The Power of a Name Names are a very powerful thing. Names are not only what other people call us, but they also have the ability to define who we are. They are a representation of the choices that we have made and the personalities we have developed. Whether it is a nickname or a given name, it holds a power that nothing else does. In The Autobiography of Malcolm X, Malcolm shares many of the names that he has had during his lifetime. These names reflect who and what he was at that time in his life. The gradual change that occurs in Malcolm is represented by the different name that he bares. Malcolm begins his journey as Malcolm Little. In this phase of his life, he finds himself trying to fit in with the white people he lives around. It
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I’ll show you how to get out of prison” (Haley 158) his brother Reginald wrote to him. At the time he thought it was a rouse. He thought it was a way to get out early. All of his years hustling had conditioned his brain to look at this as a hustle. However, in reality, it was a way to pull him out of the confines of his own mind. It was the first step toward cleaning up his life. This was the beginning of Satan’s transition into Malcolm X. In prison, Malcolm found The Nation of Islam; thanks to his brother Reginald. The Nation healed him and opened his eyes to knowledge. It led him to a better, healthier, honess life. He learned how to read and write, things he had never learned well. He expanded his vocabulary and became a face for the Nation of Islam. He adopted the ‘X’, as many other muslims did, to represent the name that was taken from him when his ancestors were made to be slaves. During this time, however, Malcolm became an almost mindless believer in Elijah Muhammad. “I did believe in him more firmly than he believed in himself.” (Haley 214) His having that much faith in him, blinded him to the acts of adultery that Muhammad had committed and also influenced his need to create excuses for …show more content…
In that moment, he decided to make the pilgrimage to Mecca. During his pilgrimage, he found something he never thought he would: brotherhood. “Because I had come to them with a letter from a friend, he was going to stay at his son's home, and let me use his suite, until I could get to Mecca.” (Haley 339) Malcolm had never met such hospitality, such care, such love for a fellow brother. People from different countries, cultures, and skin colors came together for one common purpose: to pray. It astounded him and showed him that so many different people could come together peacefully. It also opened his eyes to many of the fatal flaws that the U.S. has. “He also pointed out how color, the complexities of color, and the problems of color which exist in the muslim world , exist only where, and to the extent that, that the area of the muslim world has be influenced by the west” (Haley 342) He had found that racism and the obsession with skin color is a uniquely American trait. He finally realizes that not all white men are ‘the devil’. “That morning was the start of a radical alteration in my whole outlook about the ‘white’ man” (Haley 340) After seeing that so- called ‘white’ men could be good, his whole thought process changed. The man that came back from Mecca was no longer Malcolm X, but El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz. He emerged a new
I’ll show you how to get out of prison” (Haley 158) his brother Reginald wrote to him. At the time he thought it was a rouse. He thought it was a way to get out early. All of his years hustling had conditioned his brain to look at this as a hustle. However, in reality, it was a way to pull him out of the confines of his own mind. It was the first step toward cleaning up his life. This was the beginning of Satan’s transition into Malcolm X. In prison, Malcolm found The Nation of Islam; thanks to his brother Reginald. The Nation healed him and opened his eyes to knowledge. It led him to a better, healthier, honess life. He learned how to read and write, things he had never learned well. He expanded his vocabulary and became a face for the Nation of Islam. He adopted the ‘X’, as many other muslims did, to represent the name that was taken from him when his ancestors were made to be slaves. During this time, however, Malcolm became an almost mindless believer in Elijah Muhammad. “I did believe in him more firmly than he believed in himself.” (Haley 214) His having that much faith in him, blinded him to the acts of adultery that Muhammad had committed and also influenced his need to create excuses for …show more content…
In that moment, he decided to make the pilgrimage to Mecca. During his pilgrimage, he found something he never thought he would: brotherhood. “Because I had come to them with a letter from a friend, he was going to stay at his son's home, and let me use his suite, until I could get to Mecca.” (Haley 339) Malcolm had never met such hospitality, such care, such love for a fellow brother. People from different countries, cultures, and skin colors came together for one common purpose: to pray. It astounded him and showed him that so many different people could come together peacefully. It also opened his eyes to many of the fatal flaws that the U.S. has. “He also pointed out how color, the complexities of color, and the problems of color which exist in the muslim world , exist only where, and to the extent that, that the area of the muslim world has be influenced by the west” (Haley 342) He had found that racism and the obsession with skin color is a uniquely American trait. He finally realizes that not all white men are ‘the devil’. “That morning was the start of a radical alteration in my whole outlook about the ‘white’ man” (Haley 340) After seeing that so- called ‘white’ men could be good, his whole thought process changed. The man that came back from Mecca was no longer Malcolm X, but El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz. He emerged a new