Malcolm X # 3

As I have continued to read I have become increasingly aware of the life of Malcolm. I realized that he has had a very tough life. I feel as though every person that he comes in contact with and forms a relationship with, they abandon him. I have a feeling that this will soon cause him to be the cause of the destruction of his life. In addition, for such a prominent figure for African Americans he had a major involvement with the police and illegal doings such as selling drugs and stealing. Moreover, I find it strange that Malcolm's relatives and family members have still contacted him and don't talk about his condition (at least in the autobiography). In the book so far I have enjoyed the nice description of the places he has lived and the places he has traveled too. I have been to some of the areas he has described and I feel my recollection of it matches his description.

Malcolm X Number 2

As I have continuously read this book, I am wondering why the author, Alex Haley, goes on tangents constantly and drifts away from the story he is in the middle of describing.  This tends to be some what confusing, but I am still able to understand it.  Another thing I noticed was that Malcolm seems to be more comfortable with his step-sister, Ella.  I found it very interesting that After visiting Ella for a short while, his whole opinion about racism changed.  Although I can understand he felt with the enormous amount of African Americans in Boston I wonder how his opinion changed so quickly. A strong quote that stood out to me was when Malcolm says, "It was then that I began to change--inside.  I drew away from white people.  I came to class, and I answered when called upon.  IT became a physical strain simply to sit in Mr. Ostrowski's class.  Where "nigger" had slipped off my back before, wherever I heard it now, I stopped and looked at whoever said it.  And they looked surprised that I did" (Haley 38).  This quote truly showed how so few people noticed that they were using racial slurs in everyday life.  Another issue I found interesting was when Malcolm stated that when he visited his mother in the mental institute that she didn't even recognize him.  I had no idea that a mental issue was able to take over your memory.

Malcolm X

After reading two chapters of The Autobiography of Malcolm X, I have realized that growing up in the south during the 1930's was very rough for an African American such as Malcolm.  As I have continued to read I have learned of the tremendous amounts of tragedy Malcolm has to face while growing up.  As his father was killed, and his family is on welfare, Malcolm never seems to say that he wish this wasn't happening to him.  I feel this shows a lot about his character.  Malcolm seems relentless and to be an optimist.  In addition, because of the lack of money his family has, Malcolm relies on stealing and begging for food.  This truly describes the racism of the time period.  One event in the book that I was confused about was that I believed that one of his siblings was over the age of 18, so why wouldn't he/she be able to be the guardian for him and his family.  Another question I had was why they had to split his family up after his mother went to the mental institution?