The Autobiography of Malcolm X
* Introduction
* The Two Authors
* Historical and Political Setting
* Summary
* Malcolm X' Personality
* The Authors' Intentions and Themes of the Book
* Structure, Language and Style
* Personal Opinion
* Used Edition
Introduction
When Malcolm X was murdered in the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem on February 21, 1965, he was world-famous as "the angriest black man in America." By that time he had completed his autobiography, so we have now the opportunity to get information of this both hated and loved Afro-American leader's life at first hand. The book "The Autobiography of Malcolm X," which he wrote with the assistance of Alex Haley, was first published in 1965.
The Two Authors
Malcolm X did not write his autobiography on his own, but he told his life to the journalist and novelist Alex Haley. Haley had already interviewed Malcolm X for the Playboy magazine.
Malcolm X
détail of meeting where Elijah Muhammad addresses...
Elijah Muhammad standing behind microphones at pod...Later, he asked him if he would tell his life story for publication. After some thoughts and the agreement of Malcolm X' spiritual leader, Mr Elijah Muhammad, he accepted under the condition that all money would go to Mr Muhammad's organisation, the Nation of Islam. From this day until his early death, Malcolm X would regularly tell Alex Haley his life and thoughts, who ordered it and wrote it down. After "The Autobiography of Malcolm X," Alex Haley completed his own contribution to Afro-American literature, "Roots".
Historical and Political Setting
In the years around 1960, the American Negroes became increasingly active in the struggle for civil rights. The liberal, intellectual Afro-American leaders such as Martin Luther King and their supporters, who fought for equality of and integration among black and white, had participated in freedom rides and protest marches to finally abolish segregation.