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?