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The autobiography of malcolm x summary essays
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The Autobiography of Malcolm X The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley and Malcolm X was originally published by Grove Press in 1965. The story starts out with Malcolm as a little boy. His father was killed as he was young, and he and his many siblings were left with only his mother. His family was repeatedly visited by social services and eventually, his mother went crazy and he was split up from his siblings. Malcolm attends different schools and lives in various foster homes. He visits his half-sister, Ella, and eventually moves in with her. While living with her, he starts to work at numerous jobs, but he starts to sell alcohol and drugs on the side. He becomes very caught up in all sorts of criminal activities, such as bootlegging. …show more content…
He made use of his time in prison by reading and studying. He also hears about Islam and decides to convert. Once he is released from prison, he starts recruiting people to become a member of the Muslim temple and convert. He also continues to build and create more temples. He eventually marries Betty. After a series of events he becomes isolated from the Nation of Islam and starts his own organization with it being more inclusive than the Nation of Islam. He also begins to reshape his public image and it allows him to speak with the white press effectively. He travels to multiple countries and has a new outlook. There are multiple things I learned about this book. First, I learned a lot more about the religion of Islam. Since I personally do not follow that religion, my knowledge was lacking on it. I learned that there is one god, Allah, and he has messengers that preach to other people at temples. In this book, Elijah Muhammad was the messenger and Malcolm idolized him. I also learned that in the Nation of Islam that if you go against the beliefs, such as cheating, stealing, smoking, etc. you will be punished harshly, usually ends up being isolated from the Nation. In my religion, although all of those things are frowned upon, you would not be
Malcolm X was often encountered by Muslims from other countries who wished to “enlighten” him with what they felt was true Islam. He was initially very skeptical towards these claims but eventually his curiosity got the better of him. To get to know the religion better, Malcolm was directed by his friends to an Egyptian professor in New York, Dr. Mahmoud Youssef
Malcolm Little was born on May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska. At the time of his birth, Malcolm's father was a Baptist Minister. His mom was a writer of Marcus Garvey. Before he was born, his father had 3 children with his previous marriage and 3 before him with his mom.
This paper is written to give my personal reflection on a book entitled The Autobiography of Malcolm X. It is one of the assignments for EDC3360 Course, Social Work for Community Service. We were asked to read this book because the content of this book has relation with the course we are taken for the current semester.
autobiography. He also illustrates his early experiences of segregation, as early as before he was born:
Malcolm X should be everyone’s hero, someone people like myself should look up to as a human being. Anyone who thinks otherwise is either a racist or is extremely ignorant. Malcolm X wore his heart on his sleeve and whether right or wrong he was never afraid to say what was on his mind to anyone who cared to listen. I personally believe Malcolm X’s beliefs give me strength to do what's right and carry myself with dignity. I remember, as a kid, my parents had tons of books about Black History books. The first book I read was a Malcolm X biography. I realized Malcolm X was truly a powerful, significant, and essential work for all time.
Malcolm set everything in motion when he converted to the Nation of Islam, an African American movement that combined elements of Islam with Black Nationalism. While in prison, his siblings persuaded him to write to the Nation’s leader, Elijah Muhammad. X was uneasy at first, but came around shortly. Malcolm wrote Muhammad a one-page letter each day in curiosity about the Nation of Islam. Muhammad replied as the “Messenger of Allah” welcoming Malcolm into the “true knowledge” (Haley 195). Before X’s release in nineteen fifty-two, he went under an intense self-educated program by reading books in the prison library, and even memorizing an entire dictionary. He also sharpened his forensic skills by participating in debate classes. When Malcolm was released from prison he had his first official visit with Muhammad in Chicago, he devoted his life to the Muslim ministry. Soon Malcolm began traveling and preaching with other ministers. He picked up their techniques and devoured their knowledge. Malcolm quickly rose in the Nation of Islam ranks becoming minister of Temple number eleven in Boston and Muhammad’s most effective recruiter and spokesman. Soon after, X was rewarded minister of Temple number seven in Harlem, New York, the largest and most prestigious after the Chicago Headquarters and eventually named the National Representative of the Nation of Islam, second in rank behind Muhammad himself. Under X’s lieutenancy the nation claimed a membership of five-hundred thousand, as the numbers grew X’s teachings began to change; he wanted to make a vast difference. He spread the glorious history of African Americans. He urged the Nation to become more active in the civil rights protest instead of being a critic on the side. X articulated the Nation’s racial doctrines of evil
When Malcolm x was known as Malcolm Little which was from his birth until during his time in prison went he converted to the Nation of Islam ( Malcolm X 154-172) he experienced traumatic events that laid the foundation in terms of how he came to view white people u...
Autobiography of Malcolm X takes place during the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, and illustrates the life of an African American man spent majority of his life fighting for equal rights. Throughout the book, Malcolm X expresses his negative perspective toward white supremacy and actively speaks on behalf of his people for equality. One of the most life changing event in his life was when he converted to Islam. Religion played an important role in his awakening because it removed the blindness from his eyes and showed him that white people were the reason African Americans are suffering on a day to day basis. This essay investigates how Malcolm X’s autobiography puts into perspective how race is extremely complex race that no one can truly
Malcolm X was an African American minister and civil rights leader. Unlike many activists of his time, he took a different approach on the movement. In his lifetime, from 1925 to 1965, he was known as an advocate for the rights of blacks, and has been named one of the greatest and most influential men in history.
I have personally witnessed the change a rebirth or adoption of a religion and its moral code can make in someone’s life. Perhaps this is the case with Malcolm. Maybe he joined the Nation of Islam for political reasons, but he clearly had converted to Islam in his heart between 1948 (when Malcolm Little joined the nation of Islam, soon before he changed his last name to ‘X’) and 1964, when he left the NOI but still made the Hajj and joined Sunni Islam. It’s possible that Malcolm X found comfort in the belief in Allah, purpose in the moral and dietary code of the Koran, and a sense of identity and belonging in the Muslim global community. It is for this reason that I believe that Malcolm X is genuinely religious. If he only joined the Nation of Islam for political reasons, he would have abandoned Islam in general after his break with the Nation (which was also driven chiefly by political reasons), but instead he joined with mainstream Sunni Islam and continued practicing. In fact, Malcolm’s political views were seemingly softened by Sunni Islam and particularly the concept of global Islamic brotherhood, regardless of race. He begins arguing for racial equality and tolerance, as opposed to the violent idea of equality he had believed in before this point, in which blacks and whites could not coexist peacefully in the same country. He leaves the NOI partly for not being
The teaching of the Nation of Islam helped him grow his ideas of racism and his view of white people while he was in prison. Malcolm’s opinion about the Nation’s belief that black people were seen as good and whites were seen as bad. When Malcolm X was released, his ideas change. Men were seen as being good or bad based on their action and no longer determined by their skin color. Malcolm traveled to Mecca cause another deep change; as the Nation of Islam had taught him, he realized that white people he had detested and fought in America was not so much matter of skin color but a matter of attitude and behavior. Being white did not make a man evil; but being a white American, nevertheless, mainly did indicate particular standard of behavior and particular attitudes about race. In this manner, Malcolm X began to believe that the only way that America could avoid racial trouble was to amend its social composition.
Haley, M. X. (1992). The Autobiography of Malcolm X: As told to Alex Haley. New York, NY: Ballantine Books.
The purpose is to further develop the character of Malcolm and the ethos, pathos, and logos expressed within the novel. The style and content all contributes to the power and beauty of the text. His narrative techniques include foreshadowing, for example in a previous chapter you see Malcolm 's relationship with his younger brother Reginald, really begin to grow and this central idea express his feelings, he seems to think very highly of Reginald and what he does. He states that he is mature for his young age, and comes across as a very intelligent put together person. Malcolm is what seems to be the reason why his brother is the way he expresses himself to be because he is a good Rolodex towards him and clearly plays a big role in his life. Malcolm 's character really develops as a leader. In chapter nine, he practically knows he will be assassinated, he really expects to make history and seems to strive to understand, Malcolm throughout the entire book seeks to know the meaning of why we as human beings are labeled and separated. Merely because we do not all look alike, and in this chapter, the author tells the story of “true knowledge” and this is where the dialogue really makes the chapter an incredible and shocking read. He speaks of the “black man,
The Autobiography of Malcolm X as told by Alex Haley is about a man who changed the history of America. Malcolm (Little) X preached what he believed about racism, discrimination, and segregation. He went through many changes in his fight for equality. The three transformations that really changed the way Malcolm thought and preached where his transformation in prison, his transformation into the Islamic religion (following Elijah Muhammad), and the biggest transformation of all, his pilgrimage to Mecca. In all of Malcolm actions, teachings and transformations we learn different points of view and we get a good look at different aspects of events. The life of Malcolm (Little) X as told in his autobiography should be read by all.