The 3 essays are all written by men in very different social and economical status. You can tell while you read their words that they all spoke with different slang terms, dialects, and styles. They were all written in different time periods as well as different parts of the country. Each one has a very different story to tell.
Malcom X was born in 1925 and spent a large part of his young life in the streets. He then went on to spend 7 years in prison where he used his time wisely. He learned to read and write, studied Elijah Muhammad and converted to Islam, and tried to pass on the messages and beliefs of his to other African Americans. In the end he was assassinated.
Benjamin Franklin was put into grammar school at age 8, already knowing how to read and write well. His family expected that he be devoted to the service of the church. He spent his young life working various trades, and learning that reading and writing were very important to him. He ended up working in a printer house and spending his evening reading and re-writing copies of the Spectator.
Mike Rose was a student whose potential had been overlooked in high school while he was placed in a vocational education program. The program, teachers, and the students in his classes were unchallenged, uninterested, and non motivating. He wrote about his years there summing it up with a title: "I Just Wanna Be Average". He went on in life to be an advocate for recognizing student potential, and a teacher.
Good comparisons!
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