The process of becoming knowledgeable through education can differ from the individual or situation. The overall experience as well can change the perception. Two passages, â€Å"Learning to Read† by Malcom X and â€Å"The Allegory of the Cave† by Plato both contain an individual who goes through the path of gaining wisdom. Although both passages contain similarities involving one going through an experience resulting in the enlightenment of education, there are several differences in how the acknowledgement is approached and the type of predicament the individual is in. The situation before the awakening in both passages involves being imprisoned and living in the mindset of ignorance. Each predicament of one has a huge influence on how the wisdom is obtained. The prisoner in â€Å"The Allegory of the Cave† has lived inside the cave since early childhood where his legs and feet were chained to prevent any kind of movement and from turning his head. (Plato 1). Because the cave dweller was restrained from movement, he was unable to escape ignorance and was not able to gain knowledge. Malcom X as well was illiterate because African Americans at that time were not exposed to education. The black race in America was living in â€Å"deafness, dumbness, and blindness† (Malcom X 1). In order to liberate ignorance and to begin the journey ofShow MoreRelatedWhy Do People Do For College? Essay2195 Words   |  9 Pagesat college through this perspective. You hear the statistics of rich people who never went to college and say â€Å"hey, maybe I don’t need college.† But that’s the issue. People don’t want to put the work into it. Malcom X for example. He talks about in his book, The Autobiography of Malcolm X, that before he went to prison he did not feel that he needed to go to college. Or any schooling for that matter. But once in prison, he learned what education can do for a man. So he worked hard, actually reading