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Overcoming obstacles in life essay
Malcolm x: by any means necessary novel study
Overcoming obstacles in life essay
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No matter how someone may be living their life there are always obstacles to face. Somebody may face an obstacle they come across by and they have to figure out how to overcome that obstacle. Either having to do with work related or a school obstacle there are many possibilities but also opportunities to over come these series obstacles. These two men were faced with similar obstacles, Malcolm X and Frederick Douglass to whom everyone seems to know their history quite well, however little do people know how these men learned to be the brightest people in history. Dealing with obstacles doesn't come easy but when one puts effort into something they want to achieve it can be done. Malcolm X wasn't an ordinary inmate in a prison. From being …show more content…
He was in jail thus he only had the library and his room to read and write he liked reading more in his room than at the library for that the reason that he preferred the isolation. He hated when they would announce, "lights out." Due to the fact that he wanted to keep on reading one of his books that’s why whenever that came into the announcement he would to go his bed and wait for the nightly security guards to pass by. Then as soon as they walked by his cell he would go into a little corner where there was a light glow. He would wait for exactly fifty-eight minutes to pass till the next security guards would pass by again. He would continue to jump from in and out of his bed to his little corner every time security passed again thus he wouldn't get caught. Malcolm said himself, “I knew right there in prison that reading had changed my life forever the course of my life. The ability to read awoke inside of me some long dormant craving to mentally alive.” Malcolm X didn’t have it easy. Being in prison means there wasn’t a whole lot of opportunities to do much. While he was in prison he tried to not fall into the crowd the kind of assembly where individuals of men or a group of men would want. It is where men try and act tough to be someone whom people follow while in prison. That’s why Malcolm turned into becoming someone better than the rest of the men who were in prison as
The reading on Malcolm X had lots of points that hit everyday society in America for African Americans. Malcolm X was like any other man hustling on the streets to get by, like a lot you see in today society with the drug dealers and such. Starting off Malcolm X was not an intelligent man; he didn’t know how to write without a little slang to his words, he didn’t know how to articulate what he wanted to be said. Malcolm X was convicted of robbery and was sent to Charleston Prison, but was later sent off to the Norfolk Prison Colony School, this is where he gave himself the educated needed to be a well productive citizen. Malcolm X stated, “I saw that the best thing I could do was get hold of a dictionary-to study, to learn some new words (p.211). “I spent two days just riffling uncertainly through the dictionary’s pages.” “Finally, just to start some kind of action, I began copying.” Here Malcolm X is seeing his time being served in prisons to not only be a lessoned learned but to learn something that he knew he would never learn...
However, it was what happened in his life that made Malcolm X the man who people remember today. From a very early age, Little lived in fear of racism and hate groups, much of it rooting from his father’s murder by white supremacists. He was effectively orphaned by 13, as his mother was placed in a mental institution, and lived until he was 20 in several different foster homes. He was arrested for a crime and once released, went on to commit several crimes, including using and distributing drugs, etc. It was when he was imprisoned that he found the Nation of Islam, who helped him when he was released from prison to find a new life. From them, he was able to attain great oratory skills and create an environment when he spoke in which the people around him, white and black alike, felt empowered and equal. Once he discovered corruption and began to disdain the Nation of Islam, he became independent and was later assassinated. However, he along with MLK, were empowered by their stories, Malcolm’s being one of hatred, poverty, hope, and truth, that changed him to become a stimulus for African American equality in
During his stay in prison, Malcolm continually lashed out at the guards and fellow inmates. After realizing that this would never get him anywhere, he began to study the teachings of Islam. With the aid of a fellow convict he cam to the mindset that it was his new mission in life to convert fellow blacks in order to unify them as a people. He felt that there was no real way that blacks and whites could come to a mutual agreement in America, and the only solution would be a great Diaspora back to his "homeland" of Africa.
If there was any one man who demonstrated the anger, the struggle, and the beliefs of African Americans in the 1960s, that man was Malcolm X. The African American cultural movement of the 1920s lost momentum in the 1930s because of worldwide economic depression. The Great Depression helped to divert attention from cultural to economic matters. Even before the stock market crash of 1929, unemployment and poverty among blacks was exceptionally high. It was under these difficult conditions that Malcolm X experienced his youth in the South. Malcolm X was a very controversial character in his time. He grew up in a very large family. His father hunted rabbits to sell to the white people for money, and his mother stayed home to take care of all the children. Several times when he was young, his family was forced to relocate due to the racist groups that would burn or run them out of their home like the Ku Klux Klan. One of these groups called the Black Legion killed his father by tying him to the railroad tracks. Malcolm’s father had life insurance but was not given to his family because they said that Earl Little had committed suicide. This was quite impossible because his head was bashed in and he tied himself to the railroad. Without his father’s income, Malcolm's family was forced to get government help and food. Applying for this type of assistance brought many white Social Workers into their home. They asked questions and interrogated the entire family. Malcolm’s mother always refused to talk or let them in.
In conclusion, I would like to say that this book is worthwhile reading although it is a quite thick and might take longer time to finish reading it. I might not good in reviewing a book or giving criticism for something. Reading this autobiography can benefit people in many fields. Different people will see things differently. So does when reading this book, certain people might take the lessons differently and it might benefit differently. For example, as a sociological study, it could provide fascinating insights into ghetto life and the ways which an individual learned to survive in the ghetto. Meanwhile as a religious work, it does tell about how an individual is struggling in order to find his God. And it cannot be denied as it is clear that in political work is the book has had its strongest impact.
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.
In “The Autobiography of Malcolm X” the author skillfully structures each chapter to correspond with Malcolm’s development and implants a sense of purpose throughout each event.
Malcolm Little, Aka Malcolm X, was a famous civil rights movement activist. He had a hard childhood. He was picked on due to the light color of his skin by peers and family members. He grew up poor and spent years of his life committing crimes and ended up in prison. Malcolm X found Islam in prison, and developed different philosophies which came from his childhood experiences. Malcolm X eventually found peace, and unfortunately was killed after he began to make a positive difference.
This paper will discuss the different stages of thought processes the former Nation of Islam minister, Malcolm X went through during his lifetime in terms of how he viewed white people, but more specifically “the white man” in America. The reason the focus is on White Americans is because these were the people outside of the Nation of Islam that shaped his life good or bad and put him on the path where he eventually transformed from Malcolm Little to Malcolm X who was one of the most polarizing and controversial figures during his lifetime and even nearly 50 years after his death the name Malcolm X causes certain people to shudder. Malcolm X became a well-known figure during the 50’s and 60’s during the civil rights movement which involved figures such as Martin Luther King Jr. This was a pivotal era in American history because for the first time that there was major push towards full rights for African Americans. When Malcolm X came on the scene he put fear into White people because they weren’t used to hearing the truth about race relations in America and many of them felt that things were just fine because they themselves were living life high on the hog while at the same time exploiting Blacks. Because this type of talk from a black person was new to them they misinterpreted his views as “hate speech” and accused him of trying to incite violence when he was simply trying wake his people up to properly deal with what was happening to them.
In The Autobiography of Malcolm X, Muslim leader and black rights activist, Malcolm X, changes through a few significant events in his life. He went from an optimistic young boy, to a mischievous, law-breaking hustler, to a reformed man who sought to improve the way America viewed race. From the start of junior high, to his pilgrimage to the Holy City of Mecca, Malcolm X experiences three key events that change his life and develop the central idea of systemic oppression in the text.
Douglass and Malcolm X shared similarities in having an ambition to achieve how to properly read and write, they were self taught, and made use of their circumstance no matter the difficulty. Douglass and Malcolm X were different throughout their educational background, circumstances,and slightly different ways of educating themselves. Douglass was a slave with no educational background who wanted to learn how to read and write knowing that it was better opportunities that were being held from him while being a slave. He took risk and every opportunity he could take , “ I was compelled to resort to various stratagems” (Douglass 100). With his circumstances as a slave he had to keep his reading and writing on low key due to the possible consequences of being caught with learning materials. Malcolm X was a criminal with some educational background. He had a desire to express his thoughts and knowledge but was held back by his eighth grade education and imprisonment at that moment. With this obstacle, he wanted to be able to speak properly and to share his thoughts in a proper letter to the great Mr. Elijah Muhammad, “How could I sound writing in slang,...say[ing] it, something such as, ‘Look, daddy, let me pull your coat about a cat, Elijah Muhammad-’ ” (Malcolm X
Of the people whose names are mentioned in history, some men like Thomas Edison are praised for their genius minds, while others such as Adolf Hitler are criticized for leaving a depressing legacy behind. While it is relative easy to notice the type of legacies these two men left, legacies of other men are often vague and they seem to be imbedded in gray shadows. This is how many people view the life of Malcolm X. Malcolm X during his lifetime had influenced many African Americans to step up for their rights against the injustices by the American government. One on hand, he has been criticized for his hard stances that resemble extremism, while on the other hand he has been praised him for his effort in raising the status for African Americans. The extremes in viewing his life from the modern day perspective have often come from reading his climatic speech The Ballot or the Bullet that he gave in many cities across America in 1964. When he was with the Nation of Islam, Malcolm X favored Blacks to be separated from the Whites, and during this time he strongly opposed White Supremacy. This also seems quite prevalent in his speech The Ballot or the Bullet. However, one events during the last year of his life reveal that he wanted the Blacks and the Whites to coexist as peaceful Americans.
Malcolm X while in prison completed his first transformation. Like many great figures and history makers had a low point in is life. At this time Malcolm was into drugs, hustling, women and money. He became so dependant on making a lot of money he and some of his friends decided to rob the house of an old white man. They were caught for this crime and were not only charged with this crime but were also charged with having sex with white women. Malcolm and his friend "Shorty" were sentenced to six years in prison. The two white women that were Malcolm and Shorty’s accomplices were sentenced to a year in jail. During the first couple days of prison Malcolm was coming off a drug high and was having withdrawals. These withdrawals led Malcolm into solitary confinement for two months. When he was let out of his chamber he met the man that would later be responsible for Malcolm’s transformation. This man was a follower of the nation of Islam and the great Alijah Muhammad. Malcolm learned a great deal form him. This shows us that even in the worst of circumstances we can learn and become better. This transformation was a great test for Malcolm and starts to let us see what a great influence he would end up being in the lives of many Americans.
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 way to the people and "by any means necessary" perspective. After his pilgrimage in 1964 his view of civil rights had quickly changed into a more complete view of civil rights, and the peoples views towards him. No one really knows what kind of impact Malcolm X would have had on history if he had not been assassinated. His beliefs and philosophy did gain him a place in history as one of the best-known Black Nationalist Leaders. Everyone seems to have known who Malcolm X was, and he ranks high with all other Black leaders. His ideas were radical and he was very out spoken. He was a major force in the development of black history. He fought not only for his people but also for all oppressed people everywhere. He was well spoken and he laid the groundwork for the black power movement of the late l960's.
When people go to prison, the majority of them do not learn as Malcolm does when he studies in the prison library. Malcolm realizes that “The best thing I could do was to get hold of a dictionary- to study, to learn some words. I was lucky enough to reason also that I should try to improve my penmanship" (198). This shows how he has an open mind, because despite quitting school, he never loses the interest in learning. Reading dictionaries usually happen in school, but Malcolm X learns to understand words from different ranges of difficulty in prison. He learns to read and write on his own, and even pays more attention to education in prison than he did when he briefly went to school. Prison is what helped Malcolm X prepare for his upcoming life situations. His education in prison is the foundation of how his becoming of a well rounded speaker