It made such an impact upon me that it later became one of my favorite subjects when I became a minister of Mr. Muhammad's. The world's most monstrous crime, the sin and the blood on the white man's hands, are almost impossible to believe." (Malcolm X, p. 1)
It was upon these revelations that Malcolm X would unknowingly prepare to make the ultimate sacrifice. He tells that he was during this time in his personal development addicted to gaining any knowledge that might help him better understand the plight of his people and how he could help them advance. It was this orientation that would eventually launch him into a position of momentous influence and dangerous visibility. Malcolm X would sacrifice his life as a consequence of the things he had learned during his time in imprisoned meditation.
Just as the theme of sacrifice drives Rodriguez away from his people and his culture, so does the same theme make Malcolm *** symbol for the identity of his people and culture.
4.Native intelligence vs. Academic intelligence
The idea of Native Intelligence vs. Academic Intelligence suggests that there is a fundamental difference between the type of enlightenment gained in the formal educational setting and the type of insight garnered from background, experience and personal intuition. In a certain respect, the two texts under consideration in the following essay seem to perceive the need for balance between these two intelligences, though ultimately, each of the respective authors under consideration would gravitate increasingly toward academic intelligence. With both Robert Rodriguez and Malcolm X, we are given authors who are blessed with a rich native intelligence but with both, it is ultimately academic intelligence which allows them to achieve their respective objectives in life.
In the conception offered by Rodriguez, there is a fundamental difference between the kind of intelligence for which school educates us and that for which our families and cultures provide fundamental grounding. The latter of these, native intelligence, is a kind of inherent body of knowledge, experience and identity passed between generations whereas academic intelligence is gathered in formal contexts such as Rodriguez' school. What is most compelling about the author's differentiation of these intelligences is the portrayal of native intelligence as fundamentally coming from a more personal and emotional place. According to Rodriguez, "whit his family, the boy has the intense pleasure of intimacy, the family's consolation in feeling public alienation. Lavish emotions texture home life. Then, at school, the instruction bids him to trust lonely reason primarily. Immediate needs set the pace of his parents' lives. From his mother and father the boy learns to trust spontaneity and nonrational ways of knowing. Then, at school, there is mental calm. Teachers emphasize the value of a reflectiveness that opens a space between thinking and immediate action." (Rodriguez, p. 599)
While Rodriguez lamented the loss of his connection to the source of his rich native intelligence, he would still consider it an absolute necessity if he was to advance further than the generation before him in his family. As for Malcolm X, native intelligence was until his imprisonment the only kind to which he had access. He recalls that he was a naturally gifted street hustler because he knew how to communicate with people based on a certainly internally developed instinct. But he recognized, especially in the written form, that his intellect lacked the necessary form to compel others. He remembers that "I became increasingly frustrated at not being able to express what I wanted to convey in letters that I wrote, especially those to Mr. Elijah Muhammad. In the street, I had been the most articulate hustler out there. I had commanded attention when I said something. But now, trying to write simple English, I not only wasn't articulate, I wasn't even functional. How would I sound writing in slang, the way 1 would say it, something such as, 'Look, daddy, let me pull your coat about a cat, Elijah Muhammad -- '" (Malcolm X, p. 1)
As Malcolm X explains and as Robert Rodriguez ultimately resolves, the gifts given to them both naturally and from their respective upbringings would have been squandered with ultimately giving over to a constructive engagement of academic intelligence.
5. Language Change, how important is it?
Few cultural forces are more powerful or carry a greater capacity to influence inter-cultural experiences than language. The ability to understand and use a language can be a critical determinant of one's experience within a given society. So is this...
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