Please tell me if I accurately anwser the prompt and elaborated enough on how the book relates to me!
Feel free to correct any grammatical or diction errors, any criticism is welcome..
A.Tell us about an intellectual experience, project, class, or book that has influenced or inspired you.
In the summer of 2008 there was only one thing on my mind-the massive AP English project I had to complete before junior year began. I had to choose, read and complete a rhetorical analysis on one book from a list of autobiographies. Looking at the list, only title held a fraction of my interest: The Autobiography of Malcolm X.
I read the beginning of the book as a chore-tediously searching for details and not focusing much on Malcolm's X childhood story. However, the events, the struggle, and his thoughts soon caught my attention. Around page 100, I was reading not for the project, but for myself. The analyzing was left for after I had finished reading the book for my own enjoyment.
The Autobiography of Malcolm X is one of the few non-fictional pieces I enjoyed and learned from. Reading about his encounters with drugs and his experiences as a criminal really staggered me. We had studied Malcolm X and his role in African American rights movement but we never studied what he went through to get where he reached. The hardships he faced made those I faced seem so petty. After reading, I learned to be more grateful for the opportunities I'd been given and the life I had. A surprising change that followed the completion of the book was whenever I felt that all the effort I put into my work and achieving my goals may not have been worth it, I would remember Malcolm X's success. I would remember that his success was the result of his perseverance despite his strife and those thoughts and feelings would leave my mind because I learned that no matter what you do, the effort is always worth the outcome.
One aspect of the book that really stood out to me more than others was Malcolm X's racism transformation. For a major part of his life he believed 'the white man is the devil', however during the Hajj pilgrimage he realized the true equality of all human beings. His epiphany which occurred when he saw 'blue-eyed blondes to black skinned Africans' pilgrims all present for the same purpose made me have an epiphany of my own. I was in no place to judge anyone. I was reminded of the vast number of people that come from different cultures and religions and yet are all equal. When I met new people I made sure not to pass quick judgments, rather I tried to get to know the person and understand them better. The book also taught me the value of non-fiction and inspired me to seek out Barack Obama's Dreams from My Father.
The Autobiography of Malcolm X is not on my list of 'Top 5 Favorite Books'; that list is reserved for Harry Potter, The Inheritance Cycle and Lord of the Rings. However it's number one on the list of 'Top 5 Books That Have Changed Me, Made Me Think and Influenced My Future Actions'.
Thank you so much! I really appreciate it :D
Overall, this essay is very well written, but I don't think it answers the prompt. The prompt asks about a book that has inspired or influenced you. In most of this essay, you write about the book and Malcolm X's life itself, rather than the influence the book has had on you. I think if you added more about how specifically the book changed how you think, or how it influenced your future actions, the essay would be much stronger. For example, perhaps you could connect his epiphany to an epiphany you had while reading the book. Anything you want, really, as long as you focus the essay more on yourself, rather than the story of the book.
