Transformation From a Prisoner to the World Celebrated Intellectual - Essay Sample

This essay presents a creation of an argument through a comprehensive analysis and drawing of the shared class texts. The three choices used in this essay are The Banking Concept of Education' by Freire Paulo, Learning to read' by Malcolm X and Blue- Collar Brilliance by Mike Rose. I will develop an argument which is successively articulate to my argument.

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Malcolm X made tremendous achievements within the shortest time possible. He entered prison as a convicted criminal but came out of the prison as an academic intellect. Having dropped out of school in 8th grade, Malcolm X was later on arrested. Prison enabled him to develop the passion of reading, and within a couple of years, he became literate. Malcolm X wrote a series of letters to the human rights activist known as Elijah Mohammed of Islam Nation. He narrated to him the injustices which were done by the white man' throughout the history of America and the rest of the world. A good example of the positive role of prison to Malcolm X's and the influence the prison had in his literacy journey is the situation where he described the library in the prison. The inmates who had the passion for reading were allowed to visit it for a maximum number of times in a day. Prisons setbacks include where Malcolm X narrates that the lights would go off and he would occasionally be forced to read in a dim light hence straining the eyes.

Paul Freire, one of the best radical ideologists in Brazil, made a major banking concept which shaped education. In a comprehensive and classic essay titled, The Banking Concept of Education, the author makes important highlights which mainly expounded on key mechanical flaws in the current education system. Freire offers a systematic approach which is believed to medicate the learning-teaching disorder in the respective classrooms. According to Flare, the flawed conceptions in the education system mainly consisted of oppressive depositing' of information (that's why he uses the word banking') by the teaching fraternity and their students (Freire 1-3).

Mike Rose, the author of the Blue-Collar Brilliance, spent the better part of his life with her mother who earned her living as a waitress in a restaurant. Rose observed his mother serving different customers within the restaurant. He acknowledged the mastery skills of his mother who was able to do a lot of work such as managing table to table and remembering all customers' orders and which order each of the customers made. The author learned that one could acquire and apply the knowledge within the shortest time possible. Through self-awareness, Rose resolved to do more if granted an opportunity and learn how to respond to the different situations over a given period and circumstances. According to the author, knowledge, and mastery is a powerful tool for achieving the coveted success (Rose 1-5).

Ted talk video gives a comprehensive analysis of the need to embrace knowledge. Ted argued that new knowledge makes us new beings and happy from lifestyle choices to genetic disposition in our personal beliefs. He challenges people to develop different dimensions of responding to issues under different circumstances. For example, he uses the term impact bias to describe the masses beliefs on how choices have consequences. Ted believes that the challenges which affect people can be solved if new knowledge is applied and he urged people to be active learners (Ted Talk: A Visual History of Human Knowledge).

While varied themes emerged in the three articles and the Ted video, the key theme which emerged in the passages, and which will be the genesis of my arguments, is knowledge. According to Bush, knowledge is the defining factor of success and failure. In the next paragraphs, I will be explaining the role of knowledge towards the successful contribution of each work chosen for this paper.

Malcolm X is a good example of a person who successfully acquired knowledge irrespective of the environment which he was exposed. In prison, he grabs the dictionary in the library and systematically learns and writes English. As Ted, in his video, explains, there is a need for human beings to adapt to different circumstances appropriately. With dedication and passion, Malcolm X later emerged to be a good English writer and a great transformer in the history of the United States of America. Knowledge is the important aspect of development. Through the acquisition of knowledge, people can be able to transform their destinies as knowledge consists of embracing new ideologies just like the way Malcolm X did. Malcolm X became a significant hope of transformation which shows that one can make it irrespective of the restrictions like the one which was experienced behind bars (Steve 7).

Paulo Freire, through his classical essay titled The Banking Concept of Education' shows that Brazilians and the world at large can embrace the new paradigm of knowledge necessary to transform the education sector. In a well-structured article which advocated for new knowledge, the author came up with the education in the post-modern society. It has a positive impact on the future of the humanity and a capacity to produce methodological circumstances where massive intellectual transformation can take place. Like Teds videos highlights of active learning, this author emphasizes on the role of transformed mentality (Freire 3).

Another aspect of knowledge is highlighted by Mike Rose, the author of Blue-Collar Brilliance. The author pays tribute to his mother who was working as a waitress in a busy restaurant. Through the acquisition of knowledge, the author's mother managed to learn how to multitask in a busy restaurant. He records that through the active mind, she was able to remember each customer and the orders for each table. Active mind, in line with Teds argument, enables human beings to acquire knowledge depending on the situation that arises (Rose 2).

There is a key inter-relationship and connections of the arguments presented in the texts and the video. The key comparison which emerged throughout the works is the significance of knowledge. The work of Malcolm X, Paulo Freire, Mike Rose, as well as the Teds talk video, shows the important trend of how great transformation can be achieved by embracing knowledge. For example, Freire, in his article which advocated for new knowledge, came up with the education in the post-modern society. It has a positive impact on the future of humanity and a capacity to produce methodological circumstances where the massive intellectual transformation can take place. On the other hand, Malcolm X's works show self-searching of knowledge in a negative environment of the prison where he was serving his jail term. Freire and Mike Rose, also, show new knowledge which can be taught to bring the desired transformation. For example, Mike Rose, through self-awareness, resolved to do more if granted an opportunity and learn how to respond to a different situation over a given period and circumstances. According to the author, knowledge and mastery is a powerful tool for achieving the coveted success (Freire 2). The Teds talk video additionally gives the role of knowledge in ones life and how it affects our personal beliefs.

The above texts and the video provide significant insights on the essence of transformational conversation which was the genesis of this discussion. The text, while it has varied themes, emphasizes the importance of knowledge which is vital to the success in our day to day life. Through the knowledge, for instance, Malcolm X transformed from a prisoner to the world celebrated intellectual. Key progressive issues suitable for development emerged throughout the text. For instance, we learn through the perspective of Malcolm X that through dedication and passion, he later emerged to be a good English writer and a great transformer in the history of the United States of America. Knowledge is an important aspect of development. Through the acquisition of knowledge, people can be able to transform their destinies as knowledge consists of embracing of new ideologies.

Works Cited

Bush, Roderick. We Are Not What We Seem: Black Nationalism and Class Struggle in theAmerican Century. New York: New York University Press.2009. p. 179

Paulo Freire. Back to School: Why Everyone Deserves a Second Chance at Education. New York:New York University Press. 2012

Steve Clark, ed. Malcolm X Talks to Young People: Speeches in the United States, Britain, andAfrica. New York: Pathfinder Press, 2011.Print

Ted Talk: A Visual History of Human Knowledge. Manuel Lima, 2015. video.