P. 70 #6 – In Malcolm X’s essay entitled “Coming to an Awareness of Language”, he refers the nature of the freedom as the ability to using the word to express himself. As human being, our thoughts and feelings can be very complicated and meaningful; therefore, it is common to see people have problem with finding the right words in writing process in order to express our thoughts and feelings clearly. In Malcolm X’s case, he discovered the power of words so he acquired the sense of freedom in language and be able to convey this sense of freedom to the ability to choose and use the right words. In this way, “I never had been so truly free in my life” as what Malcolm X felt, is the sense of language liberating. In my opinion, to choose the right word in order to clearly express ourselves and be able to communicate, considered the sense of language liberating, because it liberates us from mental cramp, create more knowledge, convey an idea or new thought. In this article, I really like the story that how Malcolm fascinated by coping the dictionary. He was so frustrated at not being able to “use” the right English in letters for others. Even though he was born in an English speaking environment, he wasn’t even able to write simple English. I think it’s pretty funny that he was the most articulate hustler on street, and he didn’t “write”. Instead, he speaks slang such as, “Look, Daddy, let me pull your coat about a cat.” I only educated in school, not on street, so I have no idea what he is trying to say here. Even though I didn’t know much about how great Malcolm X was and what brilliant things he did in human history, I still admire him as a “prisoner”, a writer. I never been to a jail, not even visited there, so it’s kind of hard for me to picture the life as a prisoner. From Malcolm X’s sharing of his personal experience, the Norfolk Prison Colony was offering the help like book-readings, but it wasn’t helpful as he only went to school to eighth grade. Thus, he began to learn by himself from coping the words from a dictionary into his tablet and read his own handwriting. With time pass by, he not only leaned so many words, but also “people and places and events from history”. Once he discovered the power of word, he could read a book and understand what the meaning of the book. Subsequently, books open a door to a new world, a land of freedom, to Malcolm X. As for my experience, many times when I write, I feel like being “trapped” by my own language. There are many ideas on my mind that I don't know how to organize my thoughts and convert them into something someone else would understand. In this way, it is possible for me to feel like “a prisoner” for I can’t freely express myself. Thankful to this article, I gained confidence with my English writing, and I don't feel embarrassing anymore because many people have been in the same situation. With lots of reading, writing and learning, plus the magical power of time, I will be aware of the liberation of language and truly be freedom.
P. 74 #4 – Helen Keller, one of my favorite writer, showed her distinct learning process in the article entitled “The Day Language Came into My life”. As a child who is suffering blind and deaf, learning a language without listening and speaking seems extremely difficult. Helen’s world was full of darkness and anxious. Until the day, Halen Keller’s teacher, Anne Mansfileld Sullivan came into her life, she learned to communicate and think, and she stepped into a world where “everything has a name, and each name gave birth to a new though.” The first word Keller leaned is “doll”. Miss Sullivan slowly spelled into Keller’s hand the word, like a finger player, then Keller was interested in and tried to imitate the action. With the first word she learn, Keller was fulfills with confidence and pride and started to learn many words. However, learning language is not simple as knowing some words. It’s a long and complicated process to sense the meaning and