Blog Post #3 Malcolm X Chapter 1: Nightmare
Part 1: Record a 75-125 word response addressing the following questions:
Of all the nightmares described by Malcolm X in Chapter 1, which do you think would have the biggest impact on his life? Why do you think this?
Part 2: Read through the comments made by other students and choose two comments to REPLY to.
Part 2: Read through the comments made by other students and choose two comments to REPLY to.
I believe the nightmare that had the most impact on Malcolm x's life was when his mother went to a mental hospital and his other family members got split up to go live with different families. I believe this is the worst nightmare Malcolm had to go through because he had to adapt to the lifestyles of other families with different races and he did not have a chance to grow up with his own family.
ReplyDeleteI could see why you think that the separation of his family is the biggest nightmare. It must have been a lot of changes so quickly. I could never imagine my father passing away so suddenly, then shortly after my mother losing her mind in a sense then being forced to live away from the only people I had left, my siblings. Do you think that the families outcome would be different if his father hadn't passed away so suddenly and unexpected?
DeleteIt's good that he was able to live with another family, rather then having no family at all. But at the same time, it's horrible that he lost everyone. His dad, mother, and all his siblings. His life really just went downhill, and nothing good really happened in this part of his lifetime. I couldn't imagine how he felt.
DeleteNot only did he have to adapt, but he was separated from everything he knew to be home. Malcolm X got split from his mother and his siblings and got placed in random family members home, I am sure he wasn't even close with them. It's crazy how he basically lost everyone before he was even an adult.
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DeleteI agree that it would be pretty scary to have your family split up, especially during that era. His family was dropping like flies. His family was definitely going through a hard time. I feel really bad for the guy
I agree. It has to be hard to be at a young age and not be able to live with your brothers and sisters. All of them being split up would definitely put a huge impact on someone's life especially when you are only a child. Then having to live with a brand new family and do what they do yet having it all be so different and not what he was used to. I would probably never forget that moment either.
DeleteThe nightmare that had the biggest impact on Malcolm X’s life was when his father passed away. This is because after his father passed away almost everything in his life went downhill. For example he says, “So there we were. My mother was thirty-four years old now, with no husband, no provider or protector to take care of her eight children.” (11). With this quote we can see that his father provided a lot for their family and with his death brought a lot of complications. For instance, they no longer had a stable income, Malcolm resorted to stealing food, and his mother often worked many jobs just to be able to provide for them all.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the biggest impact on Malcolm was the death of his father. It seems like after he had passed away all the things they almost took for granted, went away. Suddenly his mother was alone and the kids had to work to eat. It makes me wonder if his father didn't die as suddenly as he did, would his mother still end up in the hospital?
DeleteI think that it was pretty scary that his only Father figure in his house died, but from his life and how he treated his mom, i think he also kinda resented his father from hurting his mother
DeleteI can see why you'd say that Malcolm's father dying had the biggest impact on his life, as that was the traumatic event that lead to what I believe impacted him the most, his mother going to the mental hospital. It seems to me that his father did not have as strong an impact on him as his mother did, because he said he would kill for his mother, but rarely brings up his father. Do you think it may have been so traumatic he blocked it out of his thoughts?
DeleteOut of all the nightmares described by Malcolm X in chapter one I think the one that has the greatest impact in his life is being able to live with himself knowing he is of a lighter skin color and because he said (2-3) “I was among the millions of Negroes who were insane enough to feel that it was some kind of a status symbol to be light-complexioned”. I think this because he has said how he hates having the “white man” blood in his veins and how that makes him one of them in a sense that causes him to hate how he seems to be on some social status because he has a whiter complexion.
ReplyDeleteI definitely can agree with this. He hated his skin color. He hated being closer to the white race, especially with all the negativity they (the white race) acquired for being negative toward the black race. This white complexion could also be a positive impact and be a detail that may have pushed Malcolm to want to make changes in the future!
DeleteAlthough I stated that the most impactful nightmare of Malcolm’s life was his father’s death I can also agree with what you stated. Malcolm felt fortunate for being light skinned because he was treated better, but at the same time he hated his complexion more than anything. He didn’t like the fact that he was different from his siblings and also hated the fact that he was mixed with "rapist's blood". Therefore this could be the nightmare that has had the most impact on him.
DeleteI agree with this. He never wanted to live like white people but he had no choice when his family was split up. Even though he was only light skin, he still felt like there was something wrong with the way he lived. He believed that he was living the best life out of all of his siblings and he didn't like that.
DeleteI agree with you because Malcolm didn't want anything to do with the white people and he didn't want any similarities or be related to them in any way. So him having lighter skin caused him to feel a part of the white people a little bit, which caused him and his family only troubles and problems his whole life.
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DeleteAlthough I believe the most impactful nightmare was his earliest memory of the house burning down, I can see how this would've changed his life. Malcolm clearly showed his hatred towards his skin color because he felt as though even his own family was conditioned to treat him different. It becomes evident that the reason he possesses this lighter skin tone is because of his grandmother being raped by a white man. I couldn't imagine knowing the reason for your lighter skin was because of such a serious crime.
The nightmare that had the biggest impact on Malcolm X's life the death of his father when he was 6 years old. This was a big deal because Malcolm would grow up without a father and now his family had no way to earn money, "My mother was thirty-four years old now, with no husband, no provider or protector to take care of her eight children." (Haley 11). Malcolm's family had no one to take care of them, to provide them with anything, so his family had to change the way they lived in order to survive without their father.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest nightmare in my opinion that Malcolm X experienced was the death of his father. Once his father died, it was a snowball effect of doom afterwards and Malcolm knew this by telling the audience: “We began swiftly downhill. The physical downhill wasn’t as quick as the psychological.” (13). His mother ended up disintegrating in front of her own children under pressure to keep feeding 8 kids in the midst of the depression and then eventually lead to the separation of his family and his mother going to a hospital.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the nightmare that impacted Malcolm the most was his father passing away. Not only did it cause complications in his personal life it also caused complications in his outside life. For instance people around in the neighborhood talked about him and his family, his mom couldn’t find or keep any jobs because of who she was married to, and many people that wanted to “help” were always stopping by and questioning them.
DeleteI agree that because of Malcolm X’s father’s death, it created a snowball effect. If his parents wouldn’t have gotten into that fight and his father wouldn't have walked out, Malcolm X’s story could have ended differently. Since his father died it put a lot of pressure on his mother to be strong and care for 8 children on her own it just got to be too much and she broke down because she couldn't handle the pressure.
DeleteI agree that this nightmare impacted Malcolm the most because when his father died, he didn't have anyone to look up to anymore which caused his life to go downhill. And with Malcolm's father gone, his mother had too much stress on her hands with taking care of 8 children by herself, she couldn't handle it so that's why she had to go to and mental institution.
DeleteI agree that Malcolm X’s father passing away created a snowball effect because it caused all of the other nightmares in his life to happen. If his father wouldn't have passed away his mother would have never lost her mind in the first place but I don't think that the moment Malcolm X’s father died was the most heartbreaking moment he felt throughout his life.
DeleteThe nightmare that had the biggest impact on Malcolm X's life was when his mother was placed into a mental hospital . Another big impact when Malcolm X's father had passed away. Also i know Malcolm felt weird staying with different family members. Another thing is it was hard for Malcolm X's mom to take care of all of the children by herself without Malcolm father being there. Malcolm also use to steal food and his mother often worked many jobs just to be able to provide for them all and, it was a lot of kids too.
ReplyDeleteyes that must have been so horrid and i can only imagine what he went through
DeleteI disagree with this only because, he knew his mom was still alive and he stated that he liked living with another family because it was similar to his except white. He still visited his mom in the hospital it wasn’t until she didn’t remember him that he stopped going.
DeleteI think the number one nightmare that had the most impact, out of a handful, was the death of his father. Malcolm was super young. He was the at age of 6. Finding out about that at such a young age, especially since it wasn't a natural death, must've been a horrible discovery. It must have effect his whole mindset to realize how bad the racism around him actually was. Although in the text Malcolm doesn't show many emotions about the situation, he gives enough about the setting and others around him, to infer that he felt the same about his father. He describes his mother in horrible mental condition after the incident of his father being "cut almost in half" by a streetcar. Malcolm says, "I was six. I can remember a vague commotion, the house filled up with people crying, saying bitterly that the white Black Legion finally gotten him." (Page 10). This description is essential to set the mood. Overall, this situation impacted his whole life and changed everything.
ReplyDeleteWhile I personally think his mom being institutionalized was more so the biggest nightmare (as it separated him from what was left of his family, and he talks about his mom a lot more than his dad), I do like your reasoning and think you have very good points. It's really hard to pick a #1 worst incident when you're talking about someone who had as rubbish of a childhood as he did.
DeleteI agree that the death of Malcolm's father had the most impact on his life because their family had to change everything about how they lived. His mother was constantly trying to find jobs as well as some of his older bothers and sisters. He said there were nights where they were so hungry they were dizzy. Malcolm even resorted to stealing pieces of food because there was no other option for him to eat.
DeleteAlthough I could not imagine losing my father in such a horrific way, I think that a child's first memory being their families house burning down while the white men just watch sets the tone for the rest of their life. At this point, Malcolm kinda understands he is different, even though he's too young to understand why.
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ReplyDeleteI believe the biggest impact on Malcom's life was the start of his mother losing mental stability because when the welfare people saw that, they were getting ready to remove Malcom from his home. Eventually they did and as time passed all of his other siblings were to be placed in different homes as well because their mother was being sent to the mental hospital, where she would stay for the next 27 years. And it really impacted Malcom because she couldn't remeber him. He says, "I can't decribe how I felt. The woman who had brought me into the world, and nursed me, and advised me, and chastized me, and loved me, didn't know me." (22) His abundance of feeling and not being able to describe how he felt just shows how impactful that was to him.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your view. The dreadful experience it must be to talk to a loved one and they're totally lost, and don't remember you. I disagree with the fact that him living with his new family is a negative thing. He had a nice to family to live with and he kept in touch with his siblings regularly.
DeleteI agree with what you said even though I think the bigger impact was his father's death. It must be horrific to watch your mother slowly lose her mind. Then to be split up from your siblings and then years later figure out your mother doesn't know who you are. Even though Malcolm still kept in touch with his siblings, initially being put in different homes along with knowing his mother is in a mental hospital had to of been a big impact.
DeleteI agree that Malcolm X’s biggest nightmare was when his mother went into the mental hospital and didn't remember who he was anymore. In that moment Malcolm X had to realize both of his biggest supporters were gone and he had to figure out the rest of his life on his own. Another reason i agree is because you can tell from the words in the book how hurt he was after she didn't know who he was.
DeleteI agree that Malcolm X's biggest nightmare was when his mother had to go to a mental hospital. Especially about the part that his own mother forgot who he was. If I was in his place, I would have no idea what I would of done. I could not imagine. What he says in the book is what makes you realize how much he was hurt.
DeleteOf all the nightmares, Malcolm's fathers murder would have the biggest impact on Malcolm. This would be because after his father was murdered, his mother never got any support and would refuse offers from friends or the government. This ended up splitting the family up and putting his mother in the mental hospital. This affected Malcolm mentally because when his mother was sent off to the hospital and she didn’t remember who he was it hurt him a lot.
ReplyDeletei agree with what you say his dad murder was very bad and i do think that that shaped his life in some way.
DeleteI agree that Malcolm's father passing is an impactfull moment in his life, but do you think it would be not as life changing if his mother found a 'new man' who would actully stay and help with the kids? Or helped his mom when he would notice she was having problems mentally?
DeleteI believe the Welfare people always coming to the house was his biggest nightmare. “They acted and looked at her, and at us,and around our house, in a way that had about it the feeling-at least for me- that we were not people. In their eyesight we were just things, that was all” (12-7-1). Because of the fathers death, they were always in debt and the strange men always came to Malcolm's house. Once his dad died, he really never had any male parental figure in the home to actually look up to so, he started stealing, like the welfare people.
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DeleteI agree with your post that the welfare people also had a big impact on the chapter of nightmares. They came into his home against his mother's wishes and would help them by giving them small checks to try and live on, but they were also the reason Malcolm got taken away from his home in the first place.
I also agree, at a young age and constantly hearing that your mother is a horrible mom and that she doesn’t deserve her kids. It can really affect how they feel, yes they did give them money to live on but they were the ones to take him away from his mother who he looked up too.
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ReplyDeleteI believe that the biggest nightmare that was described by Malcolm X that had the biggest impact on his life would be their mother giving away. They watched the only adult left in there life deteriorate away it someone they didn’t know, “As my mother talked to herself more and more, she gradually became less responsive to us. And less responsible. The house became less tidy. We began to be more unkempt. And usually, now, Hilda cooked.We children watched out anchor giving away.”(19) This was the biggest nightmare because Malcolm X got taken from his home, away from his siblings and placed with the Gohannases. His mother had a breakdown and was sent to a hospital at Kalamazoo where she stayed for twenty-six years. On his last visit with her, she couldn’t even remember who he was. He couldn’t describe how he felt, the woman who brought him up, nursed him, loved him, and so on, couldn’t even remember him.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you one hundred percent because, like you said, she couldn’t remember him, however; she remembered her oldest son. I don’t think a lot of people can describe that feeling. The misery. The pain he must have felt when his brother told him she still remembered. Even if she didn’t remember him a lot, a part of her did remember him.
DeleteAgreed. His father's murder was like a cause and effect train. His father being gone is the cause. The effects would be his mother losing her mental health. Which led to the house being messy. Malcolm stealing because no male role model was left for him so nobody told him how wrong that is and the punishments of stealing. Then his mother losing her sanity almost completely. So Medics took her to a mental hospital to help her. Which led to Malcolm and his siblings being split up completely to different families because nobody could take care of them. He had a super rough childhood.
DeleteI think the worst thing that he went through is his mom forgetting him entirely. He loves his mama and it must have been heartbroken when he went to see his mom and she forgot who he was. I can say if this ever happened to me, I don't know what I would do i love my mama and I can only imagine what he is going through. I really think this shaped his life in the way that he does not like to talk about it. He just has to stay strong and keep moving on.
ReplyDeleteI agree that his mother forgetting him would have a very large impact on his mental state and life overall. But it could affect him positively by making him stronger mentally.
DeleteI agree with you Matt that it must be really hard and having a grandmother that suffers from amnesia, i know what its like to be by someone who forgets you every 5 min maybe less. however i also have to agree with Brendan because this could also make him stronger.
DeleteThe ‘nightmare’ that left the biggest impact on Malcolm X’s life seems to be the decline in his mother’s mental health and the subsequent moving around, out of his home and into a series of other homes and institutions. Despite the beatings he often received from his mom, it’s clear he still respected and loved her, as can be seen when he wrote, “I believe that I am capable of killing a person, without hesitation, who happened to make the wrong kind of remark about my mother.” His respect for his mother continued even after this, being notably disheartened when he found she could no longer remember who he was. He was also in the process separated from his siblings, with whom he also had close bonds, as the others were sent to live in other places, or in the case of Wilfred and Hilda, old enough to live at the family home by themselves. While he had certainly already been scarred by other traumatic childhood experiences, this certainly messed him up more, ultimately leading to his being kicked out of school and institutionalized.
ReplyDeleteI think the event that may have had the biggest impact on Malcolm X’s life would have to be the death of his father because it was at that point where everything started to go more and more down hill within the family and it shows the intense racism going on in the black communities as Malcolm’s mother couldn’t receive the larger payout for the death of his father because it was claimed that it had been a suicide rather than a murder. Therefore, there was an abundance of racial violence plus the deterioration of Malcolm’s mother that would make this part of his life so impactful.
ReplyDeleteThe nightmare that I think impacted Malcolm X the most was when his mother went to a mental hospital and lost her memory. I think this nightmare was more tough on him because he talked about when he went to go see his mother and she looked at him and didn’t recognize him. Even though his mother would hit him and yell at him, he still cared for her and loved her. He knew that his mother loved and cared for him as well. He even says, “ I can’t describe how I felt. The woman who brought me into the world, and nursed me, and advised me, and chastised me, and loved me, didn’t know me.” (page 22)
ReplyDeleteI agree! He also later goes on to say "It was as if I was trying to walk up the side of a hill of feathers," (Haley 22). He uses the simile to describe and paint of picture in the readers mind of the "hill" he is trying to walk up.
DeleteI believe the nightmare that had the most impact on Malcolm was seeing his mom in the mental hospital and she couldn’t remember him. He grew up looking up to his mom, who was working so hard to run a household of 8 children. He wrote sadly, “The woman who had brought me into the world… didn’t know me,” (Haley 22). He was in shock that his own mother couldn’t remember him. He later comes to explain that he can get very upset and angry to the point of killing someone.
ReplyDeleteI agree this was a very impactful moment for Malcolm X, this woman raised him and took care of him for his whole childhood, but didn't even remember him. Although I do not believe that all his anger and rage came from this particular moment. I think the rage stems from something much deeper. I think it stems from all the other hardships and nightmares he had to encounter, all combined.
DeleteI agree that his mom going to the hospital and her not being able to remember Malcolm is the most impactfull the fact that she was trying to raise all 8 of them and because of her needing to leave, it was the finnal moments he would be in the same household with his family.
DeleteThe nightmare that I think impacted Malcolm X the most would be his father getting murdered. I also think the last memories of his father were horrific, a nightmare in my eyes, when he ripped off the rabbit's head and just walked out of the house, not telling his family where he was going or when he was coming back. I definitely think his father's disappearance was a turning point for Malcolm X and his family because of the statement on page 11, "My mother was thirty-four years old now, with no husband, no provider or protector to take care of her eight children." His mother was all on her own now, she was a single parent of eight children.
ReplyDeleteI agree that this is a very traumatizing event and I can't even imagine the pain he must be feeling, I wrote about the separation from his family but I didn't even think to write about this because when he is separated he is at least being taken care of as well as the rest of his family but his dad was murdered which in my opinion tops separation.
DeleteI would have to agree with you about his father's death, it was extremely gruesome and horrifying. I see it this way, If the man, the protector, the provider dies in some horrible way that would personally leave me extremely paranoid and scared if they can do that to a man like that, I would be scared of what they’d do to me.
DeleteIn the Autobiography of Malcolm X I think that the most impactful nightmare is when his mom gets put in the hospital at Kalamazoo, when he goes there his mom can remember him less and less. “I can’t describe how I felt. The woman who had brought me into the world, and nursed me, and advised me, and chastised me, and loved me, didn’t know me.” I think this is his most impactful moment because seeing a close one that’s been there for you your whole life not remember anything about you can be destructive, especially when you feel powerless to help them.
ReplyDeleteI agree that is a very impactful nightmare and I would say it is close to the situation i wrote about. I wrote about when he was separated from his family, in this case he was separated from his mom. At Least in this situation, he knows that she is in a hospital where she is being helped and not abused or hurt.
DeleteI agree that Malcolm's mom getting put in the hospital was the most impactful nightmare too! It must have been extremely painful to watch her fade away over all those years of visits. That being said, I also think her admission into the hospital was a good thing, as he no longer had to steal food or help take care of the house for his mother, who is much better off getting help in Kalamazoo. With her mental health issue, do you think the hospital situation could have been avoided, or was it inevitable?
DeleteI think that Malcolm X was mostly impacted by the “nightmare” from being separated from his family. When you’re that young, you need your family, it's not healthy to be separated from them. It takes a toll on your mental health. I think this tops all the other “nightmares” because his family was the only thing he had and it was important to him. He eventually had to try to feel close “in our feelings toward each other” (pg. 23). Relying on your feelings like that is like having a long-distance relationship; it's hard, especially for a kid that young of age.
ReplyDeleteAlthough this was a hard thing for Malcolm to go through it didn't affect that much, he didn't want to be home a lot because of his father dying so they didn't have much food. Therefore it was because of his father dying that made it so he didn't want to be home, so he would go to his friends houses so he could eat dinner. Therefore it was because of his father dying that they had no food.
DeleteThe nightmares that Malcom went through were intense for his age. The one that I personally think was the worst was being separated from his siblings. Losing your siblings make a dent in how you feel and how you want to feel about others. Especially when you are so young to lose your family, it breaks a sense of feeling safe and then you'll always be on the edge looking for them. “ I returned home to visit them sometimes”. After he was taken he felt the need to go back and visit them, not only because he missed them but because it was the first place he felt safe. I think this had a big impact because it changed how his life went, soon he started to act out even more and then that lead to him ending up in a reformatory school.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Spencer because as being the oldest brother and having 3 younger siblings, I know what it feels like for them to leave sometimes and how it changes the way you operate with some things. I also add that even if its a different time, Malcolm X and anyone with siblings feel somewhat the same because of that separation.
DeleteI think that the worst nightmare that had the greatest impact on Malcolm was when his father got killed. I think this because it is what caused his family to go poor and what caused his mother to go insane I think that the worst nightmare that had the greatest impact on Malcolm was when his father got killed. I think this because it is what caused his family to go poor and what caused his mother to go insane
ReplyDeleteI agree, Malcolm losing his father was what affected Malcolm and his family the most, because they did not just lose a father they also lost a provider and someone who could help keep the kids inline. Therefore when his father died he lost a way of life and had to figure out how to start over only having one parent.
DeleteI agree based on the fact that they did go poor because they did not have someone to proved for them and it caused his mother to go insane like you said before. Malcolm X had to try and figure out what to do for himself because his mother was going insane so he had to do was he thought he should.
DeleteIn chapter one of Malcolm’s autobiography he went through a majority of nightmares that occurred in his life. However; there was one nightmare in particular that I believe made the biggest impact on him. It was when his mother had a mental breakdown and was sent to a hospital. His mother was starting to forget who she was. Who her children were. His brother, Philbert told him that she was starting to recognize him. But she didn’t recognize Malcolm and that hurt. “I can’t describe how I felt. The woman who had brought me into the world, and nursed me, and advised me, and chastised me, and loved me, didn’t know me.”(22) He already had a tough life and in the end he didn’t have his mother there to help him through it.
ReplyDeleteOut of all the nightmares Malcolm X went through, when he realized he didn't have his mom anymore it had the greatest impact. I believe his mom was the rock of the family after his father had died and she supported her kids the best she could. After Malcolm seen she had lost her husband to a hate crime, not getting the money her husband saved, coming home crying every time her job realized she was black and fired her, she was still a strong women. Seeing her not strong was hard for him: "I can't describe how I felt. The women who brought me into the world, and nursed me, and advised me, and chastised me, and loved me, didn't know me". Also when he is visiting he compares it to walking up the side of the hill of feathers watching his mom not remember him.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on this being one of the worst nightmares he had to endure, because he had to witness this strong woman he loved wither away and soon not even be able to recognize her own son. In a way Malcolm lost two parents. I also agree with the mom having a hard time losing her husband because even though he wasn't always a great guy she did still love him, and he did help provide for the family.
DeleteI feel like the biggest nightmare he had was when his dad would beat everyone in his family like his brothers and sisters even his mother but his dad would never hit him because he was the lightest one out of the whole family but that didn't stop his mom. “ I've said that my mother was the one who whipped me “ (8, Haley). This had a big act in his life because everything happen when he was so young he didn't know how to take it in.
ReplyDeleteAt the same time, there is historical context here: growing up in the 20s and 30s, beatings within the family were much more common and acceptable back then than they are now (and it's still more prevalent now than you'd think). He probably didn't think too much of being beaten when over 90% of kids were subjected to some form of corporal punishment, though you do have a point regarding color: his mom probably saw him as an acceptable target because his light skin reminded her of her white rapist dad.
DeleteYou do have a point about his mom disliking him from the rest of the group. She would argue and abuse him more than the other kids. He mentioned that it was because he was the lightest out of his siblings. She would even tell him to go out into the sun more to get more color!
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ReplyDeleteThe nightmare that had the biggest impact on Malcolm X’s life was when his mom got admitted into the Kalamazoo Mental Hospital. After his father passed away, his mother was the glue holding his family together. Once she started losing her mind and got sent to the hospital, Malcolm X and all of his siblings were separated from each other. This was the most detrimental and emotionally difficult situation he's ever gone through: “Nothing that I can imagine could have moved me as deeply as seeing her pitiful state . . .We wanted and tried to stay together. Our home didn’t have to be destroyed”. (21-22) It too would be my worst nightmare if the only family I had left was forced away from me.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you because after his father died, their mother was all they really had. The thing that hurt him the most was the fact that his mother. The women who raised him and took care of all his needs couldn’t even remember him. But she remembered her oldest son and that as like a slap to the face.
DeleteI agree that their mom going crazy was the greatest impact. I agree with you because once they visited her and she couldn't remember her own flesh, it broke him. I also think that when they were all split up it made it harder because being split up from your sibling will make you miss them or worry about them, and not only did they not have their mom but they also didn't have each other.
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ReplyDeleteThe nightmare that impacted Malcolm X the most would be his father’s death that led to the families downfall because they no longer had a provider for their family. Therefore they were unable to make enough money to support themselves because there were not very many jobs for a black single mothers, so they had to try to survive off of welfare and life insurance checks For example:“But after that money came, and my mother paid out a lot of it for the funeral and expenses, she began going into town and returning very upset. The company that had issued the bigger policy was balking at paying off. They were claiming that my father had committed suicide… How could my father bash himself in the head, then get down across the street car tracks to be run over?”. (pg 11). This quote shows how not only was the family not going to get any justice for their father dying but they also had no money because the insurance company didn’t want to lose money over a black man dying, but in the end it made Malcolm who he was.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest impact on Malcom X’s is when his family’s house was burnt down by the Black Legion and his family has been harassed in the east of Lansing, so they moved into the countryside. One piece of text to show this is, “I remember being suddenly snatched awake into a frightening confusion of pistol shots and shouting and smoke and flames, My father had shouted and shot at the two white men who had set fire and were running away. Our home was burning down around us. We were lunging and bumping and tumbling all over each other trying to escape. My mother, with the baby in her arms, just made it into the yard before the house crashed in, showering sparks. I remember we were outside in the night in our underwear, crying and yelling our heads off. The white police and firemen came and stood around watching as the house burned down to the ground” (Malcom X 3). This scene showed the racial problems between blacks and whites, the whites not helping as the blacks needed help.
ReplyDeleteUPDATED POST: The biggest impact on Malcolm X’s is when his family’s house was burnt down by the Black Legion and his family has been harassed in the east of Lansing, so they moved into the countryside. One piece of text to show this is, “I remember being suddenly snatched awake into a frightening confusion of pistol shots and shouting and smoke and flames, My father had shouted and shot at the two white men who had set fire and were running away. Our home was burning down around us. We were lunging and bumping and tumbling all over each other trying to escape. My mother, with the baby in her arms, just made it into the yard before the house crashed in, showering sparks. I remember we were outside in the night in our underwear, crying and yelling our heads off. The white police and firemen came and stood around watching as the house burned down to the ground” (Malcom X 3). This scene showed the racial problems between blacks and whites, the whites not helping Malcolm X’s family when they needed help. The only people that helped his family out was his father’s friends and relatives, giving them clothes, food, and water.
DeleteIn Malcolm X’s chapter Nightmare, I think the vivid memory of his house being burnt down by two white people had the greatest impact on his life. This experience holds the greatest impact on Malcolms life because at a very young age, he was conditioned to believe he was less of a human based on his skin color. “Our house was burning down around us...The white police and firemen came and stood around watching as the house burned to the ground”(pg3). While the family suffered, Malcolm watched people refuse to stop the tragedy. At just 4 years old, his mind was poisoned with the idea of segregation.
ReplyDeleteI agree Tyler, the fact that it were white men who burned downed his house, holds much more significance than if it were a black man especially in this era. I believe that this could probably be the gateway to Malcolm X's future campaigns.
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ReplyDeleteI believe the nightmare that had the most impact on Malcolm x's life was when his father passed away because throughout the story he talks about how his father left his mother showing hints that it still gets to him. He says "My mother was thirty four years old now, with no husband, no provider or protector to take care of her eight children." (pg 11) This shows how his father made them feel more protected and now that hes gone its making not just only him but his mother too feel helpless and unprotected from the world.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest nightmare in Malcolm X’s life was when his mother was put into a mental hospital and couldn't remember who he was anymore. Having a parent pass away and then realizing that the parent you have left to support you is no longer in your life is devastating. Another reason this changed Malcolm X’s life dramatically is because its when he was taken out of his home and separated from the rest of his family making him realize how he has to handle life on his own with not much help or support from his family who also understand everything he's been through.
ReplyDeleteI agree that getting separated from the only family you have left is a big part in his nightmare when he didn't have his mom to hold together the family. But when visiting his mom and her not remembering him was the bigger nightmare because at least he could still see his siblings sane.
DeleteOf all the nightmares in chapter one his father dying might've been the most significant death he has experienced the way his father was murdered and the impact on his family. The mother of Malcolm X made a big deal about the whole big deal about the situation and Malcolm and his brothers and sisters I’m sure where off put by the scene and made an impact on their lives, Malcolm says in the book “All the rest of the afternoon, she was not herself, crying and nervous and upset.” pg.10 Haley. and when they saw their father it must have been a whole different story.
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ReplyDeleteThe nightmare that had the biggest impact on Malcolm X was when his father got murdered. I believe that his father's murder had the biggest impact on Malcolm X because now they are feeling like there is no one there for him and his family based on how he was the man of the house and his father would do anything for his entire family. Malcolm X said, “ My mother was thirty four years old now, with no husband, no provider or protector to take care of her eight children” (page 11). His father would be the one providing things they needed and the fact that they can’t even get the money that belongs to them for his fathers murder is not okay because they were already having a rough time. They feel unprotected and unsafe because they don't have him anymore.
I agree with the death of his father being the downfall of his mother's stability. Life just got more and more difficult as his childhood progressed. With no male role model, very little support, and a lot of racial tension.
DeleteI agree with you that Malcolm's father was giving them everything because he was traveling on top of taking care of them all at the same time. Also, on that since their is no father in the picture anymore there also unsafe and unprotected. I think when his father got murder that it was kind of harsh that they didn't get money like they deserved.
DeleteI agree that him and his father had a closer relationship with each other, it shows that in the book because of how you said the only person that would beat him would be his mother. Based on when his father got murdered it was hard for him to believe it and it impacted him.
ReplyDeleteIn chapter one “Nightmares” of The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley. Of all the nightmares described in chapter one to have the biggest impact of his life would be on page ten and eleven. It impacted the most because of how his father was murdered “Father’s skull on one side, was crushed in”, “He was attacked, and then laid across some tracks for a streetcar to run over him” Page ten. This impact gave him the sense ability to tell others of the same ethnicity in later life to do all in their power to protect themselves using violence as an answer. To also justify the idea was the insurance policies his father had. As one of the companies claimed he committed suicide and didn't have to owe or pay their family what had to be owed them. This raised his bitterness on needing to do anything in power to protect yourselves as the it was the feeling of that the corporations don't pay the money
ReplyDeleteI think the nightmare of his family being looked at differently would have the biggest impact on his life because he feels awkward and it’s a change in perspective. When he was younger he never understood, but now he realizes as seen on page 12 that white people look at them as things. “we were not people. In their eyesight we were just thing. That’s all.” he stated but for a kid to see this all unfold can be pretty realizing why your not looked at the same. Malcolm X would also later realize that they didn’t have a bunch of money as explaining most of it would go toward food and everyone in the family would help out with money.
ReplyDeleteFor sure one of the worst things that happened to Malcolm was that one night when his house caught on fire when he was a kid the fire fighters and police officers, who were all white skinned, stood there and watched his house burn to the ground while they could have easily have put out the fire. Or the time when he was in his mother's womb still when a few white men shot at their house and then rode off on horses in the middle of the night.
ReplyDeleteI disagree that it would probably not be the WORST thing but it would definitely be up there. They would proabably get another house after this, and still got to be together with family. They were not split up yet from their family which I could see as being a worse outcome that losing something you own.
DeleteI believe the true nightmare for Malcolm and his family was the tragedy of his father. Malcolm and his family not only viewed his father as powerful and strong, but they also depended on him. "he was so strong he needed no knife to behead chickens or rabbits" (9)After the death of Earl Little, the financial stability for Malcolm and his family had crashed."So there we were. My mother was thirty- four years old now with no husband, no provider or protector to take care of her eight children(11).
ReplyDeleteI believe the nightmare that had the most impact on Malcolm x’s life was when his mom went to a mental hospital and his siblings all got split up to go live with different families. I think this is the worst nightmare for Malcolm because he had to get used to the lifestyle of the other families that are a different race then him and barley even got a chance to grow up with his own family.
ReplyDeleteI agree that this also could be another impact on Malcolm's life because it was the part where he had no mom and no more siblings. I think other than his father getting murder, that this has impacted him a little more because it was the part where his mom was sent to a mental instantiation for her supposedly issues.
DeleteI agree because it would be so hard to sudddenly live away from your siblings after growing up and living together for so long. It would be hard because the people you know and trust would no longer be around to help and support you easily.
DeleteI believe the nightmare that impacted Malcom X’s life the most is his dad being murdered. I believe this because this event led to a chain reaction which would result in the split of Malcolm X’s family. In the book it states, “My mother was thirty four years old now, with no husband, no provider or protector to take care of her eight children” (11). This means that she had to manage everything by herself at that point and she had no help. She would be on her own for the future and going forward as a mother to raise the kids alone.
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