Malcolm X

Malcolm Little was born in Nebraska but moves to Michigan where he experiences violence. The Klux Klux Klan murder Malcolm’s father and force his mother into a mental hospital. After living in a Michigan detention home and completing the eighth grade, Malcolm moves to Boston, to live with his half-sister, Ella. He passes for being much older than he is, with the type of clothes, gambling, drinking, doing drugs, and dating. He then moves to New York, where he begins working as a hustler in Harlem and commits robberies. Inspired by the faith, Malcolm stops using drugs he reads, prays, studies English and Latin, and joins the prison debate team. The prison releases Malcolm on parole and Malcolm moves in with his brother Wilfred. Malcolm receives permission to drop his last name, which a white slave owner gave to one of his ancestors. He adopts “X” as his last name, using the letter to represent the lost name of his African ancestors. Malcolm X soon meets the Nation of Islam’s leader, Elijah Muhammad, and rises quickly from the rank of temple assistant to the Nation’s first national minister. Thus far I am amazed at how Malcolm has changed throughout the story. I think that it all ties back to the idea that your past and experiences shapes your thoughts and who you are as a person. When Malcolm joined the religion he thought of all the white people in his past and realized he had a bad experience with all of them. Malcolm had a rough childhood leading him to act tough, and although he did drugs and committed robberies he was never violent, and kept his morals high.

(271)