41. pg. 288, "Stated another way, we Muslims regarded ourselves moral, mental and spiritual examples for other black americans, because we followed the personal example of Mr. Muhammad."
They think of themselves as examples the blacks in america should follow. They know the right and wrong, and what to do in regards to the racism problem. All because they followed Muhammad. They feel as if they can lead the way into a more positive and equal America.
42. pg. 291 "All Muslims are made number two-after Mr. Muhammad.
People think of Malcolm as number two after Muhammad, because he second hand spreads Muhammad's beliefs. What Malcolm said is that everyone is number two, because there is only one leader, and that is Muhammad. Malcolm doesn't want to seem like he is trying to take over Muhammad's power.
43. pg. 305 "The thing worse to me than death was betrayal."
Once again Malcolm doesn't want to betray Muhammad. Malcolm put his faith and trust into him, to use his preachings to preach to the other people of America. If Muhammad was to go to jail and have to be executed, Malcolm said that he would rather take his spot.
44. pg. 313 "The black men in North America was economically sick and that was evident in one simple fact: as a consumer, he got less than his share, and as a producer he gave least."
The black men got less for his money than the white man. As a producer he wasn't able to produce as much as the white men. This goes again with equal rights. What you get for your money should be the same no matter what your race.
45. pg. 323 "Packed in the plane were white, black, brown, red, and yellow people, blue eyes, and blond hair...All honoring the same God Allah all in turn giving equal honor to each other.
On this plane it didn't matter what color they were, they were all headed to the same place, to preach to the same god.
46. pg. 37 "I was smarter than nearly all those white kids. But apparently I was still not intelligent enough, in their eyes, to become whatever I wanted to be."
Malcolm wanted to become a lawyer, most of the white kids in his class wanted to either be farmers or teachers. They didn't believe Malcolm was smart enough to be what he wanted. They told him he should be a carpenter. The reason they didn't think he could be a lawyer wasn't because he wasn't smart enough, it was because he was black. Most black people didn't have high class jobs like that.
47. Boxing
Boxing is the only time the whites and blacks are treated as equals. Black people can go there and express their true feelings towards the whites. If they just went and punched a white person in public, they would probably be sent to jail. While boxing they can beat them as bad as they want, and not get in trouble.
48. The theme of Racism
There is no doubt that this book is about racism. Malcolm lives his life day to day, trying to overcome the hatred by the whites. He contrasts the difference between America and Islam and their views on equality.
49. Symbol- Watch, Eyeglasses, Suitcases
After leaving jail, Malcolm bought a watch, eyeglasses, and a suitcase. This shows his strive to become a business man. He isn't going to go back to his gambling, smoking, selling dope ways. He wants to mature and become a respectable black man.
50. pg. 343 "The Muslim from America."
As Malcolm was on his way to Mecca, and in Mecca nobody would believe he was a Muslim from America. This is because being from America it is so much different than Islam. Islam is pro equality. Everyone is equal no matter what your color. While in America it is strictly Black and White.
51. pg. 363 "The White man can't separate himself from the stigma that he automatically feels about anyone, no matter who, who is not his color."
It is in their blood to hate and discriminate against anyone not their color. It comes from years and years of racism and slavery against the blacks. You believe what your parents believe, and so on. So if they were against the blacks, you too, were probably going to be against them.
52. pg. 379 "It is only after slavery and prison that the sweetest appreciation of freedom can come."
Malcolms whole life he never felt "free." No black person, even though slavery was abolished felt free. They still could not do everything a white man could. Then after being jail, Malcolm realized what freedom actually was. He could do a great amount of things less than he could in jail than when he was out of jail.
53. pg. 381 "I do not expect to live long enough to read this book in its finished form-I want you to watch and see if I'm not right in what I say: that the white man, in his press, is going to identify me with "hate.""
Part of this is a foreshadow. When he dies the white men aren't going to think of him as a hero or someone great. They are going to think of him as a man that went against them.
54. pg. 2 ", that freedom, independence and self-respect could never be achieved by the Negro in America."
Malcolms Father didn't believe that freedom was going to happen from a black person. No African American could ever change the minds of the whites, to make all people equal. What is ironic is that Malcolm's father said this, then Malcolm went on to "prove him wrong."
55. pg. 154 "What fascinated me with him most of all was that he was the first man I had ever seen command total respect-with his words."
Most black people would never use words to get respect. They would use violence. So seeing this for the first time was a shock.
Done!!! yay!!!!!!!!!! :) :) :)
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Malcolm X Dialect Journals 31-40
31. pg. 152 "I am not saying there shouldn't be prisons, but there shouldn't be bars. Behind bars, a man never reforms. He will never forget. He never will get completely over the memory of the bars."
I don't know if I necessarily agree with this statement. What Malcolm X is trying to get at is that when you are punished for your crime, being behind bars won't let you grow, and understand the wrong you did. You will just remember that bad part of being behind bars and develop a hate for the system. What I think is that the bars make you feel terrible and not want to go back to a place like that. You may not necessarily understand your wrong, but you will not want to go back.
32. pg. 153 "And my favorite targets were the bible and God. But there was a legal limit to how much time one could be kept in solitary. Eventually, the men in the cellblock had a name for me: "Satan." Because of my anti religious attitude."
This goes back to Malcolm's hate for the "White Christian God." While in solitary confinement he was angry and needed something to yell about. Leaving to get away from that god, some people would say he is following satan. The name of this chapter is called, "Satan," and it explains what went on during his time in prison. And how he acted, like Satan.
33. pg. 164 "I was going through the hardest thing, also the greatest thing, for any human being to do; to accept that which is already within you, and around you."
The African Americans didn't have a choice on whether or not they wanted to come to America. I believe the hardest was to accept that they were going to be treated bad, and there wasn't anything they could do about it. But in the other hand, Malcolm knew he had it in him to spread the message of racial issues. He knew he had a purpose in life to spread what he believed in.
34. "I’ve had enough of someone else’s propaganda.…I’m for truth, no matter who tells it. I’m for justice, no matter who it is for or against. I’m a human being first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole."
Malcolm wanted to create his own propaganda. He wanted to spread his truth, and his beliefs. He belived that there should be equal rights no matter what your color. He didn't care who stopped him, or didn't agree with him. He wanted to make America a better place for everyone.
35. Ch. 12"Savior"
In ch. 12 Malcolm is united with Muhammad. Muhammad is the one that Malcolm looks up to, and starts to understand the Islam culture. He is the one that changes Malcolm while in jail.
36. pg. 174 "The teachings of Mr. Muhammad stressed how history had been, "whitened..."
In the history books that Muhammad read, all of the history was about the white men. The African americans history was summarized in one paragraph. The history of the blacks, was completely, gone even though they were a big part in it.
37. pg. 175 "The world's most notorious crime, the sin and the blood on the white man's hands, are almost impossible to believe."
When Malcolm read about slavery he was in total shock, like most people. The reason Malcolm became a minister, to express his feelings about slavery was because of reading these books. It is the world's worst crime, that then the white would just try and pass it by. Just like in the history books, they don't want to be reminded of it, because they know it was a terrible times.
38. pg. 197 "The devil would claim that hedgeded in prisoion...but the devil woud say that now Out of prison I would retune to my drinking, smoking, dope, and life of crime."
In jail he did not have access to the alcohol and dope. He couldn't make the choice to be good, he just didn't have access to it. When he gets out of jail he has the choice to make a right or wrong decisions.
39. The use of the name, "Nigger"
In Malcolm's life while in school, everyone would call him "nigger" and not think anything about it. They wouldn't think of it as a derogatory word. It was first used as what they would call slaves, and now it is just a common name for them. But the white people don't understand that it is a hurtful word, and I don't think they would care.
40. pg. 205 "One day, I remember, a dirty glass of water was on a counter and Mr. Muhammad put a clean glass of water beside it, "You want to know how to spread my teachings?" he said, and he pointed to the glass of water, Don't condemn if you see a person has a dirty glass of water, just show them the clean glass of water that you have . When they inspect it, you won't have to say that yours is better."
Instead of trying to preach to every single person and force them to believe what you are telling them. Just simply show them your side, without trying to pressure them into your religion. They will see that the clean glass is much better than the dirty glass, and they will change on their own.
I don't know if I necessarily agree with this statement. What Malcolm X is trying to get at is that when you are punished for your crime, being behind bars won't let you grow, and understand the wrong you did. You will just remember that bad part of being behind bars and develop a hate for the system. What I think is that the bars make you feel terrible and not want to go back to a place like that. You may not necessarily understand your wrong, but you will not want to go back.
32. pg. 153 "And my favorite targets were the bible and God. But there was a legal limit to how much time one could be kept in solitary. Eventually, the men in the cellblock had a name for me: "Satan." Because of my anti religious attitude."
This goes back to Malcolm's hate for the "White Christian God." While in solitary confinement he was angry and needed something to yell about. Leaving to get away from that god, some people would say he is following satan. The name of this chapter is called, "Satan," and it explains what went on during his time in prison. And how he acted, like Satan.
33. pg. 164 "I was going through the hardest thing, also the greatest thing, for any human being to do; to accept that which is already within you, and around you."
The African Americans didn't have a choice on whether or not they wanted to come to America. I believe the hardest was to accept that they were going to be treated bad, and there wasn't anything they could do about it. But in the other hand, Malcolm knew he had it in him to spread the message of racial issues. He knew he had a purpose in life to spread what he believed in.
34. "I’ve had enough of someone else’s propaganda.…I’m for truth, no matter who tells it. I’m for justice, no matter who it is for or against. I’m a human being first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole."
Malcolm wanted to create his own propaganda. He wanted to spread his truth, and his beliefs. He belived that there should be equal rights no matter what your color. He didn't care who stopped him, or didn't agree with him. He wanted to make America a better place for everyone.
35. Ch. 12"Savior"
In ch. 12 Malcolm is united with Muhammad. Muhammad is the one that Malcolm looks up to, and starts to understand the Islam culture. He is the one that changes Malcolm while in jail.
36. pg. 174 "The teachings of Mr. Muhammad stressed how history had been, "whitened..."
In the history books that Muhammad read, all of the history was about the white men. The African americans history was summarized in one paragraph. The history of the blacks, was completely, gone even though they were a big part in it.
37. pg. 175 "The world's most notorious crime, the sin and the blood on the white man's hands, are almost impossible to believe."
When Malcolm read about slavery he was in total shock, like most people. The reason Malcolm became a minister, to express his feelings about slavery was because of reading these books. It is the world's worst crime, that then the white would just try and pass it by. Just like in the history books, they don't want to be reminded of it, because they know it was a terrible times.
38. pg. 197 "The devil would claim that hedgeded in prisoion...but the devil woud say that now Out of prison I would retune to my drinking, smoking, dope, and life of crime."
In jail he did not have access to the alcohol and dope. He couldn't make the choice to be good, he just didn't have access to it. When he gets out of jail he has the choice to make a right or wrong decisions.
39. The use of the name, "Nigger"
In Malcolm's life while in school, everyone would call him "nigger" and not think anything about it. They wouldn't think of it as a derogatory word. It was first used as what they would call slaves, and now it is just a common name for them. But the white people don't understand that it is a hurtful word, and I don't think they would care.
40. pg. 205 "One day, I remember, a dirty glass of water was on a counter and Mr. Muhammad put a clean glass of water beside it, "You want to know how to spread my teachings?" he said, and he pointed to the glass of water, Don't condemn if you see a person has a dirty glass of water, just show them the clean glass of water that you have . When they inspect it, you won't have to say that yours is better."
Instead of trying to preach to every single person and force them to believe what you are telling them. Just simply show them your side, without trying to pressure them into your religion. They will see that the clean glass is much better than the dirty glass, and they will change on their own.
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Malcolm X Dialect Journals 11-30
11. pg. 20 "Anytime you find someone more
successful than you are, especially when you're both engaged in the same business-- you know they're doing something that you aren't."
To be the best, you have to do everything you can. You have to stand up, and make a change, for there to be a change. You have to find the strategy that works best for you, and helps you succeed. There were many people trying to fix racism, but Malcolm rose above them all and made a difference.
12. Pg. 22 "Hence I have no mercy or compassion in me for a society that will crush people, and then penalize them for not being able to stand up under the weight."
13. pg. 39 "I looked like Li'l Abner."
The allusion to Li'l Abner is from a comic strip that appered in many newspapers. He thought he looked like Abner because both of there pants showed a lot of sock, and a hick hair cut.
14. pg. 43 "I had never tasted a sip of liquor, never smoked a cigarette, and here I saw little black children...shooting craps, playing cards, fighting..."
It is ironic how he went from not doing anything bad, to being a hustler, a drug dealer, also a thief. He thought it was strange seeing young 12 and 11 year olds doing things that even him as a adult wasn't yet doing. Going from one town to the next, going through different societies and how balck people act and are treated.
15. Pg 43 ""Stud" and "cat" and "chick" and "cool" and "hip.""
Those were all considered slang words. They were usually said by uneducated persons. Then black people didn't really get a good education, and so those "slang" words were usually said by them. It was a sign of being hip.
16. pg. 48 "Some hustles you're too new for. Cats will ask you for liquor, some will want reefers. But you don't need to have nothing except rubbers-until you can dig who's a cop."
As Malcolm develops into becoming a real hustler he has to learn the ropes. They are not going to just give him some liquor and tell him to go, they want to make sure he knows who is a cop or not. So it is safe if he just sticks with selling legal rubbers until he has learned all that there is to leanr.
17. pg. 52 "Shorty soon decided that my hair was finally long enough to be conked."
Conking your hair is a social status. It shows you are a high class man or in with the "hip crowd." All of the pain and burning that goes into conking is worth it in the end for them. It makes there hair looked slicked back and look more like the whites.
18. pg. 54 "How ridiculous I was! Stupid enough to stand there simply lost in admiration of my hair now looking like "white,""
Malcolm is finally realizing, that being able to look like a white isn't worth it. Why would he want to force himself to look like the people that have tortured them there whole lives, and is still discriminating the minorities. He felt stupid to fall for the trap.
19. pg. 57 "Having spent so much time in Mason's white environment, I had always believed and feared that dancing involved a certain order or pattern of specific steps as dancing is done by whites..."
Always watching the whites dance he always thought that it had to be in a pattern and with a partner. When he started going to the clubs, he noticed how all the blacks just flowed freely with the music. They were able to express themselves, in what ever way they wanted.
20. pg. 15 "Whites have always hidden or justified all of the guilts they could by ridiculing or blaming Negroes.
All the stories you hear are of the Black kids getting in trouble. The whites would blame the black kids for the mischievous things they did. And people would believe them because it was a stereo type that the black people got. They would cause trouble and the white people were angels.
21. "The ability to read awoke inside of me some long dormant craving to be mentally alive."
While in jail he read tons of books including the dictionary. Being stuck in jail he had to do something with his time. This is where his love for reading and then writing came. He then was able to write his persuasive speeches about making a difference to change racism. Doing what he loved finally came out
22. pg. 67 "I paraded her. The negro men loved her...she said she had dates with white fellows just for the looks of things..."
Again, this shows how much the Black men used the white women for looks. Sophia stated that she didn't like white men, just used them to look good. White women used the black men, because once they were in public they would pretend they don't know who the men are. Even thought the black men wanted to use them as a social status, where the women just use them as a tool.
23. pg. 68 "The next time I saw her, she was a wreck of a woman...I blame myself for all of this..."
After ditching Laura, a sweet, young, black, girl, for sophia, a crazy white woman. This, once again, goes back to Black men wanting the white woman as a high social rank. I think the black men, after everyone thinking of them lower, having a white person think of them as a prize, boosts their confidence. Laura then, who had never had a drink, turned into a prostitute, then was a lesbian, because of all the hate she has got from men.
24. pg. 73 "Every negro I'd ever known had made a point of flashing whatever money he had. But these Harlem Negros quietly laid there bill on the bar."
If a black man had money, they want to flaunt it. Back then it wasn't a common thing for them to have a lot of money where Malcolm was first from. When he got to Harlem, they were all "high class." Everyone knew who they were, they didn't have to flaunt what they had. It is almost the same now. A lot of people flaunt they money they have to make them seem like they are better than everyone else.
25. pg. 163 "The ‘Negro’ was taught to worship an alien God having the same blond hair, pale skin and blue eyes as the slave master. "
Part of what Malcolm was trying to get away from was not having to be forced to be under the white christian god. In the book, Conversations With God, it states that you believe what your parents believe and so on. When the African Americans were brought over, they were forced to change their belief just because the white man told you too.
26. pg. 81 "Today, All these same immigrants descendants are running as hard as they can to escape the descendants of the negroes who helped to unload the immigrant ships."
This is stating that now, the white men are scared of the black men. Since their fathers were the ones that brought the african americans over to America. They are realizing the wrong they did but do not want to admit it.
27. pg. 83 "My ears soaked it up like sponges...I was thus schooled well, by experts in such hustles as the numbers, pimping, con games of many kinds, peddling dope, and thievery of all sorts, including armed robbery."
To be the best, you have to do everything you can. You have to stand up, and make a change, for there to be a change. You have to find the strategy that works best for you, and helps you succeed. There were many people trying to fix racism, but Malcolm rose above them all and made a difference.
12. Pg. 22 "Hence I have no mercy or compassion in me for a society that will crush people, and then penalize them for not being able to stand up under the weight."
Malcolm felt as if that they took his mother for no reason, that she was just a statistic. He thinks that society put her in pain, and then forced her to be in a home.
The allusion to Li'l Abner is from a comic strip that appered in many newspapers. He thought he looked like Abner because both of there pants showed a lot of sock, and a hick hair cut.
14. pg. 43 "I had never tasted a sip of liquor, never smoked a cigarette, and here I saw little black children...shooting craps, playing cards, fighting..."
It is ironic how he went from not doing anything bad, to being a hustler, a drug dealer, also a thief. He thought it was strange seeing young 12 and 11 year olds doing things that even him as a adult wasn't yet doing. Going from one town to the next, going through different societies and how balck people act and are treated.
15. Pg 43 ""Stud" and "cat" and "chick" and "cool" and "hip.""
Those were all considered slang words. They were usually said by uneducated persons. Then black people didn't really get a good education, and so those "slang" words were usually said by them. It was a sign of being hip.
16. pg. 48 "Some hustles you're too new for. Cats will ask you for liquor, some will want reefers. But you don't need to have nothing except rubbers-until you can dig who's a cop."
As Malcolm develops into becoming a real hustler he has to learn the ropes. They are not going to just give him some liquor and tell him to go, they want to make sure he knows who is a cop or not. So it is safe if he just sticks with selling legal rubbers until he has learned all that there is to leanr.
17. pg. 52 "Shorty soon decided that my hair was finally long enough to be conked."
Conking your hair is a social status. It shows you are a high class man or in with the "hip crowd." All of the pain and burning that goes into conking is worth it in the end for them. It makes there hair looked slicked back and look more like the whites.
18. pg. 54 "How ridiculous I was! Stupid enough to stand there simply lost in admiration of my hair now looking like "white,""
Malcolm is finally realizing, that being able to look like a white isn't worth it. Why would he want to force himself to look like the people that have tortured them there whole lives, and is still discriminating the minorities. He felt stupid to fall for the trap.
19. pg. 57 "Having spent so much time in Mason's white environment, I had always believed and feared that dancing involved a certain order or pattern of specific steps as dancing is done by whites..."
Always watching the whites dance he always thought that it had to be in a pattern and with a partner. When he started going to the clubs, he noticed how all the blacks just flowed freely with the music. They were able to express themselves, in what ever way they wanted.
20. pg. 15 "Whites have always hidden or justified all of the guilts they could by ridiculing or blaming Negroes.
All the stories you hear are of the Black kids getting in trouble. The whites would blame the black kids for the mischievous things they did. And people would believe them because it was a stereo type that the black people got. They would cause trouble and the white people were angels.
21. "The ability to read awoke inside of me some long dormant craving to be mentally alive."
While in jail he read tons of books including the dictionary. Being stuck in jail he had to do something with his time. This is where his love for reading and then writing came. He then was able to write his persuasive speeches about making a difference to change racism. Doing what he loved finally came out
22. pg. 67 "I paraded her. The negro men loved her...she said she had dates with white fellows just for the looks of things..."
Again, this shows how much the Black men used the white women for looks. Sophia stated that she didn't like white men, just used them to look good. White women used the black men, because once they were in public they would pretend they don't know who the men are. Even thought the black men wanted to use them as a social status, where the women just use them as a tool.
23. pg. 68 "The next time I saw her, she was a wreck of a woman...I blame myself for all of this..."
After ditching Laura, a sweet, young, black, girl, for sophia, a crazy white woman. This, once again, goes back to Black men wanting the white woman as a high social rank. I think the black men, after everyone thinking of them lower, having a white person think of them as a prize, boosts their confidence. Laura then, who had never had a drink, turned into a prostitute, then was a lesbian, because of all the hate she has got from men.
24. pg. 73 "Every negro I'd ever known had made a point of flashing whatever money he had. But these Harlem Negros quietly laid there bill on the bar."
If a black man had money, they want to flaunt it. Back then it wasn't a common thing for them to have a lot of money where Malcolm was first from. When he got to Harlem, they were all "high class." Everyone knew who they were, they didn't have to flaunt what they had. It is almost the same now. A lot of people flaunt they money they have to make them seem like they are better than everyone else.
25. pg. 163 "The ‘Negro’ was taught to worship an alien God having the same blond hair, pale skin and blue eyes as the slave master. "
Part of what Malcolm was trying to get away from was not having to be forced to be under the white christian god. In the book, Conversations With God, it states that you believe what your parents believe and so on. When the African Americans were brought over, they were forced to change their belief just because the white man told you too.
26. pg. 81 "Today, All these same immigrants descendants are running as hard as they can to escape the descendants of the negroes who helped to unload the immigrant ships."
This is stating that now, the white men are scared of the black men. Since their fathers were the ones that brought the african americans over to America. They are realizing the wrong they did but do not want to admit it.
27. pg. 83 "My ears soaked it up like sponges...I was thus schooled well, by experts in such hustles as the numbers, pimping, con games of many kinds, peddling dope, and thievery of all sorts, including armed robbery."
After hearing all the stories, and tricks from the old guys, it all kind of went down hill. Everything he learned in school was gone, and all of these things were stuck in his head. This is where the "hustling" Malcolm comes in. I think if he wouldn't have heard these stories, he wouldn't have been as interested in the hustling world.
28. “It is only after slavery and
prison that the sweetest appreciation of freedom can come. ”
After Malcolm was in prison, and saw everybody trapped in there no matter the race, or what they did. They have no freedom. Even though Malcolm is suffering through racisim, at least he is free. He can do almost anything he wants, unlike being stuck in jail.
29. Pg. 340 "America needs to
understand Islam, because this is the one religion that erases from its society
the race problem."
Racism will always be a problem in a lot of countries. But it was especially tough in ours. Malcolm wants America to be more like Islam, where you can be any race and there wont be any discrimination. Even though he was criticized for it, he still wanted his dreams to come true.
30. ch. 6 "In one sense, we
were huddled in there, bonded together in seeking security and warmth and
comfort from each other, and we didn’t know it. All of us—who might have probed
space, or cured cancer, or built industries—were, instead, black victims of the
white man’s American social system."
They were all in the harlem night club as a family. They were all victims of racism. They felt like in there they were able to hid away from all the negativity and be able to be whom they want. It has become a home for them.
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