- In what way(s) does Malcolm X connect his personal story to a critique of race in the US?
- He critiques white people, of course, but he also critiques some black people. Whom and why?
- He also critiques systems--capitalism, social mores, etc. Did you notice examples of this? Where?
- Malcolm X spends some time discussing interracial dating. How did you react to these scenes?
- Why do you think it made such a big impact when his teacher, Mr. Ostrowski, tells Malcolm that it's "unrealistic" to want to be a lawyer?
- What role does slang play in the book?
- What is the significance of hair-straightening in the book?
- What role does Laura play in the book? Why does Malcolm X devote a chapter to her?
- What questions do you have about the book so far? What direction do you predict it will take?
Monday, September 9, 2019
Beginning Malcolm X
As we start reading The Autobiography of Malcolm X, I'd like us to think about the following questions:
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What is the significance of hair-straightening in the book?
ReplyDeleteStraightening his hair was something that Malcolm was very excited to do for the first time. It was something that was very popular as a fashion statement with many blacks during the time period, so Malcolm never thought to consider the implications of straightening his hair for looks. In effect, as he later realized, he was making himself look more white, because he thought it looked better. It is one of many examples of his perceived ignorance of the subtle forms of racism as a young man.
Its a big impact when Mr Ostrowski tells Malcolm that its unrealistic to be a lawyer because Malcolm had the potential to be a great lawyer but he had no nobody pushing him or no support thus he went into the life of civil rights movements and created a bigger impact on the world than if he became a lawyer.
ReplyDeleteI love how Malcolm X can have a sense of humor about himself. I think a big part of what made this book so successful and makes people return to it again and again despite the fact that some of the politics haven't aged well is b/c Malcolm X as a person is so vivid in this autobiography, so relatable, and even when he's cruel or ugly, he's sympathetic or at least interesting.
ReplyDeleteMalcolm teacher Mr ostrowski made a big impact on Malcolm life by showing Malcolm how the world treats African Americans in the workforce because many are laborers and if he pursues his dream of being a lawyer the only people that will be his clients are the African Americans . this impacted malcolm becouse he sees the world for how it is and this is were his later ideas and beliefs are starting to be formed.
ReplyDeleteThe significance of Malcolm straightening his hair is that he wanted to look like a white person but during the process it hurts. The process represent of how he almost betrayed his community but after it was done, he realizes that it's not what he wanted and how he almost became one of the blacks who actually believe that they was inferior and must adapt to the black culture. This was the significance of the hair straightening.
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ReplyDeleteMalcolm X connects his personal story to a critique of race in the us by talking about the system an showing examples on what he wasn't allowed to do as an African american.He also criticized African Americans because they would try to act like white people which he found it absurd and also he would criticize interracial dating since it was miscegenation and he thought it was wrong, I thought it was messed up since there shouldn't be a barrier between people who fancy each other. He critiques the system by showing how unfair it is for example when his teacher told him he couldn't be a lawyer just because the of the color of his skin and how it was unrealistic since there was no lawyers of his color at his time. Hair-straightening was something popular during his time and he was exited to do it since it would get him to feel closer to a white person. My question is how would he react to society nowadays? would he be glad? what would he change?
ReplyDeleteMalcolm X spends some time discussing interracial dating. How did you react to these scenes?
ReplyDeleteMalcolm talks about interracial dating because it is looked against society as being taboo,in the book it states ";if they could get the girls into the position of having broken terrible taboo by slipping off with me somewhere,they would that hammer over the girls heads,"earlier Malcolm talks about how his peers would pressure him to dance with their sisters and him being black would cause a commotion and give the kids a reason to belittle Malcolm.
Malcolm being a result of a mixed child hes seemed as a " pink poodle " as he puts it by his peers in the classroom. Malcolm is not looked ads a equal but that of something to look at.These seen show discrimination towards Malcolm even in his younger years.The stigma of interracial couples gives me a new perspective since we live in a day and age where nearly everyone is accepted no matter the color of your skin, gender, hair etc.
Malcolm X used vivid details about him being in school and the detention center he was in, that white people talked about him and his race as if he was not there. Malcolm explained that they did not see him as the same as them and he believe people are still like that today.
ReplyDeleteMalcolm also has his critiques about black people because they act a different way to be accepted by white people. For instance, in school when white kids would approach them to have relationships with their sisters for their benefit, there was no rejection. Then the females would be taken advantage of because they did not want it to come out that they were involved with an African american. I feel that I have a very strong mind especially when it comes to racism and sexism. Malcolm also perceives his sister,Ella, in a weird manner because she is a black woman and leads her own life. She has a career and was leading a good life. She owned property and was more accomplished than other black woman he had known. It was not the way he was raised and that idea of woman having a career seemed off to him. I find it strange that an individual who fought and spoke about civil rights would have such reservations about woman and our equality rights, especially non-whites.
Early on Malcolm X criticizes the child services system for destroying his connection to his family and breaking up their home. He claims that a system built to help you is what tore their house down.
It is not exactly shocking to know that interracial dating was illegal but disgusting to be informed that white people would take advantage of this and use it to please themselves.
1. He says that blacks shall never be treated equally as whites because they are not seen as human in their eyes.
ReplyDelete2. he sees that white people will always have the upper hand and do what they what and black people will always be considered as lower class and will not be able to have the same opportunities as whites.
3.???
4.Malcolm X has dated a whited women and has thought of her as a status symbol. In this scene I felt that Malcolm only dated her not because
he loved her, was because he would get some type of respect for a white women to be able to be attracted to a black man.
5. Malcolm had no motivation to be able to follow his dream because of the color of his skin.
6.In this book this shows how much society in american slang has changed and words such as "negro" is no longer being used because in a way its shows as a insult, so therefore we say African American and or black.
7. for a black person to straighten their hair it makes them feel as if they can fit in and be respected for looking a "what a white person looks like".
8.Laura was a girl that Malcolm had a relationship with but soon broke up with her for a white woman because he felt as if he would gain respect. but later on Malcolm would find out that later on that Laura would begin to to drugs and become a prostitute. he then blames himself because he believes that he was the one who ruined her life by abandoning her knowing that she was the only one who believed and encouraged him that he can one day become a lawyer.
9. What encouraged Malcolm in the future to take a violent approach against the whites instead of a peaceful one? i feel like he will soon die in the violent approach that he started.
Why do you think it made such a big impact when his teacher, Mr. Ostrowski, tells Malcolm that it's "unrealistic" to want to be a lawyer?
ReplyDeleteMr.Ostrowski was always giving advice how to become something in life to Malcolm.Mr. Ostrowski said to Malcolm that it was hopeless and unrealistic for Malcolm to become a lawyer. Ostrowski probably thought that no white person would hire a black lawyer like Malcolm and that black people wouldn’t have enough money to hire Malcolm as well. And even if Malcolm was to appear in court as a lawyer, would he be able to win over the segregation that has brainwashed so many white judges in the courtroom? Malcolm may not have aware of these questions when he talked to Mr. Ostrowski, but after his talk, Malcolm realized that there wasn’t a lot of hope for blacks in America. Malcolm felt that blacks will always be inferior to the whites and gave up his dream of becoming a lawyer.That's the big impact of him.
Malcolm X was an African American man that was treated like other blacks, unfairly. Malcolm had dream of becoming a lawyer but when nobody believed in him, he turned that dream away. He changed in many ways and was discouraged. Malcolm sees that more and more blacks are treated just like him. The teachers and other people would favor whites more. Malcolm wanted to be treated as any regular human being but he was never seen as one by whites. Even though some black people are more valuable(money wise) than other blacks, Malcolm sees that the blacks act like the whites. Whites were favored more and were more respected, so some blacks wanted to act like them to receive the same behavior. Some blacks would straighten their hair to how whites would have it. The hairstyle would slick their hair back and use a lot of gel. Blacks wanted to be treated equally like whites, so copying them would make them be treated the same way some thought. It didn't matter how much they copied the whites because they couldn't change change their skin color. Malcolm stayed away from most white girls in middle school because the difference of skin color. Many blacks and whites weren't supposed to be together because of many issues. Some issues were their skin and whites being more superior. I agreed with Malcolm not wanting to date a white girl because he was already treated differently with the color of his skin, and him being with a white girl would make his problems worse. People would most likely threaten him to leave the white girl alone or worse. Many people believed that each race should stick to their race and not date other races. This was not fair but some people still believe that to this day. Even though, segregation is done, some people just want to be with their race only. Some people get hated for it and it makes many people change views on how they see people and the world. Later on, Malcolm meets a girl named Laura who loves dancing just like him. They automatically click and start to hang out. Malcolm does not have a lot of experience with girls but he devotes a chapter to her because this is his first time really liking somebody which proves that she made a big difference in his life. I predict that Malcolm is going to talk more about Laura in the story because after Laura moved to a bad path Malcolm believes that it is his fault. Malcolm will most likely mention Laura and compare it with other relationships he experiences to weigh the differences and how he has changed. Malcolm can relate with Laura on many terms because after he was mistreated by his teacher and had nobody to believe in him. Malcolm also went down a bad path too. This path affected his life and maybe he will talk about the similarities between his bad path and Laura's bad path. I also predict that Malcolm will talk more about the new girl Sophia in his life.
ReplyDeleteMalcolm X critiques the need for black people, including himself, to become as similar to white folks as possible. In chapter one, X mentions that his father punished all of his siblings, except for X himself, for breaking the rules. X believed that even though his father was against whites, "he was subconsciously so afflicted with the white man's brainwashing of Negroes that he inclined to favor the light ones" (pg4). He also says that his mother, who despised white folks and her own fairer skin tone, treated him negatively because he too had drops of white blood in him.
ReplyDeleteWhen Malcolm moves to Boston to live with his half-sister Ella, he notices that the black people who lived on the hill acted differently than those in the ghetto parts of town. Although they still worked mostly janitorial jobs under the white man, blacks in this area of Boston believed that they were somehow equal to whites and better off than the other blacks in the ghettos. X was astonished at "how so many Negroes, then and now, could stand the indignity of that kind of self-delusion".
In chapter three, X also meets a guy from his birthplace in Michigan named Shorty who introduces him to all of the current slang and trends in the black community at the time. The trending hairstyle, "a conk", was something a lot of so-called "upper-class" black men sported and pushed through extreme pain to achieve. It resembled the iron straight hair on a white man's head. X was in awe with the look and soon had his own hair conked despite the pain but admits that he now regrets he ever even participated in that trend in the first place. "How ridiculous I was! Stupid enough to stand there simply lost in admiration of my hair now looking "white"..." He admits that violating and mutilating his body "to try to look "pretty" by white standards was a major step towards self-degradation.
What role does slang play in the book? the role that i think slang play in the book is that slang was created for people to speak to each other to have something on there own to separate and different in some way.
ReplyDeleteHe critiques white people, of course , but he also critiques some black people. Whom and why ?
ReplyDeleteHe critiques the black community for in a way uplifting their job tittle when they say they work for " a long family " when they work for white folks , he also makes a critique when he notices that people of his skin tone come off as a higher importance because their job. He points out that this neighborhood the one he has come across isn't something he has seen before , it isn't like the ghetto which he has been exposed to for most of his life , the negros in this neighorhood where successful in the way they conducted themselves how they appeared and how they lived . He does not qritiques them but more of compares them to what hes seen .
I think It made such a big impact when his teacher tells unrealistic to be a lawyer because he wanted to be a great lawyer but he din not have anybody that can encourage him or push him to be a lawyer. That's why he went to join in civil right movement and that's has a great impact than If he has become a lawyer.
ReplyDeleteWhat questions do you have about the book so far? What direction do you predict it will take?
ReplyDeleteAt that time, what impact did the book had on the black community?
Did people saw the book as a success back then, or it was after that people started to go back to it?
Malcom X had a hard realization of the racial system he was trapped in when Mr. Owstroski. He didn’t particularly dislike Mr Owstroski, but his interaction with him helped him realize the gravity of his situation as an African American. It was an invisible force in where he was living that African Americans are meant to be less than white people no matter what it is. The successful black people there were not doctors or engineers or careers like that. They were ‘successful’ store owners and sorts of those. His interaction with his teacher created a hole in his heart which he filled with hatred of this racial system.
ReplyDeleteNice response, Mohammed.
Delete- Malcolm X connect his personal story to a critique of race in the US in showing the different way her father treat her brother and him.
ReplyDelete- He also critiques some black people because some blacks people of middle class tried to change her life style by coping some white people habits.
- after her father die, her mother tried to find a job to take care of her children but she can find because she is black women.
It is make a big impact when his teacher, Mr. Ostrowski, tells Malcolm that it's "unrealistic" to want to be a lawyer because Malcom like this teacher and he thinks the teacher also like him.
- In the book, the slang is used by showing the time all the actions was passed.
the hair-straightening in the book mean the middle class of the black people.
- Laura is the first girlfriend of Malcolm X.