Journal- Classic Novel

What makes a novel a classic is when many people before you had read the book and enjoyed it.  Also, a "classic" typically will be mimicked by books coming out after because new authors like the style they used.  Although there is no label for a classic novel, this doesn't mean they don't exist.  It is an unofficial label that many people will stick on a book because it has been proclaimed so great.  Then, they will read it and enjoy it themselves.  Also, classic novels will mostly be the first of there of there kind.  They may portray something in the novel that just can't stop the reader from reading on.  Examples of classic novels would be any of Shakespeare's work.  They all portray something new or different that was copied or is the basis of other books.  Also, most people who read his works enjoy them and share them with friends.

Anticipation Guide Reaction

An adopted or foster child will never be accepted as a "real" member of a family.

This statement is absolutely not true.  People who are adopted or are a foster children are accepted into families just as if they are with there birth parents.  I have multiple friends who were adopted.  There is absolutely nothing beside there looks that would make you believe that these children weren't born with the parents they are with.  They act completely normal, there is nothing strange or different about their relationship.  They are truly "real" members of the family.  Any parent who plans on adopting or taking in a foster children should be prepared to treat the child like any other parent would.  If you can not do this and the child feels awkward in the family you have no business adopting in the first place.  If the adopting parents treats the child like an outcast, he will always feel like he is not a true member of the family.  An adopted child should IS a "real" member of a family!   

My Comments to Others

Jesse

I found this blog post very interesting. It is amazing how most people, including you, can not trace back your roots. Like you said, the reason you can only go back a certain amount of generations is because of name changes. It is shocking that so many people were forced to change there name when they came into the country. So when Malcolm is making this quote, you truly would not notice your native language if you heard. This is because some people do not even know where they are a native of.

Eric

Yea, I definitely agree with what you are saying. It seems at this point that any member of the Nation of Islam would do anything form there leader, Elijah Muhammad. This is a scary thing to think about. I feel as if Elijah Muhammad told someone to kill themselves because it was holy, they would do it. This is to much power for one man to have. It seems he has the power of life and death.

Caylin

I definitely do agree with your thoughts about the autobiography. Malcolm sunk to the very bottom before being "revived" in prison. He was burglarizing houses in order to pay for more drugs! There is nothing much worse than that. Once he went into prison he became a better overall person, just as you may feel when you go to Church. I see how you still can connect with him, even though your lives are completely contradicting.

Yuma

I felt very similar to you while beginning to read the autobiography. Also, just like you, I did not have very much experience with Malcolm X before starting to read the book. I did not understand how anyone could view Malcolm as a role model or hero, like I had heard he was. All I saw was that Malcolm was a drug addict, drug dealer, and a hustler on the streets. No one should look up to someone like this. Then, once he was put in jail for robbery his life changed. He started to believe in religion and you saw the hero in Malcolm that he is made out to be by many.

Malcolm X (5)

Throughout the entire Autobiography we hear people with black skin called many different things.  A few examples of these names are afro-american, negro, nigger, and simply blacks.  Where do all these names come from?  Obviously, calling someone a black is self explanatory because of there skin color, but where did afro-american, negro, and nigger originate.  I found these answers in this article http://www.answers.com/topic/afro-american.  Blacks are sometimes called afro-americans because of there African descent.  The "afro" is just short for African.  Negro is a term that derived from the Portuguese.  It was a word that slave traders called there slaves.  The term nigger derived from the term negro.  It is just another way that people pronounced it.  This is the term that people use most in hatred.  This is how the the different terms that represent someone with black skin came to be. 

When hearing the blacks being called these names it made me think of the many names that people will refer to Asians by in this day and age.  I will hear them being called names such as orientals or chinks.  Chink is a term that is used mostly in a derogatory way.  It is a shame that people will call someone just by using a term such as oriental or negro.  Why can't we just call them by there one true name, and ignore race?  

Malcolm X (4)

While Malcolm makes his journey to Mecca, he is stopped before he can enter the city.  The guards think he may be a fraud, and not a try Muslim, because he is an American.  When Malcolm is waiting to be released from holding by the government someone tries to show him the proper way to pray.  Malcolm could not get down as low as the man teaching him and he said in order to pray correctly that he would have sore ankles.  Why is this?  In this article, it shows you a picture representation of how a Muslim would pray-http://muslim-canada.org/salaat.html .  This picture, shows you why praying would be so difficult for a tall man like Malcolm is.  He must bend completely over while leaving his knees and feet on the floor and press his face against the ground.  This would take some flexibility and practice in order to do.  I understand why this would be very awkward for Malcolm.

When Malcolm puts himself in pain for his religion it reminds of some Jewish customs.  Mainly, the holiday Yom Kippor.  During this Jewish holiday you are suppose to fast for 1 full day.  This can be painful for a lot of people.  Not eating or drinking for an entire day is tough.  One year my mom became very sick and had migraines because she had to fast.  In the end, she kept the fasting because she knew it was important to her religion.  I can connect with the pain that Malcolm feels while trying to pray correctly.

Malcolm X (3)

I believe that the teachings of Elijah Muhammad are somewhat hypocritical.  Malcolm and Elijah Muhammed always refer to the black Christians as "brainwashed."  In a sense they are both brainwashing the people who decide to join the muslim religion.  We hear them preaching over and over again how the white man is the devil and that every white man was a slave owner and a horrible person.  This is certainty not true.  There were some people and families that were like this but for sure there were some families that did not have slaves.  

In fact it seems,that there were even whites that were enslaved with the balcks and were forced to do the same type of labor. (http://elliotlakenews.wordpress.com/2007/01/14/yes-virginia-white-slavery-existed/)  This article is saying how white ONE-HALF of slaves in America were white.  This is something that most people can not grasp, including Malcolm himself.  The whole reason he is preaching is to tell muslims about how their black ancestors were slaves and were beaten and raped by the whites.  This article tells us otherwise.  It also states that there were free blacks walking the streets just like any other person.  Although I am not sure how credible this article is,(the author is a conspiracy theorist- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_A._Hoffman_IIit is fascinating to think about the possibility of white slaves and black land owners.  The reason this would be so fascinating is because it something that the general public would generally think is not true.  People always believed pre-Martin Luther King Junior that the blacks were the weaker race.  In fact, there could have been just as many white slaves as black slaves, making the two races equal, just as we should be.  After muslims hear these two powerful men talk (Elijah Muhammad and Malcolm X) they get "brainwashed" into thinking that it was only black slaves and nasty and controlling white slave owners.  This is the exact type of "brainwashing" that the Christian race is doing, the thing that Malcolm hates.  This is very hypocritical of him.  

Malcolm X (2)

I found it very interesting how much effort Malcolm put in in order to recruit new people to Islam.  Malcolm said "Recruit as I would in the Detroit ghetto bars, in the poolrooms, and on the corner..."(Haley 203).  Malcolm tried everything he could and used all of his old skills to help people make the choice to convert to his new religion.  Malcolm was out being a missionary for his religion.  This article I have read informs you more about what Islamic missionaries do.  The original missionary was Muhammad, a Muslim prophet.  Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missionaries .  What a missionary does is not that far off from what a telemarketer does.  When you receive the phone call from them they are always trying to convince to switch to their service, or buy their product.  The only difference between the two is that a telemarketer does not deal with religion.  Malcolm was giving everything he had to try to bring new people to Islam.  He felt this religion was morally correct for all blacks.        

Malcolm X (1)

I was glad to see in these chapters how dramatically Malcolm changed his life around.  He started to believe in a religion that he liked, he began to read, and he came into contact with his family again.  Also, he gave up smoking which will help to improve his overall health.  The jail sentence that Malcolm received did not hurt him.  In a sense, it revived his life, and made it meaningful again.  Now that Malcolm feels he is part of a religion, it makes him strive for success.  He is not just out hustling on the street or taking drugs every day.  Malcolm is becoming a much better human being.  Although not as serious as Malcolm I can relate his experiences to a bad test grade.  Once you have a bad test, you get down in the dumps and sometimes let the bad grade control your life, just as Malcolm let drugs control his.  Once someone, such as a parent, gives you encouragement, as Islam gave Malcolm, you can finally put the bad grade behind you.  Malcolm was able to put his old life behind him and focus on something he felt important.  Even though Malcolm was able to change in life in prison, does this happen to anyone else, or do people become more bitter after prison?        

While searching the web, I found an article that has a very similar story to Malcolm's. http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/147287/can_prison_change_your_life_for_the.html?cat=47  

This is about a drug addict who turns himself in after an attempted robbery.  Although this part is not similar the rest of the story is.  While this man was in jail he was able to stop his addiction to crack, just as Malcolm stopped his addiction.  Also, this man motivated himself to learn, and earned a G.E.D, which is a test that certifies that you have a high school education.  When this man was let out of prison, he was set on the right path to having a better and drug free life.  So, other people do motivate themselves and become better people while in jail.  It seems it is a place for redemption and not a place for misery. 

Ethnic notation thoughts

I found it very interesting that white men played black men in movies.  They would dye there skin black with coal and act like a black man would have.  What surprised me though was that when they had black's act they had to dye there skin too.  The movie producers wanted them to look as dark as possible and act like a stereotypical African American.  They would even paint big lips on these black actors because that was how they were portrayed in many popular comics or books.  When a African American acted on a show they would not let him act normal they would make them portray the the typical black stereotype.

Malcolm X (reaction)

It was a tough time for the Little family when there mother was put into a mental hospital.  It completely broke them up.  All the children were spread out living with various different foster families.  It must be tough growing up without your parents around.  Malcolm feels that the welfare workers did this to his mother and split up his family.  They were always around constantly asking questions and bothering his family.  They thought Malcolm's mother was crazy when she rejected meat because of her religious beliefs.  This was why she was put into the hospital.  As Malcolm grew up he visited his mother periodically.  He said "But she didn't recognize me at all.  She stared at me.  She didn't know who I was" (Haley 22).  This is something that is really tough to deal with.  Malcolm was very strong not to let this bother him.  His MOTHER did not know who he was.      

Malcolm X (interesting quote)

"Whenever our team walked into another school's gym for the dance, with me among them, I could feel the freeze" (Haley 31).

This quote was shocking to me.  The others schools were so unaccustomed to African Americans, that a whole room would freeze when he walked in.  They were in disbelief that an African American was in there school.  In todays day in age we don't even think twice when a African American walks into the room. We even have an African American president.  Things have changed a lot since Malcolm was a kid.  America has come a long way when it comes to integration and equal rights.