Malcolm X was probably the most the powerful book we read this semester. However, I am not really sure I like Malcolm X. The book was good but Malcolm X himself I do not agree with a lot of his positions. Malcolm X blames whites for all of the blacks problems and he feels that blacks should do everything themselves and not ask for help from whites. In this autobiography we see Malcolm X recount his transformation from a bitter, self-destructive petty criminal into an articulate political activist. We see him go from "mascot" and "homeboy" to "Detroit Red" and finally Malcolm X. When reading this book it could be said that Malcolm X and Martin Luther King contradicted each other. However, while Malcolm X may have displayed his emotions towards his enemies differently than King, he understood, like King that love of self and love of God are the necessary first steps on the road to freedom.
Early in the book Malcolm received great grades, all his teachers loved, all though they use "nigger" jokes in front of him and since he was one of a few black students in the school, majority of the kids liked him. Malcolm felt himself to be regarded as a novelty, what he called a "pink poodle." When he went to dances he felt the racism because he was told to stay away from the white girls and stand along the wall. Despite the racial tension, Malcolm feels relatively happy until he enters seventh grade. The reason for the change is Malcolm visits his half sister, Ella, in Boston. Malcolm is very surprised at what he saw; it was completely different than anything he ever saw in Michigan. In Boston, Malcolm saw a world of blacks who were in the middle class and had good working jobs. There was a black community with far greater dignity and independence than the one he knows in Michigan. When he goes back to school, he gets angry and offended when people use the word "nigger." Another important event that happened during this school year was when he told his English teacher he wanted to be a lawyer.
