Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Malcom X
In the memoir titled hair by Malcom X Malcom tells the story of his first time conking his hair with his friend "Shorty". Although in the beginning of the story he seems extremely pleased by the results of the conking, in the conclusion of the story he contradicts what he originally wrote and states that this was his first step towards "self degeneration" and that instead of accepting the beautiful body that god bestowed upon him he was foolish enough to reject it and sear his hair into looking in a more "white" manor. Although this manner of writing can be confusing as it contradicts what he originally felt the true purpose of the writing can be manifested by looking at the type of writing it is. The story is a memoir, and in a memoir people write down memories in their lives that have sentimental value to them and ultimately define them as a person, such as someones first A+, or maybe the first time riding a bike. To Malcom X, this memory was the first time he conked his hair, and it showed him how foolish he was for rejecting who he was. Again why someone would see something as straight hair a sign of self degeneration is absurd, but after looking at Malcom X's life his personality and motives become more clear. All throughout his life it seems he was oppressed by white supremacists, and at one point in time the message of the supremacists got to him and he tried to become as "white" as possible. It wasn't until later in life however that he was able to accept who he was and become the person he is known for being. Therefore, his purpose in this story is to convey how he originally tried to conform to white standards but now realizes that this period of him was foolish as he was rejecting himself and his culture.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteChris:
ReplyDeleteYour reflection was interesting to read and very well written. I liked what you said about Malcolm X trying to convey that he was "originally trying to conform to white standards" and has now changed his mind, instead accepting his African American background. I agree with you in that knowing Malcolm X's background makes a really big difference in understanding his memoir and how his opinion changed so drastically. However, one thing to watch out for is wrong vocabulary usage. For instance, X talks about "self degradation," not degeneration. Also, sometimes a shorter word will work better than a longer and more complicated one. Overall though, well done Christopher!
Your reflection was interesting to read not only because of the flowery language used in it, but also how you analyzed Malcolm X's memoir. I liked how you mentioned that at first you yourself thought that Malcolm X was crazy to think that conking one's hair was mutilating his God-made body, but later on, understood his intentions in the past and his reflection of himself in the present.
ReplyDeleteI like your reflection of the memoir "Hair" because you reach into the aspect that Malcolm in the beginning wanted something but later he learned that it is not what he wanted and that his moment of realization was very important for him to shape the person he really is. I like how you ended your reflection by saying "but now realizes that this period of him was foolish as he was rejecting himself and his culture." because he did self degrade just to fit into the white standards and that he unconsciously was willing to change his culture and who he was to fit into being more "white".
ReplyDelete