X: A Novel Review
There comes a time in each man’s life in which he must decide who he is, who he is going to be and how he is going to live his life. X: A Novel is about the teenage years of El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz-Malcom X, who later went on to become a world-renowned, and eventually martyred, human-rights activist. Malcom’s daughter; Ilyasah Shabazz along with Kekla Magoon, the co-author of this book, tells her father’s story in such a vivid way it feels as though it is possible to be right there with him. This book shows Malcom struggling with discrimination, starting a new life, and losing himself in the world of drugs and hustling.
From an awfully young age, Malcom struggled with racism and discrimination, starting out with his family’s house being burned to the ground by The Black Legion/ Ku Klux Klan. This happened because Malcom’s family lived on land that was reserved for white people, even though it was built by his father’s own hands (Shabazz & Magoon, 2016, authors note). As he was growing up, there were several times when he was
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This started out with minor changes and transformed him into somebody completely different than the 15-year-old that stepped onto the bus to Boston (Shabazz & Magoon, 2016, page 7-13). Malcom started out in Boston living with his half-sister Ella; it was a respectable life, but he wanted something more than the fake way of life that he saw everyone around him living. So, Malcom began to explore and discover new things, as he did this he came across the little neighborhood of Roxbury and became a part of what was a whole new type of community for him. In Roxbury everyone was genuine and seemed to be truly living real lives. As Malcom started hanging out there he was able to put the past behind him and in a way, start fresh. This independence was helpful to him for a little while, but it did not take incredibly long for it all to turn
The Autobiography of Malcolm X, told by Alex Haley, details the incredible journey of one of the most inspiration and life altering leaders the world has ever encountered. The book begins with the illustration of Malcolm’s early life experiences and ends with X predicting that he will die a violent death prior to seeing the publication of his autobiography.
The Autobiography of Malcolm X as told by Alex Haley is the story about a man who greatly impacted American history. Malcolm Little, or Malcolm X as he is more widely known, taught what he believed in regards to segregation, racism, and discrimination. Growing up in a large family with a father Earl Little, a Baptist minister, and his mother Louis Little, who was a homemaker, Malcolm’s life at the time seemed very promising. His father’s involvement in support of the Black National gained him many death threats at the hands of white supremacists. In 1929, they lost their house to fire, and two years later the body of Malcolm’s father was found mutilated. This lead to the emotional breakdown of Malcolm’s mother and in turn she was institutionalized. Malcolm and his siblings were separated and placed in foster homes, and from then, his life began a path of drugs, sex, and crime. It was not until he was imprisoned in 1946, that he decided to make some changes for the better. This essay will assess and discuss those changes whether negative or positive, on a micro, mezzo, and macro level. It will also cover some of the effects of racial prejudice on human behavior, and how society today keeps the ideology of Malcolm X alive.
Alex Haley is the author of the book. The central theme of the book is to reflect the perspective of a black man in an era that called for equality struggles between races in the United States while battling views on racism and his rise and fall within the Nation of Islam religion.
Malcolm X once wrote, “My life has always been one of changes” (Haley 404). In his autobiography, The Autobiography of Malcolm X, it is very evident that through his life, he went through a series of drastic changes that went from one extreme to another. He went from being at “the bottom of the American white man’s society,” to become one of the most influential advocates of Black pride (150). Throughout the novel the most evident changes are when Malcolm X moves to Boston, goes to prison, and going on Hajj.
Malcolm X was one of the most prominent civi right activists at the time. He preached Black Nationalism, where blacks separates themselves from the whites completely. He is often known as the intellectual, charismatic hero. Although, he was not always that faithful. He was a thug. A hustler. He committed crimes. How did a hoodlum, became a historical figure of Malcolm X? There was many events in his life that changed him, and shaped him to be that somebody. If we trace back his footsteps, his life as Malcolm Little, his life as a thug, his life as a inmate, and his life as a national minister of Nation of Islam, all contributed in creating him and his name of Malcolm X.
Malcolm X is an extremely critical figure that contributed in shaping American social life. He was a famous man who articulated the struggle, anger, and beliefs of African Americans. He was a radical man who fought for change despite the situation. His struggle for equality for the black nation landed him in prison. While in prison, Malcolm was able to study, and earned a college degree. However, most importantly while in prison, Malcolm X was introduced to the Islam faith by one of the prisoners. He received teachings from the Muslim faith, which made him realize that, his people were being oppressed and abused by the whites. While out of prison, he went to visit honorable Elijah Muhammad and later on went around preaching Elijah
The differences between the New Deal reformers and the child welfare workers who provided services to Malcom X’s family was that the child welfare workers were not providing adequate and equal services to the family(Haley, 1996). Malcom X ’s stated that when the social worker came to their home “they were looked at as if they were not people”. Even though Malcom X’s family was receiving some kind of service, to the eyesight of these people Malcom x’s stated that “they were just like things”.
The history of the United States has in it much separation or segregation due to race. For a long time our country has seen racism as a large problem and this has caused ethnic groups to be looked down upon and forced into a lifestyle of difficulties and suppression. Due to this, races, particularly African-Americans, have been forced to deal with unequal opportunity and poverty, leading to less honorable ways of getting by and also organizations that support change. Malcolm X is one strong example of an African American man who became apart of a group acted against it, uniting people to promote the advancement of colored people and change. Malcolm's thoughts towards race and civil right in the previous years were displayed in a less
Biography of Malcolm X On May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska, Malcolm Little was born to Reverend Earl and Louise Little. Rev. Little, who believed in self-determination and worked for the unity of black people. Malcolm was raised in a background of ethnic awareness and dignity, but violence was sparked by white racists trying to stop black people such as Rev. Little from preaching the black cause.
Malcolm began a life of using and selling drugs, home invading, gambling, as well as wearing flashy clothing. He moved to Harlem in 1942 and continued his rise in the criminal world, becoming known as “Detroit Red” for his reddish brown hair. When the authorities became aware of his illegal activities he returned to Boston. Four years later at the age of twenty, Malcolm was arrested and sentenced to ten years in prison for burglary.
The two most influential civil rights activists in American history were Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. They supported equal rights for every race, but when comparing MLK’s “I Have a Dream’ and Malcolm X’s “The Ballot or the Bullet,” one sees the similarities in their rhetorical styles and differences in their tone and message. As seen in “I Have a Dream,” MLK has a more civilized and peaceful solution to the nation’s problems; whereas in X’s he has a will to do whatever it may take to solve the problems.
Literacy is power. Being taught to read and write is important to function in society. You learn to read and write to express your feelings and communicate with others. Frederick Douglass and Malcom X both succeeded in learning how to read and write, but in different ways. The education of Malcolm X was learned more formally. Frederick Douglass learned from his surroundings and the people around him. Malcom and Frederick battled in reading and writing, but learned in similar and different ways.
Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X had a common purpose for African Americans; justice and equality. Illustrated through their speeches, Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream” and Malcolm X’s “Talk to Young African Americans”, the two did not share techniques or ideas. Yet both men had the support of millions and millions of people.
Lansing did not hold many opportunities of any kind for a young black man then, so without a particular plan, Malcolm X went to live with his half-sister, Ella, in Boston. Malcolm X looked, and almost immediately found trouble. He fell in with a group of gamblers and thieves, and began shining shoes at the Roseland State Ballroom. There he learned the trades that would eventually take him to jail dealing in bootleg liquor and illegal drugs. Malcolm X characterized his life then as one completely lacking in self-respect. Many journalists would emphasize Malcolm X’s “shady” past when describing the older man, his clean-cut lifestyle, and the aims of the Nation of Islam. In some cases, these references were an attempt to damage Malcolm X’s credibility, but economically disadvantaged people have found his early years to be a point of commonality, and Malcolm X himself was proud of how far he had come. He spared no detail of his youth in his autobiography, and used his Nation of Islam ideas to interpret them. Dancing, drinking, and even his hair style were represented by Malcolm X to be marks of shame and self-hatred. Relaxed hair in particular was an anathema to Malcolm X for the rest of his life; he described his first “conk” in the autobiography this way: “This was my first really big step toward self-degradation: when I endured all of that pain of the hair-straightening chemicals, literally burning my flesh to have it
The Autobiography of Malcolm X is the story of Malcolm X, an African American male growing up in the United States in the mid-1900's. At this time in America prejudice and segregation were widespread and much a part of everyday life. Malcolm takes the reader through his experiences with American society, which rejects him. This rejection, along with the inferiority cast upon all Black Americans, forces these males to search for acceptance. They are forced to search for purpose in causes greater than single individuals. As the book shows, this is evident in Malcolm throughout his life and in the life of other African American males. The Autobiography shows how during this time in American history