Haj Malik El-Shabazz's The Autobiography Of Malcolm X

The Autobiography of Malcolm X Essay Topic 2
Malcolm’s first visit to Harlem occurs when he is a young adult working at a diner. Malcolm is astonished by the culture and atmosphere of this city, particularly the heavy African American presence and the loose apartheid for them. Mecca brings a whole new world to Malcolm along with a brand new perception for life. Malcolm X uses many descriptive techniques to put the reader in his shoes as well as in his mind as he found his sense of place in these two cities. Malcolm comes to Harlem young and with no real place or role in the world. He soon finds his outlet by joining with other local hoodrats, committing crime and using drugs. At this point in his life he is very fond of the city fitting …show more content…
Both cities ameliorated Malcolm by giving him the experiences he needed to alter his life. Malcolm leaves both of these locations a new person, when he leaves Harlem he has become Malcolm X and when he returns from Mecca he is El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, this is how the reader knows for sure he has changed. The two cities Malcolm X focuses on most when he recalls them are Harlem and Mecca, even giving them their own chapter titles Harlemite and Mecca. Harlem gave him the worse life experiences to conciliate his life, he furthers this in Mecca These two cities are then the two that impacted him more than any other he describes. In Harlem he experiences many different things such as a unique atmosphere and a want to become more involved in the Nation of Islam, these experiences aid him in Mecca. After discovering all the traditional prayers and practices of Muslims in Mecca he was again motivated to presure Islam further, finding the new truth. In Harlem and Mecca Malcolm has a sense of belonging in the city and that he has a place and purpose there. The reader knows this because of how he describes them in such detail so that the reader can really understand the