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The Autobiography of Malcolm X

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Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on Malcolm X's The Autobiography of Malcolm X . Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.

Malcolm X: Introduction

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Historical Context of The Autobiography of Malcolm X

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• Full Title: The Autobiography of Malcolm X
• When Written: 1963-1965
• Where Written: New York
• When Published: 1965
• Literary Period: African-American memoir, 20th century memoir
• Genre: Autobiography, Nonfiction
• Setting: Primarily Lansing, Michigan, Boston, Massachusetts and New York City, with journeys throughout the US, the Middle East, and Africa
• Climax: While Malcolm’s assassination occurs outside of the narration, it looms over the book like a shadow, and can therefore be rightly considered the climax.
• Antagonist: The racial caste system that denies equality and justice to African Americans
• Point of View: First person

Extra Credit for The Autobiography of Malcolm X

Ghostwriter. A ghostwriter is someone who writes a book on behalf of someone else and generally attempts to mimic their voice. Whether or not Alex Haley is a ghostwriter in the context of the Autobiogrpahy of Malcolm X is up for debate. On the one hand, Malcolm had considerable oversight on the text, rendering it more in line with his own style and language. On the other hand, Haley had considerable influence in convincing Malcolm to allow certain thoughts and feelings to be made public. So, perhaps the Autobiography is best understood as a collaboration, rather than as the product of a ghostwriter.

Film adaptation. Malcolm X (1992), starring Denzel Washington and directed by Spike Lee, was largely based on the Autobiography of Malcolm X . Washington was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor, but lost to Al Pacino’s performance in Scent of a Woman (1992) – a choice publicly criticized by Lee.

• The Autobiography of Malcolm X Summary

by Alex Haley

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" The Autobiography of Malcolm X ," written by Alex Haley , is a memoir of the life and experiences of Malcolm X, a civil rights leader and prominent figure in the Nation of Islam. The book covers the early life of Malcolm X, including his troubled childhood, his involvement in crime and drugs, and his eventual conversion to Islam while serving time in prison.

Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little in Omaha, Nebraska in 1925. His father, Earl Little , was a Baptist minister and an active member of the Universal Negro Improvement Association, an organization founded by Marcus Garvey that promoted black pride and self-determination. Earl Little's activism made him a target of white supremacists, and he was eventually murdered when Malcolm was just a child.

After his father's death, Malcolm's family struggled financially and was forced to move around the country, eventually settling in Lansing, Michigan. As a teenager, Malcolm was a good student but struggled with feelings of anger and frustration due to the racism and discrimination he faced. He dropped out of school and moved to Boston, where he became involved in crime and drug use.

In 1946, Malcolm was arrested and sentenced to prison for larceny and breaking and entering. It was while he was in prison that he converted to Islam and changed his last name to X to symbolize the loss of his African heritage. He also became involved in the Nation of Islam, a black Muslim organization founded by Wallace Fard Muhammad.

After his release from prison, Malcolm X became a minister in the Nation of Islam and a powerful and influential speaker, known for his charismatic and confrontational style. He traveled the country promoting the organization's message of black pride and self-determination, and speaking out against racism and white supremacy.

As Malcolm X rose to prominence within the Nation of Islam, he also became a controversial figure, known for his radical and militant views on race relations and civil rights. He called for black people to defend themselves against violence and oppression, and argued that integration was not the solution to racial inequality.

However, as he became more involved in the civil rights movement, Malcolm X began to question the teachings of the Nation of Islam and the leadership of its leader, Elijah Muhammad . He became more mainstream in his views and began advocating for racial equality through peaceful means.

In 1964, Malcolm X left the Nation of Islam and made a pilgrimage to Mecca, where he had a transformative experience that led him to embrace a more universal and inclusive Islam. Upon his return, he founded the Organization of Afro-American Unity to promote civil rights and racial equality.

Tragically, Malcolm X's efforts were cut short when he was assassinated in 1965 while speaking at a rally in New York City. Despite his early death, his legacy as a civil rights leader and champion of black rights lives on, and his autobiography remains a powerful and influential work to this day.

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The Autobiography of Malcolm X Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for The Autobiography of Malcolm X is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

The autobiography of Malcolm X

Malcolm comments on drunk white people sounding pretentious, offering him backhanded complements like, "You’re just as good as I am—I want you to know that.’”

Ella is Malcolm’s older step sister who lives in Boston and who takes care of Malcolm. Ella becomes Malcolm’s female role model. Even though at first Ella so skeptical regarding Malcolm’s new faith, she also become a Muslim and she follows her...

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Study Guide for The Autobiography of Malcolm X

The Autobiography of Malcolm X study guide contains biographies of Malcolm X and Alex Haley, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About The Autobiography of Malcolm X
• Character List

Essays for The Autobiography of Malcolm X

The Autobiography of Malcolm X literature essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of The Autobiography of Malcolm X written by Alex Haley.

• Symbols of Malcolm X's Life
• The Influence of Malcolm X on Ta-Nehisi Coates
• The Autobiography of Malcolm: The Story Behind the Man
• Reading in the "Prison" of Oppression: Frederick Douglass and Malcolm X

Lesson Plan for The Autobiography of Malcolm X

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to The Autobiography of Malcolm X
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Related Links
• The Autobiography of Malcolm X Bibliography

Wikipedia Entries for The Autobiography of Malcolm X

• Introduction
• Construction
• Legacy and influence

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• What role did Malcolm X play in the emergence of the Black Power movement?
• What was Malcolm X’s early life like?
• When did Malcolm X convert to Islam?
• What was Malcolm X’s relationship with the civil rights movement?
• How did Malcolm X die?

The Autobiography of Malcolm X

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The Autobiography of Malcolm X , biography , published in 1965, of the American Black militant religious leader and activist who was born Malcolm Little. Written by Alex Haley , who had conducted extensive audiotaped interviews with Malcolm X just before his assassination in 1965, the book gained renown as a classic work on the Black American experience.

The Autobiography recounts the life of Malcolm X from his traumatic childhood plagued by racism to his years as a drug dealer and pimp, his conversion to the Black Muslim ( Nation of Islam ) faith while in prison for burglary , his subsequent years of militant activism, and the turn late in his life to more orthodox Islam .

The Autobiography of Malcolm X

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Book Summary The Autobiography of Malcolm X , by Malcolm X and Alex Haley

Published in 1965, The Autobiography of Malcolm X chronicles how Malcolm X rose from a life of poverty and crime to become a significant leader of the civil rights movement. Malcolm X was a controversial figure—his views were often considered extreme and changed radically throughout his life. In telling his story (with the help of writer Alex Haley), Malcolm X explains why he believed what he believed—and why he fought for racial justice, even though he knew it would lead to his death.

This guide discusses the impact that early experiences of racism, pro-Black radical traditions, and Islam had on Malcolm X as well as his achievements as a civil rights activist. We’ll go into the historical and sociological context surrounding Malcolm X’s life and explore the civil rights movement (and Malcolm X’s relationship to other activists, like Martin Luther King Jr.) in more depth. We’ll also connect historical and present-day racism, and we’ll provide an update on the circumstances leading up to Malcolm X’s murder and his legacy.

1-Page Summary 1-Page Book Summary of The Autobiography of Malcolm X

Published in 1965, The Autobiography of Malcolm X explains how Malcolm X rose from a life of poverty and crime to become a significant leader of the civil rights movement. Malcolm X was a controversial figure—his views were often considered extreme, and they changed radically throughout his life. In telling his life story, Malcolm X explains why he believed what he believed—and why he fought stalwartly for racial justice, even though he knew it would lead to his death.

This book was written by Malcolm X and Alex Haley, a journalist and author of the novel Roots , which later became a record-breaking television series. Haley recorded interviews with Malcolm X,...

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The Autobiography of Malcolm X Summary Malcolm X’s Early Life Was Marred by Racism

Malcolm X believed that the racism he experienced throughout his childhood to adolescence determined the path he would take as an adult. In this section, we’ll explain how racist violence and structural inequality destabilized and discouraged a young Malcolm X—and ultimately led him to spend time in prison.

Racism Destabilized and Discouraged Him

Malcolm X explains that he was born Malcolm Little on May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska. (Shortform note: He eventually dropped “Little” and changed his name to Malcolm X—we’ll discuss that decision later, but we’ll still refer to him as Malcolm X throughout the guide.)

From the time he was born, his family was constantly being threatened by racists, in part because his father, Earl Little, was associated with Marcus Garvey’s Back-to-Africa movement, which argued that Black Americans must move to Africa to attain dignity and self-determination. As a result, the family moved often; eventually, they settled in Lansing, Michigan.

(Shortform note: Historians explain that between 1880 and 1940, Black Americans faced particularly high levels of *[racial...

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The Autobiography of Malcolm X Summary The Nation of Islam Gave X a Second Chance

While he was in prison, some of Malcolm X’s family converted to Islam—and they promised that they could help him get out of prison if he joined, too. In this section, we’ll discuss the unique teachings of the Islamic organization he joined. Then, we’ll explore how his involvement in this organization changed his life for the better, culminating in the beginning of his civil rights career.

The Nation of Islam’s Unique Teachings

The type of Islam Malcolm X’s family tried to convert him to was known as the Nation of Islam —a collection of teachings promoted by Elijah Muhammad (the Nation of Islam’s leader, who succeeded founder W.D. Fard), which posited that white people are the devil and that they’ve perpetrated evil against Black men by cutting them off from their ancestral cultures and convincing them of white superiority. Malcolm X explains that according to this belief system, the different races were purposefully created by a scientist named Yacub through eugenic engineering, and the white race was supposed to rule the world for 6,000 years before Black people (who were the original and naturally superior race) would ascend to the top.

(Shortform note: Now...

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The Autobiography of Malcolm X Summary A Pilgrimage to Mecca Opened Malcolm X’s Eyes

Although the Nation of Islam helped turn Malcolm X into a successful civil rights activist, problems were brewing within the organization that he couldn’t abide by. In this section, we’ll explain why Malcolm X broke from the Nation of Islam and explore how his beliefs and civil rights work changed afterward.

Malcolm X’s Break From the Nation of Islam

Malcolm X gained prominence that other Nation of Islam leaders didn’t—and he explains that eventually, Elijah Muhammad became jealous of him. He made Malcolm X the first National Minister of the organization and praised him to his face; all the while, he told others Malcolm X was untrustworthy and that he’d betray the Nation of Islam. But Malcolm X came to know that Muhammad was the untrustworthy one: He’d been having adulterous affairs with his secretaries, who became pregnant and were harshly punished for it.

Eventually, some of those secretaries filed a paternity lawsuit against Muhammad, and Malcolm X spoke to them himself to discover the truth. He’d been hearing rumors about Muhammad’s adultery for years, but his respect for the man and dependence on his teachings had prevented him from believing them. After talking to...

The Autobiography of Malcolm X Summary Malcolm X’s Death and Legacy

Before Malcolm X had a chance to accomplish very much with his newfound beliefs and organization, he was murdered in front of his family and community. In this section, we’ll explore the circumstances around his death and discuss his legacy.

Malcolm X explains that from a young age, he believed he would die a violent death —partly because that had happened to his father and other men in his family. Now that he’d left the Nation of Islam and begun making headway as a civil rights activist, he was even more convinced that someone would kill him.

(Shortform note: Although Malcolm X expected to be killed primarily because he was a Black activist, Black men in general have a significantly higher chance of dying a violent death. Some studies suggest that young Black men in the US are 20 times more likely to die by homicide than young white men—homicide is the most common cause of death among the demographic, and this likelihood shaves six months off the average Black man’s life expectancy. [Police shootings account for a disproportionate number of homicide...

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Shortform Exercise: What Does Malcolm X’s Life Mean to You?

Take some time to reflect on what you’ve learned about Malcolm X and his work as a civil rights activist.

What did you believe about Malcolm X before you read this guide? Write down both facts you knew and opinions you had about him.

Table of Contents

The Autobiography of Malcolm X

92 pages • 3 hours read

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-4

Chapters 5-9

Chapters 10-12

Chapters 13-15

Chapters 16-18

Chapter 19-Epilogue

Key Figures

Index of Terms

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Chapters 1-4 Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 1 summary: “nightmare”.

Malcolm’s narrative begins when he is still in the womb. In 1925, Ku Klux Klan riders terrorize his pregnant mother Louise Helen Little in Omaha, Nebraska. The Klan riders demand to see her husband Earl, a Baptist minister spreading the Pan-African teachings of Marcus Garvey, a highly controversial figure among Whites. When the riders learn that Earl is away preaching in Milwaukee, they smash all the windows of Louise’s home with their rifle butts. Rightly concerned about the safety of his family, Earl moves his wife and four children—Wilfred, Hilda, Philbert, and newborn Malcolm—to Milwaukee.

After a brief stay in Milwaukee, during which Louise gives birth to another son, Reginald, the family settles in Lansing, Michigan. There, Earl’s Pan-African teachings draw the ire of the Black Legion , a local White supremacist terrorist organization. In 1929, in what Malcolm calls one of his earliest memories, Black Legion members set fire to his home. The family barely escapes before the house collapses.

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The autobiography of Malcolm X : as told to Alex Haley - Malcolm X, Alex Haley

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