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. Malcolm X on the micro level involves interactions with many individuals throughout his life. From his parents and siblings to girlfriends and his wife, and even those he met in prison and after prison, they all played significant roles in Malcolm’s
My curiosity has propelled me to read the autobiography of Malcolm X. Malcolm X was one of the most controversial Men in American history. I’m familar with the name Malcolm X however, I’m not familliar with the works and background of Malcolm X. This is why I choose to read the autobiography of Malcolm X written by himself and Alex Haley. Which gives the read an insight on his background, beliefs, and the American society then. I believe that many people including myself have misunderstood Malcolm X. I believe that Malcolm X is misunderstood due to his close affiliations with the Nation of Islam,violence and racism. I have begun to read the autobiography and have found that racism began way before Malcolm X was born and so far is one of
The author uses pathos and logos in the autobiography of Malcom X to tell us that he fought throughout his life and preceding the events that occurred which made him a strong African American leader in history up till date. Everything being talked about Malcolm’s storyline has to do with race, knowledge, prejudice and transformation. It will be noticed if critically examined that common arguments made all through the book are how blacks were maltreated making them inferior to white folks. It all starts from the intrusion by breaking Malcom’s home window by the hooded Ku Klux in Omaha, Nebraska. His father Earl little was the target, a fearless and strong Georgian Baptist preacher and also a member of universal Negro improvement Association (UNIA) which fights for the return of American blacks to Africa. Louise little, Malcolm’s fair- skinned mother, an educated woman was a homemaker occupied with the family’s eight children.
Malcolm X’s tone is bluntly honest when sharing his own personal anecdotes; He discusses of the way he was treated in school when saying, “...I was smarter than nearly all of those white kids. But apparently I was still not intelligent enough, in their eyes, to become whatever I wanted to be” (44). He goes on to say, “I was thus schooled well, by experts in such hustles as the numbers, pimping, con games of many kinds, peddling dope, and thievery of all sorts, including armed robbery” (97). Malcolm X speaks of his experiences as simply as reciting established facts; he retells his life with his blunt honesty, used to carefully and tactfully discuss the controversial issue of racism that is not often discussed so truthfully in media.
Summaries for Laura: Excerpts from “The Autobiography of Malcolm X” Haley and Handler state “Yes, I will pull off that liberal’s halo that he spends such efforts cultivating! The North’s Liberals have been for song pointing accusing fingers at the South and getting away with it that they have fists when they are exposed as the world’s worst hypocrites (Haley and Handler, 271).” This quote is used for the authors to mention that their belief that their life mirrors this hypocrisy, they know nothing about the South and are a creating of the Northern white man and of his hypocritical attitude toward the Negro. The authors make another good point about America’s most dangerous and threatening black man, which is the one who has been kept
Using anecdotes from his early childhood to evoke the reader’s sympathy, Malcolm X shows that being treated as less than human leads to oppression. Malcolm X’s early childhood is riddled with misfortune, and he is able to use this misfortune to help readers understand that subhuman treatment is unacceptable and leads to injustice. When Malcolm is just a little boy, his father, Earl Little, is killed by the Ku Klux Klan. Malcolm’s mother, Louise, goes to the police station to identify the body, and later describes the horrific state the body was in when she saw it. Malcolm X narrates, “My father’s skull, on one side, was crushed in… Negroes
At certain points in life, one will have to face frustration and overcome it. The older one gets, the more frustration one will experience. This feeling mostly has a negative impact if one is unable to control what one is thinking and doing. When frustration slowly builds up inside one’s body and mind, it will gradually turn one into a new person without making him or her realize it. Unfortunately, Malcolm X is not an exception of this rule. In his early life, Malcolm passively endured the racism among white and black, which led him to his adult personality and behavior as well as his development of anti–white views.
Malcolm X is an individual that went through many transformations as he grew up and this affected his understanding of racial identity. When Malcolm was a child he became a thief because of everything that was going on at home for example his dad being murdered and his mom struggling to keep her children alive. As a result, Malcolm ended up going to an orphanage and going to school, getting good grades and being the top student in his class that he even became class president. As a kid his dream was to become a lawyer but his dream was crushed by his teacher saying that a black person could never become a lawyer or anything fancy like that because they are only good with their hands. This leads Malcolm to understand that everything bad that
Malcolm Little, now famously known as Malcolm X, Muslim name el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz, was born in 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska on May 19. A soon to be well-known and respected African American religious and political leader in the Nation of Islam. Malcolm X had expressed his views regarding the upholding of race pride and black nationalism in the early 1960’s. The Autobiography of Malcolm X, published in 1965, had become widespread after his assassination which deemed him an ideological hero, mainly amongst the black youth.
The Autobiography of Malcolm X was about one African Americans struggle during a time of extreme racism and discrimination to make a name for himself. Malcolm had many life experiences before tragically being shot and killed. He was a hustler in Harlem, a porter for a railroad, and was eventually a minister for the black Islam movement lead by Elijah Mahammad. Malcolm Little lived a very interesting life to become the man he will be remembered as.
Malcolm X’s brutal childhood influenced him to become a significant activist in the Civil Rights Movement and his passion for equality. According to “Say It Plain, Say It Loud - American RadioWorks”, after Malcolm X’s family
Malcolm X opens his story up with first person point of view and helping the readers to understand he is telling a story of his experiences. Malcolm X reveals to his audience that he
Malcolm X’s life has been interpreted through various avenues including documentaries, movies, biographies, and his autobiography. Malcolm in public memory falls victim of freeze framing, misconception, and exploitation by groups to promote an agenda. Lee’s interpretation does an adequate job in relaying the life of Malcolm X according to the autobiography collaboratively written by Alex Haley and Malcolm X. Lee uses Malcolm’s autobiography, Malcolm’s wife, and Malcolm’s brothers to inform his interpretation. Lee successfully challenges the mainstream narrative that Malcolm was a violent, black supremacist who had no inclinations of integration into a white society. Expectedly, however, Lee and Haley have agendas.
“The Autobiography of Malcolm X” as told to Alex Haley was first published in 1965. The book begins in 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska, where Malcolm was born. The novel follows him throughout life, from his rough up bringing in Nebraska and Michigan to his drug and crime ridden adulthood in New York and Boston. The book tells us about him working menial jobs and him participating in organized crime. However, the law finally caught up with Malcolm, culminating with his eventual imprisonment because of his criminal involvement. In prison, Malcolm heard about an organization called The Nation of Islam from his brother, Reginald. The Nation of Islam is an organization that provides spiritual, mental, and economic support to African-Americans Muslims in the United States. When Malcolm heard about the organization, he began to consider their ideology and soon he stopped smoking cigarettes and he refused to eat pork. When Malcolm was released from prison, he immediately joined the Nation of Islam in 1952 and from there he became a very
This biography of Malcolm X was a book, which had a purpose of enlightening people on how blacks were treated, it mainly focused on the life of Malcolm and how it affected his life and changed him. Malcolm X is born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska, America. A country where racism is so prevalent that his family frequently gets into a confrontation with the KKK and Black Legion society due to his father being a preacher. This results in his fathers’ death, his mother 's mental breakdown, and the separation of his family. It completely put a strain on all of them, as they were forced apart. Throughout the story Malcolm’s personality goes through many transitions due to the various scenarios he went through, and all of them shape up to make up the man he becomes. It was written in first person even though Malcolm X didn’t write it; Malcolm X draws both on his past and his present understanding. So we get the feeling that this is the absolute truth even though it was written by Alex Haley, Its almost as if he chose first person for a reason, this was the controversy surrounding the book.
Malcolm X, born Malcolm Little faced adversity early on as a young child with his father’s death and his family splitting up since he mother was mentally ill. Yet Malcolm’s