Blog Post #4 - Malcolm X Chapter 2: Mascot
Part 1: Record a 75-125 word response addressing the following questions:
Although Malcolm X was successful at Mason Junior High School, both academically and socially, he later reflects that he was merely a "mascot." What do you think about this response? Why did he feel this way? Do you think it was a fair assessment of the situation? Use textual evidence from Chapter 2 to support your opinion and comments.
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.
To put it in the plainest words possible, Malcolm X saw himself as a mascot because he was the Token Black Guy in his school of almost exclusively white students and staff. Despite excelling academically and having friends at school, the teachers still saw him as black and, due to his race, lesser than the white students, as shown by their frequent N-word jokes as though he wasn’t there, and Mr. Ostrowski’s advice to him, quoted on page 38: “...A lawyer--that’s no realistic goal for a n****r. You need to think about something you can be…. Why don’t you plan on carpentry? People like you as a person--you’d get all kinds of work.” His existence proved that black kids can still be smart and get good grades, but as the token black, he became a mascot for blacks at the school, as though they’re all the same.
ReplyDeleteI agree that he was treated differently than the other white kids as if he was not good enough. I do not think it is fair of Mr. Ostrowski to say that he should have a more "realistic" goal because he is black. He should be able to do whatever job he wants if he goes to the right school and gets the appropriate education for it. There is no reason for it to be determined by race.
DeleteI agree with you; thank you for your reply.
DeleteYou couldn’t have said it any better! I totally agree that even though Malcolm is this amazing student, the white staff and students won’t truly consider him equivalent to them. The white people took advantage of his abilities and exploited them in a way to show how other black students should act. Unfortunately, they still dropped racial slurs around him so much he became conditioned to accept it.
DeleteI agree that because Malcolm X was African American he was treated poorly. I liked the quote that you used because it really showcased how they really thought of him. Even though he was one of the top students of his grade, he was told to be realistic with his goals for his future career because a lawyer was not a realistic job for him according to his teacher.
DeleteI agree with that because Malcolm X and even though he was African American, he was being treated poorly. The quote that you used explained how other people thought of him. And even though he was one of the top students in his school, he was looked at as just another African American.
DeleteI agree with you because Malcolm was smarter than a lot of the other white kids, but the teachers didn't see him as a real "person". Malcolm's teachers thought he couldn't do anything really meaningful and have an impact on the world simply because he was black.
DeleteI agree with you because due to racial tensions at the time it was normal for a white to have an educated job while an black to have an uneducated job even though they're smarter. It is shown in this chapter the most because it shows that the teachers believes that the white man should have the educated jobs because of the feeling of being the "greater" race while the blacks should only have uneducated jobs.
DeleteI agree, Malcolm may have had friends and good grades but he still stuck out to his classmates and his teachers. The white community was still stuck in the negative, discriminating mindset even if they meant no harm. Malcolm's teacher didn't mean to demean him, that was just the toxic way people have thought at that time. Telling Malcolm he could become a carpenter was probably a higher up job.
DeleteIn Malcolm X’ Autobiography he talks about fitting academically and socially but later says feels like a mascot, I think he feels this way because he notices he gets treated different for example he is told he can’t be a lawyer because of his skin color. Earlier on there’s a quote where he says, “He was looking me up and down, his expression approving, like he was examining a fine colt, or pedigreed pup… I could understand, that I wasn’t a pet.” he doesn't feel the part after visiting Boston.
ReplyDeleteI agree that people look at him as the minority. I do not think it is right that he is told that he shouldn't pursue his dream of becoming a lawyer because he is not white. He should be able to do whatever job he wants if he has the appropriate education. Job requirements should be based on education, not race.
DeleteExactly. He was the token, the mascot, and people didn't think of him as fully human in the same way as a white guy, and people in authority positions didn't feel the need to treat him as well because of it.
DeleteAs for Brandon's reply, I don't particularly agree that education should be the main determiner of job eligibility. Really, all a college degree is is a sheet of paper; it alone does not guarantee intelligence or suitability for the job. I think it should be based on merit in its entirety, not arbitrary requirements.
I agree that he is treated unfairly and notices it after he visits Boston, the trip kind of showed him what it is like to be in an all black community where people get along and are treated equally. This affects him because he is in an all white school and he notices that he is the minority in the situation.
DeleteYes, people do seem to see him as a minority but I feel he is seen slightly more then a minority only because he is the top of his class and he is the class president. I feel that if they didn’t see him as almost equal they wouldn’t have let him have those opportunities
DeleteMalcolm X sees himself as a mascot because he was like the one black kid at the school; the school probably wanted him there so that they may not appear racist. He also feels like a mascot because he is the one that stands out, he wants to just blend in. He felt ostracized; for example, he says, “They would even talk about me, or about “n****rs,” as though I wasn't there, as if I wouldn't understand the word “n****r.” I suppose that in their own minds, they meant no harm; in fact they probably meant well” (Malcolm X 27). In this scenario, he felt like they didn't even care that he was there and they would say this word like he wouldn't pick up on it. It shouldn't have been fair to use that word in front of him like he wouldn't mind.
ReplyDeleteI agree that all Malcolm X wanted to do was blend in, he was treated as if he was nothing before, making it seem like they were just mocking him. I also agree that they might have not even cared about him and his grades, but for the fact he was one of the only black kids in his school
DeleteI agree that he sees himself as a mascot because he is the only black person at his school. For instance when at dances his friends would pressure him into talking to the white girls so that they would be able to blackmail the girls into dating them. Thus showing how he was used because of his skin color. Another example of this would be when his teacher gave him advice. His teacher encouraged others to follow their dreams but did the opposite when it came to Malcolm. Instead he discouraged him and told him to lower his expectations of his future career.
DeleteI agree with your post; you made basically the same argument I did. He was the Token Black Guy and was treated as such, with people barely realizing he had ambitions and feelings of his own, and the teachers shouldn't have treated him differently just because of his race, which he couldn't even control.
DeleteI disagree with your statement about the school having Malcolm attend there, i don't think the school cared about how racist they where at the time hence teachers telling him he can't do what he wants based on skin color.
DeleteI agree that the school might have accepted him there for a "non-racist" look, but in reality they didn't care and would talk about him. This showed Malcolm what it is like to be picked on and pushed around because of skin color.
DeleteYes, him feeling like a mascot was both negative in some ways and positive as well. He feels like a mascot negatively, because he just wants to blend in with the others, but also feels like a mascot positively, because everyone likes him. Great job!
DeleteMalcolm X saw himself as a leader in the school. He was passing all of his classes and he was the smartest kid in the school, his dream was to become a lawyer so he told Mr. Ostrowski about his dream and his response to this is, "Malcolm, one of life's first needs is for us to be realistic. Don't misunderstand me, now. We all here like you, you know that. But you've got to be realistic about being a n****r. A lawyer---that's no realistic goal for a n****r. You need to thing about something you can be. You're good with your hands---making things. Everybody admires your carpentry shop work. Why don't you plan on carpentry? People like you as a person--you'd get all kinds of work" (Haley 38). Even if he cant be a lawyer, hes still showing the other schools that hold black kids that they have a chance to rise to the top and become a lawyer no matter what people say or think about them.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your standpoint but, during that time, the white people didn't think or know any better. When Mr. Ostrowski told him to think realistically and become a carpenter, Malcolm almost took it as, no matter who he talks to that is white, they don't expect him to become a lawyer so, they mock him and laugh
DeleteI agree with you because the school wasn't treating Malcolm as an equal because he was black. His teachers thought that he couldn't become a layer or get a good profession like that simply because he was a darker color then the other students at Mason High School.
DeleteI agree that Malcolm saw himself as a leader of the school to a certain extent. Others’ racist acts and comments towards him clearly discouraged him as he realized that white people would never give him enough credit, just because he was a different race than them.The quote you used is very powerful because I believe that it was what Mr. O told him that completely depleted his confidence, making him feel like a mascot and not a leader.
DeleteHim thinking he was a mascot is a good reason to act like he did. After going to Boston and seeing how respectful the white people were to the Africa- Americans, he didn’t want to be treated like an object like in Mason and in Lansing. “It was a surprising thing that I had never thought of it that way before, but I realized that whatever I wasn’t, I was smarter than nearly all of those white kids. (2-38-5) After going to Boston, he started to resent all of the white kids and his white teacher because of how loosely they threw around the N-word, like it didn’t bother him. He was in the right to be angry with them, he wanted to be treated like an equal not a “novelty”
ReplyDeleteI agree that it was a good reason for why he acted the way he did, but In Lansing I don't see how he was treated like an object. I see that he was treated poorly to the extent of killing his father, they aren't just "objects" to the white people they are a nuisance. I find it surprising that they just let people kill black people back then.
DeleteI agree with what you said about him wanting to be treated equal. Even though they were nice to him they were not really “nice”. They would throw the N-word around like there was no tomorrow and they would stereotype him, saying that because he was African American he should know the most about how to do things with girls. He got fed up with the way he was being treated.
DeleteI agree that he could have been feed up but I don't believe the way he acted was good. Yes I understand anger but I also feel that in the end there may have been a better way to go about things then what he did.
DeleteI agree that he didn't want to be treated like an object just a person. The fact that they would just be saying the "N" word whenever they wanted to say it was so disrespectful and was not necessary.
DeleteAgreed man. They basically had Malcolm in that school to show that they were not 100% racist and kind of used him to show off to others. If I was him I would be upset too with how people treated me after realizing they were being mean and racist. He goes to Boston where everyone is accepting him for being African-America and showed they didn't care about his skin color and just saw him as a normal human being.
DeleteI agree that he felt like he was being treated as a novelty instead of a person. They said things like the N word making him feel like he wasn't the same and didn't deserve the same things other kids did. He had a right to resent them because his teachers and classmates didn't think they were doing any harm but they made him feel like an outcast.
DeleteI agree Ivori, his whole world changed after going to Boston. He began to realize his self worth.
DeleteI agree that after returning from Boston, Malcolm started realizing his worth more than before he left. Although the people from Lansing, didn't necessarily mean any harm, he was still targeted for the racial slurs that would make him feel like an outcast.
DeleteI think Malcolm was in the right to reflect on how he believes he is seen by his peers and by himself because he felt as if he was no more than a “mascot” because everyone around him treated him well but he also felt that because he is seen as a “mascot” that the grades and rank he reached the school wasn’t because of his hard work but also because he was different. I don’t think this was a fair assessment because Malcolm mainly focused on the negative reason than the positives. For example (32) “It seemed that the white boys felt that I, being a Negro, just naturally knew more about “romance,” or sex,”. This could be seen as a positive because then actually think he knows his way around the girls not because he is a “mascot” but because of who he is and I think that if he looked a little closer then he would see that he wasn’t treated nicely just because of how they saw him.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your statement and you have a valid point about them treating him a little bit nicer saying he knows the ladies because he is black but they were also making the girls lower there expectations due to him asking him to go out with them, so that they can go out with those girls. They are using him for there own gain.
DeleteAgreed. Some people however hear someone say something mean and try to make it a compliment. So maybe it wasn't Malcolm not knowing. Maybe it was him making the best of a bad situation. Because I know I have done that before myself.
DeleteTo be a "mascot" was to be unique and stand out. Malcolm X probably felt this way because on page 27 he stated he was able to eat with older white people. Most African-Americans at the time were not allowed to do that. Page 25 and 26 he were a hat on in the building on purpose when hats were not allowed. The teacher told him to keep it on and walk around the room all class hour as punishment. He stood out when he was walking around. His class for sure would have been distracted and kept looking at him. Making him stand out. I know I for sure would have kept looking at him.
ReplyDeleteIt really shows how childish people back then were... To make a person walk around the room with a hat just because of their color is just unfair to him. if a white child would have done the same thing as Malcolm they would have gotten a slap on the wrist at worst. but walking around the room all hour is just embarrassing.
DeleteI think because of Malcolm being African American he already stood out to teachers and students at that time but because of him wearing that hat I think his teacher was trying to prove point that Malcolm wasn't special that he would be punished in his own way witch would make Malcolm stand up for himself more and ultimately get himself expelled.
DeleteI agree with your mascot statement. He stood out from the rest of his school but in different ways. On the positive side like you said, he was able to have more rights than other African Americans. On the other hand, people were still extremely racist towards Malcolm.
DeleteMalcolm considered himself a mascot because he stood out amongst all the white kids at Mason Junior High School. He was treated differently than everyone else and wasn't taken seriously because he was just their mascot. Malcolm realized this after he had his talk with Mr. Ostrowski when he said, "It was a surprising thing that I had never thought of it that way before, but I realized that whatever I wasn't I was smarter than nearly all of those white kids. But apparently I was still not intelligent enough, in their eyes, to become whatever I wanted to be." (Haley 38). This is where Malcolm truly understood how everyone looked at him and that's when he began to change and became more aware of the meaning of what others were saying about him. Malcolm wanted to be treated equally compared to his peers, but everyone at school just saw him as a type of trophy that they could show off.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Malcolm saw himself as a mascot because he stood out. Although his skin color made him stand out, everyone seemingly still liked him. He got good grades, and he was popular because of basketball. You would think he would be happy with this however after all the racial slurs and his teacher’s advice he started to draw away from others and realized how others really saw him. They degraded and belittled his dreams just because of his race.
DeleteI agree that during the conversation, Malcolm realized he was smarter and more capable than the other students, but still treated like he didn’t have feelings. His scores were something for the other students to strive for because they couldn’t be behind a black kid. Although that is an assumption, I would not be surprised to find out the staff used it as a motivator for the white kids to succeed. A lot like how students are supposed to strive for the greatness of a mascot.
DeleteI agree with you that Malcolm did feel like a mascot among his fellow students at his school and he also felt as if he was not really looked at for who he was or even as a actual student among his teacher.
DeleteMalcolm X is expelled from school in Lansing at the age of 13. He is sent to live in a detention home in the neighboring city of Mason. Mr. and Mrs. Swerlin like Malcolm very much. Mrs. Swerlin finds an after school job for Malcolm in a local restaurant. He achieves academic success in the white junior high school he attends, and particles in several after school activities. Thanks to his popularity, he is elected class president. Malcolm writes to Ella, saying that he would like to come live with her in Boston. As the chapter concludes, Ella receives official custody of Malcolm, and he moves to Boston.
ReplyDeleteMalcolm X thinks of himself as a mascot, he feels like since he is black that’s the only thing he represents even though he knows he is better. He even sees himself being more as seen on page 38 when Malcolm says “Well, yes, sir, I’ve been thinking I’d like to be a lawyer.”. Even when he thinks he is just as good as anybody no matter the skin color he starts to succumb to the fact people were never going to look at blacks differently. He realizes this because Mr. Ostrowski says “But you’ve got to be realistic about being a n*****. A lawer-thats no realistic goal for a n*****.”. Obviously this can affect how he feels about himself and how he views other people.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree that, that type of negative language towards someone that he experienced and can affect one and he saw that and eventually became, a human right activists as we know him today. I think if his teacher hadn't said that to him, he may not have been known today.
DeleteMalcolm X was socially and academically successful at Mason Junior High because he was very popular on his own and with the pros of living with Mrs. Swerlin and he exceeded in his classes but later on when it came to telling Mr. Ostrowski that he wanted to be a lawyer, Mr. Ostrowski quickly turned him down. "Malcolm, one of life's first needs is for us to be realistic. Don't misunderstand me, now. We all like you, you know that. But you've got to be realistic about being a n****r. A lawyer - that's no realistic goal for a n****r." This is then when he realized he was just a mascot because although he was someone to be looked at and liked, they never thought too highly of him enough to be successful because of his color.
ReplyDeleteExactly. It didn't matter how cool he was or how smart he was; his de facto identity was the Token Black Guy, and that's all he would ever be. As sad as it is, that's just how things worked: non-whites were at a disadvantage, and even the people who weren't themselves discriminating still had their own stereotypes.
DeleteIn Malcolm X, Malcolm is in junior high and he is academically doing super well in all his classes. His social life, he noticed, is the same as well. He considered himself a “novelty,'' as he said on page 29. He later in the book says he is a “mascot”. Yes, his social and educational life are positive, but he also has negative attention towards him, which adds and makes him feel like a “mascot”. The word mascot to me means, someone who stands out from everyone else, But can also be looked at as a leader, or looked down upon as someone who’s going to ruin things. Malcolm fits both criteria, but overall, I feel his mascot attitude is looked at as negative. For example, on page 37 and 38, Malcolm is asked if he has a plan as a career from his teacher. Malcolm replies with “Well, yes, sir, I’ve been thinking I’d like to be a lawyer.” (Page 38). He was very confident about his career choice, but back then this was something that was viewed as impossible for a person of dark color. His teacher said to him that he would consider Malcolm being a carpenter. Which was very racist and down grading.
ReplyDeleteMalcolm's response to himself being the mascot of the school is being disappointed, he himself is disappointed with the fact that people see him as the only “different” one and not the same way as them. I feel that Malcolm feels this way because he realized that he was one of the only black kids, if not, the only black kid at school. I do not think this is a fair assessment of the situation from the eyes of the white kids looking to cause him harm because they mean the word “mascot” in a negative light in this situation.
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DeleteI agree with what you said about him not being seen as different.
Deletei agree with what Dan said by saying he was different. Malcolm did feel like he was an attraction at a carnival, bad being the only black kid in his school only defined that more. Dan really summed up how he felt and why he was the way he is.
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ReplyDeleteEven though Malcolm X was successful in school both academically and socially, he reflects that he was merely just a “mascot”. Malcolm went to school with many white people and lived with white people, he was the only African American in his town. He felt isolated because there was no one else in his town that looked like him, “I had become a mascot; our branch of the family was split to pieces; I had forgotten about being a little in any family sense”(Haley 35). He was put into this new life not by choice and because of that he was forgetting who he was. By being the only African American in a white persons world made him feel as if he was their mascot.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you because no matter what Malcolm did it seemed to never be enough, becoming class president wasn't enough being top of the class wasn't enough. Because no matter what Malcolm could achieve it would never be enough because all of his achievements would never change his skin color.
DeleteMalcolm X felt like a mascot due to the fact he would never be accepted as a human to the white people. After excelling in academics, he started to stick out even more amongst a primarily white school. Unfortunately, Malcolm was still just the black kid in the school. This was made very clear when a conversation with Mr. O ended up going like this, “You’ve got to be realistic about being a n****... why don't you plan on carpentry”(Haley39). By saying this, it further explains that even though all black people should strive to be like Malcolm, he will overall still be treated like less of a human.
ReplyDeleteI disagree I don’t feel as if Malcolm felt like he was treated less of a human per say, more as of that he didn’t have the same opportunities as everyone else because of his skin color.
DeleteIn chapter two Malcom X started feeling different and did not fit in he was different from the others like in this quote from chapter two “After the basketball games, there would usually be a school dance. Whenever our team walked into another schools gym for the dance, with me among them, I could feel the freeze. It would start to ease as they saw that I didn't try to mix, but stuck close to someone on our team, or kept to myself.” (Pg, 31) he did not want to go to dances because he was in a white school.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you when you used the Quote, "After the basketball games, there would be a school dance. Whenever our team walked into another schools gym for the dance, with me among them, I could feel the freeze. It would start to ease as they saw that I didn't try to mix, but stuck close to someone on our team, or kept to myself." because it shows that he was like the mascot at their school. And it also shows that none of his team mates took the time to call him over to join the dance/ to dance with them.
DeleteMalcolm sees himself as a mascot because even though hes a really great student people still don't really have much respect towards him. Since he is the only black student he is always seen as someone who stands out from all the other students. Even though he is one of the best students and he knows that, he is always looked down upon by his classmates and teachers because of his skin color.
ReplyDeleteI disagree because even his teacher said he liked him however he just had an unrealistic goal and for back in his time they were right based on how they were treated, however in today's world he could have done it.
DeleteI agree because when he was alone in his English class with his teacher, Mr. Ostrowski, told him that he had a unrealistic goal for a black person to achieve and step lower to something like a carpenter because black people were great with their hands.
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ReplyDeleteI agree that no one in that school respect Malcolm X in any shape or form. The fact that he has no friends and has no confident from anyone from that school is sad because he feels lonely and no one likes feeling that way.
DeleteMalcolm X saw himself as a mascot because he was profoundly one of the best students at Mason Junior High both academically and socially. He wanted to fit in but couldn’t, he stood out. He stood out because he was black, and because of race he was looked down upon. He told his teacher he wanted to be a lawyer and was quickly shut down and rejected. His teacher said, “you’ve got the be realistic about being a n*****,” (Malcolm 38). As we see in the present day, that is complete wrong and everything is diverse between race and gender.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this because no matter what Malcolm did he would always be know as the "black kid". Even though he was popular and voted class president he would always be the black kid at school. Although he was popular and everyone liked him no one would want to support him to do what he wanted because he was still black.
DeleteI agree with what you are saying about the mascot part and the reasons he is a mascot, but people of different races, genders and ages are still being ostracized to this day it just might not be as prevalent in America as it used to be but it is still happening a lot in other countries.
DeleteI completely agree with your reasoning on how he is the mascot but you mentioned on how he didn't fit in and I think he did for the most part because he was popular, he just didn't fit in color wise when it came to thinking about having the job title of being a lawyer because back then it was never even though of that people of color could be greater or even at things than the whites.
DeleteI agree with your reasoning as although he exceed and the students and teachers accepted that he is a great student. It was the belief of him being black they could't let him exceeded on more as of his race was the reason the teacher didn't want Malcolm to be a lawyer since he believed it would work out due to his race which then he recommended carpenter since most of the "successful" blacks would be carpenters.
DeleteI agree with what you are saying about Malcolm being the mascot. I think he is the mascot because he is the center of attention and everyone looks at him for being different in their eyes. In class even the teacher is treating him different because he is saying that he can not be a lawyer because of his skin color and that he has to be realistic and to have his standers low for his future.
DeleteI feel that Malcolm sees himself as a mascot because he is the “token” black kid at his school.He is the top of his school and is class president. Everyone all around enjoys him as a person. On the other hand he also feels like he has no sense of community or place other then to be good at school. This is held true by a conversation he had with one of his teachers “ you’ve got to be realistic about being a n— why don’t you plan on going into carpentry” (page 38). I feel this quote supports this idea of him being a mascot because they hold him higher up because he is colored and the top of his class. But when he wants to become something that’s apart of the community he gets shut down.
ReplyDeleteI like how you stated "feels like he has no sense of community" because he really didn't ever see other African Americans he could relate to, he was always surrounded by white people that seen him differently. I agree when you say he gets shut down to be apart of the white community because the white people didn't think his dream was realistic but they still hold him up to a higher standard.
DeleteMalcolm X thinks of himself as a mascot based on the fact that he is one of the only black kids in his school and he felt like he was the center of attention and he did not feel comfortable about it. All though he felt like he was the center of attention because he was and he didn't have any friends in that school based on the fact that everyone would us the “N” word around him and that is so disrespectful toward him. He didn't do anything to deserve that, in class he had said to the teacher that he wanted to be a lawyer and Mr. Ostrowski said “A lawyer- that’s no realistic goal for a n****r” (page 38). He was so upset because the teacher told him he couldn't do what he wanted just because of his race and that's not realistic.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the disrespect he got from classmates and even teachers was not deserved because he was so little and tried his best in school. I also think you're right when you say he felt the center of attention because he was always being looked at differently and talked about under the breath of people or right in front of his face.
DeleteI agree with everything you said about how he is the mascot. You can clearly see that everyone treats him different because he is african american and he doesn't look the same as the rest of the kids in his school and everyone that is around him. Everyone clearly knows he is around when they say things about him and they just don't care what he thinks or feels.
DeleteMalcolm seen himself as the mascot of the school because in a all white school, he was the only black kid. He rose above and beyond to be the best he could and he was one of the most smartest kids in the school. He felt so good to be smarter than most kids but that didn't matter to his teacher Mr.O because when he told him he wanted to be a lawyer he said the most disrespectful thing you can say: "You've got to be realistic about being a n****... why don't you plan on carpentry" (Haley 39). I do think its a fair assessment because the disrespect he encounters at school, the feeling of not at home, and how he only sees white people all around him is the reason he sees himself as the mascot. Also because you can tell he felt different than others and he was alone with nobody he can relate to.
ReplyDeleteMalcolm thinks of himself as a "mascot" because he feels out of place in the school he was in. The school was all white kids and he was the only one of color. Mr. O pushed Malcolm's hopes and dreams of becoming a lawyer out the window by making a comment that Malcolm didn't like. "A lawyer - that's no realistic goal for a n*****, you need to think of something you CAN be." (Haley, pg 38). This affected Malcolm by having him change what his dream was.
ReplyDeleteIt's not so much that he felt out of place that made him feel like a mascot: because he was very much in place with being poplaur and all. It's more so of the fact that EVERYONE, students, teachers, anyone else around him thought highly of him but not enough to even accept the fact that he thought about being a lawyer and that he could be, but because he was dark, that was out of question.
DeleteAfter Malcolm X visited his half-sister, Ella, he explored Boston where he felt like he was connected with the community, white and black couples holding hands in public, music playing on jukeboxes, and churches for black people where the black people worshiped with their souls and body and the whites used words. Malcolm X soon returned back to Mason where the community is mostly white and he doesn’t feel the same as he was in Boston. A piece of text to show this is, “my restlessness with Mason--and for the first time in my life as I got back home and entered eighth grade. I continued to think constantly about all that I had seen in Boston, and about the way I felt there. I know now that it was the sense of being a real part of a mass of my own kind, for the first time” (Malcolm X 37). He began to think of himself as a mascot because he was the only black person in his school, the “n” word didn’t bother him until now, and he changed his point of view on whites. I think it was a fair assessment of the situation because he didn’t feel like he fit in the white community and it was his first time being in a community with blacks during his visit in Boston.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with the him feeling like a mascot because of the whole situation at school, but for the Boston part, I don't see it or agree with it as well because I don't see any relation to him being a mascot.
DeleteMalcolm X saw himself as a "mascot" at his school because he was one of the only African American students' at his school. From this being said, Malcolm stood out to his primarily white classmates and staff. Although he was successful socially and academically, his classmates still targeted him by throwing the N-Word at him, so he still may have felt like an outcast. Even on page 38, one of his teachers asked Malcolm what he would like to do in his future, he said he would like to be a lawyer, his teacher responded with: “...A lawyer--that’s no realistic goal for a n****r. You need to think about something you can be…. Why don’t you plan on carpentry? People like you as a person--you’d get all kinds of work.” Although Malcolm was seemingly excelling in school, he was still African American, which back then caused him years of disrespect.
ReplyDeleteI do agree, but I wouldn't consider him much of an outcast, since he did have a lot of the school's attention, like page 32 described.
DeleteMalcolm X saw himself as a “mascot” because he was one of the only African Americans at his school and although he was well liked and quite intelligent, people still saw him differently. “What I am trying to say is that it never dawned upon them that I could understand, that I wasn’t a pet, but a human being.” (28) All the staff and other students saw was a black kid in a school that was primarily made up of white people, someone who stands out, someone who is different, which is why he believes he was the mascot. They never respected him as an individual or someone just as intelligent as them, they just saw him as another black boy.
ReplyDeleteThat's what I thought the reasoning was behind calling himself a mascot too! Another example of when the African American race's intelligence was insulted was when his teacher told him that he couldn't be a lawyer because it wasn't a realistic career goal for his race on page 39. I couldn't agree more that he felt like a mascot because of the racism he dealt with at school despite being a friendly person and a great student.
DeleteMalcolm X was top of his class in academics and popularity because of his work ethic and his being the "Mascot" of the school. He was popular but he was not treated so much as a human but as a novelty as he has said in this quote he talks about how they talk like he is not even there “They would even talk about “ni***rs,” as though I wasn't there, as if I wouldn’t understand what the word meant.” (Halsey 27). Also he was one of the top of his class in academics and he went home one day and told Mr. Ostrowski that he wanted to be a lawyer when he grew up, but Mr. Ostrowski thought that was not a good idea. “Malcolm, one of life’s first needs is for us to be realistic. Don’t misunderstand me, now. We all here like you, you know that. But you’ve got to be realistic about being a ni***r. A lawyer-- that’s no realistic goal for a ni***r.” (Halsey 38). I find this to show that he not only is seen as a mascot but also knows and thinks that he is seen as a mascot by his peers and himself.
ReplyDeleteI believe it was a reasonable response to think of himself as a mascot. Malcolm was treated as a trophy on the wall or a well trained house cat. The Swerlins could use him to make themselves look better to surrounding while folks since they had “reformed” a troublesome black boy into something so talented and well behaved. This is proven when Malcolm says, “He was looking me up and down, his expression approving, like he was examining a fine colt, or pedigreed pup...” (28). When Malcolm went to Boston, he realized that just because he was black, doesn’t mean he should have been treated so differently because when he was just another “negro” on the streets in Boston, he didn’t get all the special treatment he did as if he were in Lansing.
ReplyDeleteI agree, especially with his choice to go to boston, as that made him realize who he really was, and how normal he really was.
DeleteI agree with you when you said that Boston changed him. When he was in Michigan he was treated as a trophy because of his grades but most importantly just because or his color. If it wasn't for all the racial slurs and the teacher telling him he wasn't good enough to become a lawyer, he wouldn't have been so self conscious about himself. But once going to Boston, he realized that he didn't have to feel that way because he felt like he belonged there which made him feel better about himself. Then he took that same energy back with him to Lansing.
DeleteWhen I read that his teacher did this, it personally upsets me slightly, to hear about such a young boy being degraded in such a way. If we were to see this treatment in modern times, it would have a very different effect on others. It's hard to believe that this man had no problem spitting up those words to a vulnerable and impressionable yet ‘meaningful’ child of the negro culture.
ReplyDeleteIt was reasonable that Malcolm X saw himself as a mascot because his school treated him as a prize instead of human being. He was one of the only black students and they bragged about how good of a student he was despite his life or race. even though he made good grades and did well socially he knew people didn't believe he was capable of doing great things because of race. An example of this is on page 38 when he told his teacher that he wanted to become a lawyer and his teacher's response was “A lawyer-that's no realistic goal for a n*****. You need to think about something you can be.” and then told him he should be a carpenter.
ReplyDeleteI agree when you say that the white people treated him like a prize. It seemed like everyone around him rooted for him to be great so they could take credit for his own success. Also, everyone around him was mostly white so that didn't help his own aspect of his own happiness and credibility to his accomplishments in the slightest.
DeleteTo me, being considered a “mascot” means that you stand out or are different from most others. Although Malcolm X was both socially and academically successful at Mason Junior High School, he sees himself as a mascot because he was one of the very few black kids attending a white school: “They didn’t give me credit for having the same sensitivity, intellect, and understanding that they would have been ready and willing to recognize in a white boy in my position . . . even though they appeared to have opened the door, it was still closed. Thus they never did really see me” (28). The white staff and students at the school treated him like he was out of place because of his skin color, ostracizing him into feeling like a whole different breed or “mascot” because of the racism that was going on. He never got credit for all the hard work he did, making him feel like “they never did really see” him, as if he was in a mascot’s suit.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. No matter how smart he was and how much people liked him, he was always seen differently in the eyes of all the white students and teachers. He worked hard because he had dreams he wanted to accomplish only to have those very same dreams snatched away. They were snatched away because he was told he should find a realistic dream for a black boy. Like you said they never saw him as an equal.
DeleteEven though Malcolm X did well in school and was liked among his classmates and the people he lived with, he felt he was a mascot because he lived with all white people for multiple years and also went to school with white people. Being the only person of his skin color in his setting made him feel as if he was singled out and he was viewed differently. “I was unique in my class, like a pink poodle” (32). This shows that Malcolm was looked at as more of a prize rather than a person sometimes. Also while being around white people so long, Malcolm realized that they would talk about black people and use racial slurs right in front of him as if he wasn’t there.
ReplyDeleteI strongley agree with that you said about how being the only person of his color in his surroundings made him feel left out. Especially about the part of his new family and people at school calling him racial slurs in front of him. Of course he was going to feel unwanted if they kept calling him names that they shouldn't even be calling him in the first place. I thought it was worse when even the teacher started treating him differently just because of his race!
DeleteAt Mason Junior High School Malcolm felt like a mascot And I might have a good reason for that because he was kind of like the only darker colored skin there at that school but it was mostly after the first trip over to Boston with Ella. Where he met new and more people like him. And I think it was after the fact that one of his teachers that he has told him that his dream would not come true at all. On page 37 said , “He told me, “Malcolm you ought to be thinking about a career. Have you been giving it a thought?” The truth is, I hadn’t. I never have figured out why I told him, “Well, yes, sir, I’ve been thinking I’d to be a lawyer.” He kind of half-smiled and said, “Malcolm, one of life’s first needs is for us to be realistic. Don’t misunderstand me, now. We all here like you, you know that. But you’ve got to be realistic about being a nigger. A lawyer-that’s no realistic goal for a nigger. You need to think about something you can be. You’re good with your hands-making things. Everybody admires your carpentry shop work. Why don’t you plan a carpentry? People like you as a person-you’d get all kinds of work.” ”
ReplyDeleteI agree with you when you said that he was the only black kid in the school, that he was also voted for class president, and kind of always was on the top of his class because that made him stand out much more than just being the only black kid in the school.
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ReplyDelete“Mascot” is what the called Malcolm x something that he never thought they would label him like that because he lived with a white family he thought they had more respectful but they didn't care they would always say the n word in front of him and that made me sad and made him feel like he was nothing to them. He was very unhappy living somewhere he didn't think he belong because he was the only colored person in that place.
“Mascot” is what the called Malcolm x something that he never thought they would label him like that because he lived with a white family he thought they had more respectful but they didn't care they would always say the n word in front of him and that made me sad and made him feel like he was nothing to them. He was very unhappy living somewhere he didn't think he belong because he was the only colored person in that place for example when his teacher told him he could never fall his dream because he was a different skin tone then everyone else there. Well yes sir I've been thinking i'd like to be a lawyer. Lansing certainly had no negro lawyers or doctors either.” that made Malcolm feel like he really couldn't do it because he was a different tone than everyone else but that didn't stop him he kept on going and followed him dream.
DeleteI believe the response with being termed as the “mascot” is because he might feel socially inclined to be because of being “unique” in his class by being an black male having the highest grades. “But I can see now why the class might have done it. My grades were among the highest in the school. I was unique in my class, like a pink poodle.” Page 32. It provides evidence he feels different from others like a “pink poodle” and needs to be represented as it but also provided an ideal leadership role. Later he reflects it “I am spending much of my life today telling the American black man that he’s wasting his time straining to “Integrate” I know from personal experience. I tried hard enough.” Page 33. It provides that he knew that he was trying to “integrate” into the white man's world and was shown to be feeling like a mascot for the other black men.
ReplyDeleteI agree because Malcolm felt inhibited for being the only black person in his school in Mason. He grew up in a white people's town, not knowing what it's like to be a black person who could express who they really are. That was the difference he found as he went to Boston and compared to Mason and Lansing where he felt restricted of his actions.
ReplyDeleteAs being the only Black kid in school, Malcolm shortly became a prized possession. Although he excelled in many classes. The complexion of his skin would continue to put him below the rest. Malcolm always new his potential as an African American, but he would be looked at as stupid if he ever tried to even think about having a job or goals remotely close to the white folks at the time "A lawyer--that’s no realistic goal for a n****r. You need to think about something you can be" (38).
ReplyDeleteI agree. Although Malcolm succeeded academically and socially, he was never viewed the same as the white boys his age. They looked at him as if he were different because he was one of the only black kids that went to that school. Even teachers, who are supposed to encourage us to reach our goals and make our dreams for the future a reality, thought of him as less than what he truly was.
DeleteI agree with what you said. Even though he was doing great in his school his teachers still put him down and made it seem like everything he wanted to do was impossible just because of his skin color.
DeleteI believe that Malcolm X’s belief of being a “mascot” is very valid, as everyone did treat him special for being black. One piece of evidence is found on page 32, where it states, “Then, in the second semester of the seventh grade, I was elected class president. It surprised me even more than other people. But I can see now why the class might have done it.” According to his belief and this quote, they elected him because he was black, and he did not like feeling special for that.
ReplyDeleteTo put it in the best words possible, Malcolm saw himself as the school mascot because he was the only black guy in his school of pretty much all white students and staff. Regardless of doing good in school and having friends, the teachers still saw him ass black, and due to his race, the white students making there frequent N-word jokes as like he wasn’t even by them. Mr Ostrowski’s advice to Malcolm, quoted on page “38”...A lawyer-that’s no realistic goal for a n****r. You need to think about something you can be… why don’t you plan on carpentry? People like you as a person-you’d get all kinds of work.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you said. Even though everyone around him treated him equally to his face they still saw him as African American and they still talked bad about the fact that he was of that ethnicity.
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ReplyDeleteI think the reason why he is calling himself a mascot is because he had a different ethnicity than most of the other people at his school. I think he felt that he was a mascot was because of how teachers told him he couldn't do what his dream was, for example, on page # 27 he says “They would even talk about me, or “n****rs,” as though I wasn’t there, as if I wouldn't understand what the word meant.” This shows he’s a mascot because they didn’t care that he was standing around when they were talking like that and they treated him good other than when they were talking like that around him.
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