Identity In The Autobiography Of Malcolm X

In The Autobiography of Malcolm X, Malcolm’s life went downfall after his father was murdered when he was eight. Malcolm was sent to reform school where later he realized that being black was a disadvantage because they don’t got a place in society. Malcolm thought as being black as a bad thing, he thought he should hate himself for being who he is. However Malcolm realized that being black was lucky because he figured out that the first people were black people. He realized that the religion of Islam praised black people. In The Autobiography of Malcolm X, it’s easy to think Malcolm X hated his identity. One might fail to notice that it made him stronger to understand the effect society had on him.

When Malcolm was a little
kid, his mom hated him just because of the way he looked. Malcolm was the whitish child out of all his siblings. The reason being was because his mother was half white because of the white rapist's blood she had. For instance, in one of the early chapters “Nightmare” Malcolm states, “Thinking about it now, I feel definitely that just as my father favored me for being lighter than the other children, my mother gave me more hell for the same reason. She was very light herself, but she favored the ones who were darker. Wilfred, I know, was particularly her angel . I remember that she would tell me to get out of the house...She went out of her way never to let me become afflicted with a sense of color superiority.”(pg.8). Malcolm talks about how he hated identity because of his color. His father favored him, probably because that if he’s white he can get somewhere in life. Malcolm’s father was dark and when you are dark you have less power. While Malcolm is light, he’ll probably have more advantages than his other siblings. While Malcolm’s mother hated the way how Malcolm was light because she herself was also light. She realized that it’s all her fault that Malcolm became light. So she goes harsh on Malcolm because he’s light because of her. When Malcolm was at school his teacher challenged him to work hard, but told him he wasn’t going to have a future because he was black. Malcolm X had to go to reform school after his father died. Reform school was what it said it was. It was a school to make students' behavior better. Malcolm's teacher's name was Mr. Ostrowski he encouraged Malcolm to challenge himself, but told him that he won’t have any high position jobs.

Malcolm was sent to reform school after his father was murdered. While Malcolm was there, he was the smartest student. His teacher Mr. Ostrowski encouraged him to work harder and harder. Malcolm worked hard. His teacher told him that he should work hard, but he won’t get a good job. For instance, in the chapter “Nightmare” Malcolm states, “Separated though we were, all of us maintained fairly close touch around Lansing-in school and out- whenever we could get together. Despite the artificially created separation and distance between us, we still remained very close in our feeling toward each other.”(pg.23). This is the older Malcolm looks back at the past. Malcolm talks about how even if society was going hard on them, they will always remain close. They lost their father and Malcolm was separated from them. Malcolm is beginning to realize that even if it was hard, it was all worth it at the end. After Malcolm teacher told him that blacks don’t have a place in society, he went to Roxbury, where his half sister Ella lived.

When Malcolm was at Roxbury he got his hair conked.
Conking his hair made his hair look like a white man. He adopted the white man hair to gain power. For instance, when Malcolm got his hair conked he walked down the street with power, energy and acceptance. Acceptance is mostly what Malcolm wanted. He wanted to be accepted by his mom and the white society. When the older Malcolm was talking about his past, he realized what he did was wrong and he regretted everything about it. For instance, in the chapter “Homeboy” older Malcolm states, “To my own shame, when I say all of this I’m taking first of all about myself-because you can’t show me a Negro who ever conked more faithfully than I did. I’m speaking from personal experiences when I say of any black who conks today, or any white- wigged black woman, that if they gave the brains in their heads just as much attention as they do their hair, they would be a thousand times better off.” (pg.57-58). Malcolm X regretted ever getting his hair conked. He wanted it to gain acceptance, which Malcolm always desired, but didn’t seem to get it. While Malcolm was writing this he realized that was the world they live in. People wanted power and wanted to feel good, but when people get power hungry they abuse it. That’s exactly what happened to Malcolm, for every negligent act there’s
light.

In 1946, Malcolm X went to jail for breaking into someone’s house, accused of robbery. He spent his next 8-10 years in prisons in Massachusetts. At his time there Malcolm learned what he did was wrong. His brothers Philbert, Reginald, and Wilfred introduced Malcolm to the religion of Islam. Also, Malcolm learned about the Nation of Islam and Elijah Muhammad. Malcolm started to read a lot, he also even converted to Islam. In the chapter “Saved” Malcolm X says, “And anytime I got a chance to exchange words with a black brother in stripes, I’d say, ‘My man! You ever heard about somebody named Mr. Elijah Muhammad?’” (pg.194). Malcolm once hated the way he looked, but now he realized that it was a privilege. Malcolm realized that, that was the white man's job. They were trying to dehumanize the blacks to make them think they are worthless. Elijah Muhammad’s teaching was that blacks were the first people and they deserve more. They are not worthless, the white man is just trying to make them see they were.

Malcolm always tried to understand who he is, he tried to find himself. He hated who he is because he wasn’t accepted. His mother didn’t accept him because he was lighter than his other siblings. His teacher encouraged him to work hard, he also told him he won’t get a good job because he’s black. The one huge problem that made Malcolm hate his identity was when his father died. It was one event that led to many. Malcolm hated how his father was killed and the state welfare didn’t provide anything to the family. Then Malcolm was separated from his family by going to reform school. Also Malcolm’s mom had gone ill. Malcolm hated everything what happened to him was because he was black. Then when Elijah Muhammad came to his life, he made Malcolm feel like his identity was a privilege. This makes it seem that Malcolm need to guide him. He lost everything that he needed someone to bring him up. This make it easier to think that Malcolm X struggled to find himself, and after he became muslim it made him realize how that was only the world they live in. It wasn’t his fault that anything that happened in his past, it was the white man’s fault.