CHAPTER 3 - Page 49
"The main thing you got to remember is that everything in the world is a hustle."
Malcolm taking Freddie's job as the shoeshine boy takes an interesting turn as he is taught the intr
icacies of the business and how to make a steal of his own while on the job. Laundering out towels and selling them to men coming out of the bathroom for a nickel for example. The menial job of shoeshine boy has been uplifted to new heights with the knowledge Malcolm imparts from Freddie.
The fact that this is done shows the culture of the big dance halls and what the people were getting in to.
Tuesday, 20 November 2012
Malcolm X - Dialectical Journal No. EIGHT!
CHAPTER 3 - Page 41
"I roamed everywhere. In one direction, I walked as far as Boston University. Another day, I took my first subway ride. When most of the people got off, I followed. It was Cambridge, and I circled all around in the Harvard University campus. Somewhere, I had already heard of Harvard--though I didn't know much more about it. Nobody that day could have told me I would give an address before the Harvard Law School Forum some twenty years later."
I feel that throughout the dialectical journals and the reading, I'm picking up the off-putting, tyrannical vice racism had on the blacks of this time. The connections I'm making with the subject matter are typically Malcolm's journey overcoming the adversity of society and becoming an outspoken man -- a voice of passion for a just cause. This passage, particularly in the last couple of lines are exactly the thing I'm looking for.
No one could tell him that twenty years down the line, that he would be giving a speech in front of the Harvard Law School Forum. In the current, he has just entered high school, and is living in Boston with Ella after just having a falling out with the previous school. He couldn't quite put his finger on what happened, but he was left unmotivated, with little ambition stating that engaging in class was a laborious chore. To contrast this with the future, where he is delivering an address in front of a large crowd, he is empowering a nation of people to act for what they deserve --- an end to the oppression that has plagued since birth. It is easy to see why this book has inspired as many people as it did (and may continue to do??).
"I roamed everywhere. In one direction, I walked as far as Boston University. Another day, I took my first subway ride. When most of the people got off, I followed. It was Cambridge, and I circled all around in the Harvard University campus. Somewhere, I had already heard of Harvard--though I didn't know much more about it. Nobody that day could have told me I would give an address before the Harvard Law School Forum some twenty years later."
I feel that throughout the dialectical journals and the reading, I'm picking up the off-putting, tyrannical vice racism had on the blacks of this time. The connections I'm making with the subject matter are typically Malcolm's journey overcoming the adversity of society and becoming an outspoken man -- a voice of passion for a just cause. This passage, particularly in the last couple of lines are exactly the thing I'm looking for.
No one could tell him that twenty years down the line, that he would be giving a speech in front of the Harvard Law School Forum. In the current, he has just entered high school, and is living in Boston with Ella after just having a falling out with the previous school. He couldn't quite put his finger on what happened, but he was left unmotivated, with little ambition stating that engaging in class was a laborious chore. To contrast this with the future, where he is delivering an address in front of a large crowd, he is empowering a nation of people to act for what they deserve --- an end to the oppression that has plagued since birth. It is easy to see why this book has inspired as many people as it did (and may continue to do??).
Malcolm X - Dialectical Journal No. SEVEN!
CHAPTER 2 ~ Page 36
Mr. Ostrowski's quote:
"Malcolm, one of life's first needs is for us to be realistic. Don't misunderstand me, now. We all here like you, you know that. But you've got to be realistic about being a nigger. A lawyer--that's no realistic goal for a nigger. You need to think about something you can be. You're good with your hands--making things. Everybody admires your carpentry shop work. Why don't you plan on carpentry? People like you as a person--you'd get all kinds of work."
This made me sad. :(
This was what Mr. Ostrowski, a teacher of Malcolm's--one of his favourties, said to him upon hearing of Malcolm's 'plans' on becoming a lawyer. The fact that such an occupation is uncommon for the Negroes is saddening, yet the segregation allows this to happen. As segregated schools were a staple of
the era
Mr. Ostrowski's quote:
"Malcolm, one of life's first needs is for us to be realistic. Don't misunderstand me, now. We all here like you, you know that. But you've got to be realistic about being a nigger. A lawyer--that's no realistic goal for a nigger. You need to think about something you can be. You're good with your hands--making things. Everybody admires your carpentry shop work. Why don't you plan on carpentry? People like you as a person--you'd get all kinds of work."
This made me sad. :(
This was what Mr. Ostrowski, a teacher of Malcolm's--one of his favourties, said to him upon hearing of Malcolm's 'plans' on becoming a lawyer. The fact that such an occupation is uncommon for the Negroes is saddening, yet the segregation allows this to happen. As segregated schools were a staple of
the era
Malcolm X - Dialectical Journal No. SIX!
CHAPTER 2 ~ PAGE 27
"I don't care how nice one is to you; the thing you must always remember is that almost never does he really see you as he sees himself, as he sees his own kind. He may stand with you through thin, but not thick; when the chips are down, you'll find that as fixed in him as his bone structure is his sometimes subconscious conviction that he's better than anybody black."
This little passage tells a lot. The idea of racism as a whole has done much to Malcolm X, enraged to a point where trusting the white people is so impossible. He makes a bold accusation here, saying that no white can be trusted no matter how they may appear. Again, this could be just the error of his youth and his thoughts have yet to come full circle. However, the influence of racism is linked and reciprocated here.
Malcolm says "I don't care how nice one is to you;" referring to white people as 'one' or 'them'. This is the implied racism of the whites to blacks rubbing off, building a mirrored hatred (understandably so) and subtle disregard. The trust issues are more clear given this insight.
"I don't care how nice one is to you; the thing you must always remember is that almost never does he really see you as he sees himself, as he sees his own kind. He may stand with you through thin, but not thick; when the chips are down, you'll find that as fixed in him as his bone structure is his sometimes subconscious conviction that he's better than anybody black."
This little passage tells a lot. The idea of racism as a whole has done much to Malcolm X, enraged to a point where trusting the white people is so impossible. He makes a bold accusation here, saying that no white can be trusted no matter how they may appear. Again, this could be just the error of his youth and his thoughts have yet to come full circle. However, the influence of racism is linked and reciprocated here.
Malcolm says "I don't care how nice one is to you;" referring to white people as 'one' or 'them'. This is the implied racism of the whites to blacks rubbing off, building a mirrored hatred (understandably so) and subtle disregard. The trust issues are more clear given this insight.
Malcolm X - Dialectical Journal No. FIVE!
CHAPTER 2 - PAGE 25
Mr. Maynard Allen
=
Mr. Maynard Allen is the white man that works for the state who takes Malcolm to the reform school upon being ostracized from the previous schools. Allen is one of the few white people, particularly in this early stage of his life, that show kindness/compassion towards Malcolm.
However, this is not what is interesting about this character/person. What caught my attention was the statements he made to Malcolm. I know that there isn't much room for foreshadowing and literary elements in non-fiction, yet when he tells Malcolm that if he were to focus on his grades and apply himself, he could make something of himself. This is exactly what he does much later in life, which tells more about Allen than it does Malcolm.
The stories and accounts depicted thus far haven't shown a positive side for white people, yet this man knows that the blacks are not hopeless, even when in a position of state power (which is not where one would expect to see sympathy during this era) the hatred is missing.
Mr. Maynard Allen
=
Mr. Maynard Allen is the white man that works for the state who takes Malcolm to the reform school upon being ostracized from the previous schools. Allen is one of the few white people, particularly in this early stage of his life, that show kindness/compassion towards Malcolm.
However, this is not what is interesting about this character/person. What caught my attention was the statements he made to Malcolm. I know that there isn't much room for foreshadowing and literary elements in non-fiction, yet when he tells Malcolm that if he were to focus on his grades and apply himself, he could make something of himself. This is exactly what he does much later in life, which tells more about Allen than it does Malcolm.
The stories and accounts depicted thus far haven't shown a positive side for white people, yet this man knows that the blacks are not hopeless, even when in a position of state power (which is not where one would expect to see sympathy during this era) the hatred is missing.
Malcolm X - Dialectical Journal No. FOUR!
CHAPTER 2 ~ Page 25
"I passed behind his desk, snatched up a thumbtack and deposited it in his chair. When he turned to sit back down, I was far from the scene of the crime, circling around the rear of the room. Then he hit the tack, and I heard him holler and caught a glimpse of him spraddling up as I disappeared through the door..."
"With my deportment record, I wasn't really shocked when the decision came that I had been expelled."
The expulsion of Malcolm from the school, doesn't surprise him. I've yet to decide whether or not this is his thought as an adult or what he was thinking at the time of his exile. If the latter is correct, the social theme of racism is all to apparent and forefrontal in Malcolm's mind, as with every other African-American facing the struggles
.
"I passed behind his desk, snatched up a thumbtack and deposited it in his chair. When he turned to sit back down, I was far from the scene of the crime, circling around the rear of the room. Then he hit the tack, and I heard him holler and caught a glimpse of him spraddling up as I disappeared through the door..."
"With my deportment record, I wasn't really shocked when the decision came that I had been expelled."
The expulsion of Malcolm from the school, doesn't surprise him. I've yet to decide whether or not this is his thought as an adult or what he was thinking at the time of his exile. If the latter is correct, the social theme of racism is all to apparent and forefrontal in Malcolm's mind, as with every other African-American facing the struggles
.
Malcolm X - Dialectical Journal No. THREE!
Chapter 2:
The white boy, Bill Peterson, who Malcolm was paired up with as a boxing opponent seems indicative of the society. He has two fights with this boy and loses both of them miserably. Malcolm's pride and reputation are attacked. Malcolm has no choice afterwards other than discontinue the sport.
Connecting this to his future life, it is a very, very minute detail at first glance, yet it is highly likely it played an influence. The trauma of this experience inter-mixed with the various social aspects, horrifying to Malcolm (especially at such an age), must be subconsciously engrained within him. Adding to the collective array of early experiences which Malcolm's verbal power is derived, is why this anecdote is in the autobiography.
The white boy, Bill Peterson, who Malcolm was paired up with as a boxing opponent seems indicative of the society. He has two fights with this boy and loses both of them miserably. Malcolm's pride and reputation are attacked. Malcolm has no choice afterwards other than discontinue the sport.
Connecting this to his future life, it is a very, very minute detail at first glance, yet it is highly likely it played an influence. The trauma of this experience inter-mixed with the various social aspects, horrifying to Malcolm (especially at such an age), must be subconsciously engrained within him. Adding to the collective array of early experiences which Malcolm's verbal power is derived, is why this anecdote is in the autobiography.
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