Richard Rodriguez, the author of The Fulfillment of Desire, and Malcolm X, the author of Learning to Read, describe how their lives were profoundly influenced, as well as modified, due to their quest for education. Rodriguez writes of his academic achievements, while Malcolm X describes his education as self-taught. Achieving an education changed both men, and both men pursued education for different reasons. In his writing The Achievement of Desire, Richard Rodriguez describes his pursuit of academic success as a means of distancing himself from his family as well as his cultural roots: "...one of the main reasons for my success in class was that I did not "I couldn't forget that school was changing me and separating me from the life I had before becoming a student" (Rodriguez 196). A realization that took him twenty years to admit, Rodriguez. His embarrassment and sense of shame at his and his parents' apparent inadequacies was the driving force for educating himself. Rodriguez describes himself as “the boy who first walked into a classroom barely able to speak English…” (195). Becoming educated changed Rodriguez, allowing him to advance in academia without the cultural baggage of his past: Describing himself as a scholar, Rodriguez describes this progression in the following statement: "As he advanced in his studies, the boy noticed that his mother and his father have not changed as much as he has. On the contrary, when he sees them, they often remind him of the person he once was and the life he previously shared with them” (198). This realization guided Rodriguez throughout his academic career as well as his life. Likewise, in his writing Learning to Read, Malcolm of education. Both men used the pursuit of knowledge and the knowledge they gained to move away from their undesirable beginnings. Malcolm For both authors, education was a means of becoming incredibly different individuals. Malcolm Works Cited Rodriguez, Richard. “The Fulfillment of Desire” Reading America, eighth ed. 2010: 194-206.Malcolm X. “Learning to Read” Reading America, eighth edition. 2010: 210-18