Malcolm’s Relationship With Laura While In the Ghetto Malcolm’s relationship with Laura shows how the ghettoes around him were instrumental to his loss of respect for women as people. When with Laura, Malcolm’s care for her is little but a surface attraction, stating on page 68: “But in that kind of way, I thought hardly anything about the girl.” His disregard for Laura as a person de-sensitizes him to the pain he inflicts upon her life in the long run. When looking back on the downward spiral that was triggered by Laura’s fight with her grandmother to be able to go out with Malcolm, Malcolm claims responsibility for not preventing these negative changes to occur and ruin the life of a promising young woman. He also claims that the effect
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While Malcolm does show regret for his actions, his statements seem to be little more than ways of convincing the reader that he truly had changed from his ways while living in the ghetto than real statements of regret. In reality, his views on the innate characteristics of woman change very little, for on page 67, he describes his friend Sammy the Pimp’s “ability” to determine the true, unconscious personality of women while they are dancing. He states that had he been able to know and use Sammy’s ability, he may have spotted the “sub-surface potential” of Laura, for her to become a prostitute in the future. Malcolm clearly holds woman in no higher a regard when he makes this statement, for he implies that Laura had been destined to prostitute herself, thus neglecting the economic and social causes that force her into it. By sourcing the advice of someone who makes a living off of the selling of woman’s bodies, Sammy, it is clear that the way Malcolm views women and the prejudice he holds against them stays constant from the time he is in the ghetto to when he joins the Nation of Islam. Malcolm’s claims that he, as a black man was destined to have bound up in prison because of the social and political factors …show more content…
The protectiveness of his stance comes from the notion that women are inherently weak and cannot stand up for themselves. As he states on page 226: “Islam has very strict laws and teachings about women the core being that the true nature of the man is to be strong, and a woman’s true nature is to be weak, and while a man must at all times respect his woman, at the same time, he needs to understand that he needs to control her if he expects to get respect.” His prejudice against the nature of women, is strikingly similar to the prejudice against blacks in the United States. While Malcolm remains fully aware to the prejudice of the white man, he has internalized his own prejudice against women so deeply, he does not realize the essential contradiction in his fight against racism. His views on woman are shown deeply by his relationship with Betty, his wife. Malcolm cites Betty as a source of constant support for him, yet he virtually does not explain the essential elements of her personality. His descriptions of Betty are limited to describing her as a good wife who is faithful to him, and fulfills her duty raising the children. By not focusing on the personality of Betty, Malcolm X effectively limits her role as a wife that is loyal to him. Essentially, X views the patriarchal construct of a black family,
While Malcolm does show regret for his actions, his statements seem to be little more than ways of convincing the reader that he truly had changed from his ways while living in the ghetto than real statements of regret. In reality, his views on the innate characteristics of woman change very little, for on page 67, he describes his friend Sammy the Pimp’s “ability” to determine the true, unconscious personality of women while they are dancing. He states that had he been able to know and use Sammy’s ability, he may have spotted the “sub-surface potential” of Laura, for her to become a prostitute in the future. Malcolm clearly holds woman in no higher a regard when he makes this statement, for he implies that Laura had been destined to prostitute herself, thus neglecting the economic and social causes that force her into it. By sourcing the advice of someone who makes a living off of the selling of woman’s bodies, Sammy, it is clear that the way Malcolm views women and the prejudice he holds against them stays constant from the time he is in the ghetto to when he joins the Nation of Islam. Malcolm’s claims that he, as a black man was destined to have bound up in prison because of the social and political factors …show more content…
The protectiveness of his stance comes from the notion that women are inherently weak and cannot stand up for themselves. As he states on page 226: “Islam has very strict laws and teachings about women the core being that the true nature of the man is to be strong, and a woman’s true nature is to be weak, and while a man must at all times respect his woman, at the same time, he needs to understand that he needs to control her if he expects to get respect.” His prejudice against the nature of women, is strikingly similar to the prejudice against blacks in the United States. While Malcolm remains fully aware to the prejudice of the white man, he has internalized his own prejudice against women so deeply, he does not realize the essential contradiction in his fight against racism. His views on woman are shown deeply by his relationship with Betty, his wife. Malcolm cites Betty as a source of constant support for him, yet he virtually does not explain the essential elements of her personality. His descriptions of Betty are limited to describing her as a good wife who is faithful to him, and fulfills her duty raising the children. By not focusing on the personality of Betty, Malcolm X effectively limits her role as a wife that is loyal to him. Essentially, X views the patriarchal construct of a black family,