Contrasting the Big X and BTW

 

Booker T. Washington and Malcolm X are two of the most prominent figures in the movement to get equal rights for black people throughout the years. On the surface, their autobiographies are very similar in the themes that they incorporate, but when you dig deeper into the way they express those themes, they begin to diverge. One thing they have in common is how much they value education. Washington explains his relationship with education as "I had no schooling whatever while I was a slave… and I had a strong desire to learn to read," which is similar to Malcolm's, where he says, "No one knows what my life had been. I was hungry for words." In this comparison, both of them had a deep desire to read and learn. Washington's desire was more of a longing for something that he never had while in slavery, while Malcolm's desire is more desperate and an almost greedy need for books. 

Despite their desire to read, they both encountered obstacles in furthering their education, which were very different. In Washington's book, he says, “My mother… secured for me a book called ‘The New England Primer.’… This was the first book that I ever owned.” The struggle that he encounters is poverty. Having been newly freed from slavery, Washington and his family were very poor, so it was hard to acquire books and education that would allow Washington to learn. In contrast, Malcolm encountered a different obstacle in his desire to read. Malcolm's main obstacle that he encounters is confinement: “I would read for hours… as I lay on my bunk, with the glow of the corridor light.” At the time, Malcolm is in jail, which presents problems in his desire to read. Despite both of them encountering difficulties, they were able to find a way to read and learn.

Finally, as they are both activists for African Americans, it is important that their views be compared. One of Washington's major points is when he says to "cast down your buckets where you are." He urges black people to stop fighting as hard and cast down their efforts where they are. This is drastically different than Malcolm's points. He says in his autobiography, "The ability to read awoke inside me some long dormant craving to be mentally alive." This quote has a more provocative tone: it tries to awaken the reader to think for themselves. Washington wants his audience to somewhat submit to white people and stop fighting back. In contrast, Malcolm urges his audience to look internally and find it in themselves to fight back against those who oppress them.

On the surface, both biographies share themes of struggle and the need for education, but their goals diverge when you take a deeper dive. Both books explore the struggle to access education, as well as the desire to learn to read. Washington lived in poverty as a kid, while Malcolm was incarcerated for a portion of his life. But once they begin to read more, they develop contrasting views. Booker T. Washington frames education as a tool for steady, socially acceptable advancement, while Malcolm X presents it as a powerful awakening that reshapes identity and lays the groundwork for more radical thought.