The power and beauty of the Autobiography of Malcolm X is shown in the development of Malcolm throughout the course of the book, the bringing of the reader into Malcolm’s world, and the creation and expression of the person that is Malcolm X. The development of Malcolm X is shown through retrospective comments and life changing events. The reader is brought into Malcolm’s world through the creation of vivid scenery, full of emotion and atmosphere as well as insight into his thought process due to the narrating style. The style of the book brings out the voice of Malcolm X as he writes the book and the content and descriptions show the voice of Malcolm Little as the events of the book unfold. A significant part of the book is how Malcolm develops
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The vivid scenery provides a clear image of the events in the book, as well as atmosphere and the feelings of the people. “Harlem was like some technicolor bazaar…that night, I was mesmerized….Harlem - had just about narcotized me” (p. 77 - 78) These build up The scenery that Malcolm is viewing and how he feels. The incredible descriptions bring the reader into the mind of Malcolm and add to the author’s purpose by explaining why he was so absorbed into the culture of Boston and New York and how it affected him. The descriptions also build scenery of Malcolm’s low points and show a less grandiose world. “I’d drop my stuff, and they would be on it like chicken on corn. When you become an animal, a vulture, in the ghetto, as I had become, you enter a world of animals and vultures. It becomes truly survival of only the fittest.” This gives insight into Malcolm’s world when he was at his lowest. Along with the descriptions of Jumpsteady, Sammy the Pimp, and many other famous hustlers and criminals that Malcolm met at the time show how Malcolm came around to belief that the woes of the ghetto were caused by the “devil” white man. The lack of societal ability to pursue what they wanted left them only with crime to survive. The vivid descriptions in the book bring to life the scenes, specifically the tense ones. Before he gets caught and sent to prison Malcolm often remarks on how he was surprised he survived certain situations. “I spotted the two lean, tough-looking paisanos gazing in at me cooped up in the booth…..I don’t know how, to tell the truth, how I am alive to tell it today” (p. 128) “‘Red - I want my money!’….I couldn’t believe it. He truly scared me…..it was hard to form words with my brain and my mouth.” (p. 129) Him almost getting mugged, killed by West Indian Archie, caught by Sophia’s husband, killed by the detectives
The vivid scenery provides a clear image of the events in the book, as well as atmosphere and the feelings of the people. “Harlem was like some technicolor bazaar…that night, I was mesmerized….Harlem - had just about narcotized me” (p. 77 - 78) These build up The scenery that Malcolm is viewing and how he feels. The incredible descriptions bring the reader into the mind of Malcolm and add to the author’s purpose by explaining why he was so absorbed into the culture of Boston and New York and how it affected him. The descriptions also build scenery of Malcolm’s low points and show a less grandiose world. “I’d drop my stuff, and they would be on it like chicken on corn. When you become an animal, a vulture, in the ghetto, as I had become, you enter a world of animals and vultures. It becomes truly survival of only the fittest.” This gives insight into Malcolm’s world when he was at his lowest. Along with the descriptions of Jumpsteady, Sammy the Pimp, and many other famous hustlers and criminals that Malcolm met at the time show how Malcolm came around to belief that the woes of the ghetto were caused by the “devil” white man. The lack of societal ability to pursue what they wanted left them only with crime to survive. The vivid descriptions in the book bring to life the scenes, specifically the tense ones. Before he gets caught and sent to prison Malcolm often remarks on how he was surprised he survived certain situations. “I spotted the two lean, tough-looking paisanos gazing in at me cooped up in the booth…..I don’t know how, to tell the truth, how I am alive to tell it today” (p. 128) “‘Red - I want my money!’….I couldn’t believe it. He truly scared me…..it was hard to form words with my brain and my mouth.” (p. 129) Him almost getting mugged, killed by West Indian Archie, caught by Sophia’s husband, killed by the detectives