Their obstacles were not simple fences over which they could jump and win a race. Their obstacles were physical, mental, environmental and spiritual. Physically, Keller was deaf and blind and had grown up in a society that had not witnessed the advancement of people with disabilities. Malcolm Consequently, they were both held back by society's tendencies to accept prejudice and dogma in the name of norms. Additionally, both Malcolm X and Helen Keller faced challenges in overcoming their respective frustrations, living up to their personal expectations, and expressing their own expectations. will. “I became increasingly frustrated at not being able to express what I wanted to convey in the letters I wrote, particularly to Mr. Elijah Muhammad. On the streets I had been the world's most eloquent hustler... But no, trying to write simple English, not only was I not articulate, I was not even functional” (Malcolm