Malcolm X Reflection

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

Self-transformation is a major theme throughout the novel. One of the transformations Malcolm X’s experiences is while he is in prison. Two events that transpired were reading many kinds of books and receiving letters from his brothers. Malcolm X read a diverse amount of books, such as, philosophy, science, history, and politics. He even read the entire dictionary from cover to cover and wrote the definitions for each word. He took advantage of gaining the proper education while in prison. His brother Reginald was a minister in the Nation of Islam, he told Malcolm X about the devils in the world, who were the white people and he grew passionate about his brother’s message to him. After being told about the teachings of Elijah Muhammad he eventually

Malcolm X had accomplished many achievements throughout his time as a religious, fellow activist, however, it had never been something simple to do. Throughout his younger years, he had always been in a battle with race, religion, and who exactly he identified himself to be. When Malcolm’s parents, Earl and Louis Little, had been expecting on the arrival for Malcolm’s birth, Earl had been threatened precisely by many white supremacist groups, causing their family to relocate many times in search for safety. A few years after, in the year 1931, Malcolm’s father had been in an accident that was suspicioned to be an actual murder held by the white supremacist (Munir, 2015). Malcolm and the rest of his family were left with

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

The author’s purpose for writing the book was for the reader to gain knowledge of Malcolm X as an individual and not as a phenomenon. He wanted to deliver truths that spanned his brief lifetime.

Instead of going to school to get a traditional education, he dropped out of school at fifteen and learned the ways of the streets. Malcolm associated himself with thugs, thieves, dope dealers, and pimps. He was convicted of burglary at age twenty and remained in prison until he was twenty-seven. During his prison sentence, he became a changed man. He educated himself and he learned about and joined the Nation of Islam, studying the teachings of Elijah Muhammed. Elijah taught Malcolm how history had been “whitened by the white man” (p.184) and he echoed “the black convict’s lifelong experience” where “the white man is the devil,” (p. 186). This thought process encouraged many black inmates to discover the Nation of Islam.

Other Muslims thought Malcolm was getting to powerful. One example of the conflicts Malcolm's power caused involved the leader of the Muslim Nation, Elijah Muhammed. Elijah Muhammed was said to have fathered two young women's children. Malcolm went to talk to the women. The women told Malcolm that Elijah always talked behind Malcolm's back, saying bad things. Malcolm's faith was shattered. He was with the Black Muslim religion for twelve years. He decided to try to take, and make his own Islam religion. Muhammed found out about this, and said that Malcolm could not preach for 90 days.

Despite his dismal upbringing, Malcolm was able to graduate from his junior high school at the top of his class. He was aspiring to become a lawyer, but after one of his teachers told him that trying to be one was, "no realistic goal for a nigger", he decided that school was not for him and moved to Boston for awhile and made a living working a number of jobs, none of which were permanent. Eventually he would find himself working as a waiter at a restaurant called Small's Paradise in Harlem, New York. It was at this time that Malcolm Little began using and then selling drugs and even committing burglary. In 1946 he would be arrested for burglary and sentenced to ten years in prison. It was during his stay at the Charlestown, Mass. Prison that he would make maybe the most significant change of his life. Malcolm would begin studying the teachings of Elijah Muhammad, the leader of a small cult-like Islamic group that called themselves the Nation of Islam, he also began to study the Koran (the Islamic holy book). It was during these long years in prison that Malcolm was able to educate himself fully and came to the conclusion that he wanted to join Elijah and the Nation of Islam and fight for equality between blacks and whites.

The author affectively uses The Autobiography of Malcolm X as a primary source, as well as other accounts and articles doing with those close with X. Despite this, the use of multiple sources became confusing as a result of the lack of citations and multiple writers. Since each chapter had a different writer, reading became inconsistent. It is notable that the author attempts to avoid disorganization by creating subheading and a well structured table of contents. Hunter also does a remarkable job of adding an index, timeline, appendix of documents, and additional research page in order to allow readers to dive deeper into the topic. Through all this work and attempted organization, Hunter is able to emphasize to the audience the legacy Malcolm X left behind as a result of the trials and tribulations faced during his

The Autobiography of Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley is an account of Malcolm X’s evolving perspective on racial justice. Malcolm X was a prominent figure in the Nation of Islam who advocated for black nationalism and separatism. The man who became one of America’s most powerful voices for African Americans was deeply affected by the terrors of racism, which shaped his view of social justice and the condemnation of the white man. The way Malcolm X narrates his experiences changes as his views on race change. At first, he wants readers to feel the destructiveness of racism, so he conveys his experiences through provocative language. When he aims to promote universal peace, he takes on a more optimistic tone. As a

Through his readings and new found religion, the Nation of Islam, Malcolm X finds self-pride. He starts to become proud of who he is and where he came from. He realizes that before, all he was trying to do was act like someone he wasn’t and all it had gotten him was seven years in prison. The letters he got from Elijah Muhammad and his family encouraged all of this. He strives to admit his guilt, and “implore the forgiveness of God” (170). He would often “be startled to catch [himself] thinking in a remote way of [his] earlier self as another person” and marvel at how much he had changed (170). All the reading he did “awoke … some long dormant craving to be mentally alive” (179). His trip to prison opened up new doors for him because he gained knowledge that made him rethink his niche in life.

The Nation of Islam strongly disagreed and forbade its members and especially Malcolm X from taking part in the political scene (Litwack pg 7). Malcolm knew that if the black population continued to act as a separate community while also avoiding political action, they would never achieve equality. The Nation of Islam strongly disagreed and forbade its members and especially Malcolm X from taking part in the political scene (Litwack, pg 7).  These differing viewpoints and the growing jealousy of Elijah Muhammad, Malcolm’s mentor and leader of the Nation of Islam, were the fundamental reasons not only for him leaving the Nation of Islam but for the entire tone of  “the Ballot or the Bullet” speech (Haley, pg 1).

The opinions that many people have about religion derive from their association with churches, mosques, and other places of worship. However, Malcolm X defied the usual curve of religious doctrine and embraced what he felt was right for him and those who shared his views. In his autobiography, Malcolm X abandoned atheism to become a follower of the Nation of Islam (NOI) and later, he ended up following Eastern Islam. In the Autobiography of Malcolm X, Malcolm’s views and his idealism is derived from his practice of Islam and his will to fight for the rights of African Americans also come from the same base.

By March 1964, Malcolm X had become disappointed with the Nation of Islam and its leader Elijah Muhammad. Expressing many regrets about his

Malcolm X, a Black Nationalist, Muslim minister and a human rights activist, was executed by men from the Black Muslim Movement cult that he had recently left for good. An analysis of Malcolm X’s earlier debate with Bayard Rustin (1962) in comparison to his later speech “The Ballot or the Bullet” (1964) acknowledges his idol worship of Elijah Muhammad in the Black Muslim Movement and documents his transformation into an enlightened and open-minded Civil Rights Leader before his tragic assassination. The speeches allow us to follow stages of Malcolm 's life. Malcolm’s early speeches reflect the time spent in the Nation of Islam and mirrors his devotion and allegiance to the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. We witness a transformation of personal growth and enlightenment from 1962 to 1964. His later speeches, preceding his involvement with the Black Muslim Movement and Elijah Muhammad, establish his own message to his people which was Pan-Africanism. Pan-Africanism, encourages unity among people of African descent all over the world. Malcolm believed Black people should be economically independent of the White America.