Classic Novels

What makes a novel "a classic"? A classic novel doesn't have to be written by an extremely old person who is all wrinkly and has white hair. A novel that is read throughout the world and has an impact on people's lives is what makes a novel a classic. A classic novel is able to open new ideas and horizons for numerous amounts of leader. It has the ability to influence change in a time period and open new ideas to the public. Classic novels usually influence turning points in history and it is a story that has been passed down from generation to generation. A classic novel is read for hundreds and hundreds of years.

my comments to others...

angel,
on your first point, i really enjoyed reading your blog because it gave a new sense at how to look at things. I really was intrigued by your views on how a person can come back from the dead; not physically, but mentally.

I also enjoyed reading your second point. However, i do believe that childhood friends are the most loyal. Whether someone is best friends with that person in 10 years, or whether the two had a falling out, there were so many secrets shared with one another that i believe that person would bury those secrets in their soul. Even though the two people may not be the best of friends anymore, i do believe that the relationship that consisted between the two people will overcome the urge to go and rat that one person's secret or whatever the case may be.

March 19, 2009 6:43 PM

Shayna,
You had interesting thoughts and i do understand what your are trying to get across to your readers. However, although i do agree with you that the consequences that come with a bullies actions are justified, i'm looking at it in a different way. I feel that if someone wants revenge, the best revenge is to simply not give a hoot. Ignore what is being done or said to or about you, because honestly, if the words or actions that come out of one's mouth don't mean a thing to you, the bully is not going to have any satisfaction in doing these acts. If someone doesn't acknowledge what the bully is saying about them, it just shows that you are the bigger person and it just makes the bully look like a complete moron. And i think that is the best revenge.

March 19, 2009 6:51 PM

JJ
i completly agree with you 100% on everything that you blogged about. You couldn't be more on key with what you said. Like you i agree that no, not all rich people are snobs; however there are handfuls who take their money for granted, have things handed to them, and become these greedy brats. I feel that is partially the parents fault because they are the ones who do the initiating. Instead of teaching their children the understand of money, they just hand them however much they ask for right when they ask for it. These types of kids never hear the word no. But there are those few families who, like you said, teach their children the morals of money. So like you said, "no not all rich people are stingy and selfish, many are but there are some who are well rounded and perfectly satisfied".

March 19, 2009 7:03 PM

adopted/foster children

An adopted or foster child will never be accepted as a "real" member of a family.  I think this question is a false statement because one does not have to be blood related to be family. A family consists of people who love and care about each other. It consist of people who will go to the end of the world for that one member of the family, whether blood related or not, and help that person out not matter what the circumstances are. Just because the adopted child is not the families biological child, it doesn't mean that the family won't care and take that child into their home (as their own). No matter blood or non-blood related, if a family wants to make someone apart of their family, they will. Families are about people who care for one another and worry about them.

A foster child will be accepted as a "real" member of a family because the parents will take them in as their own, nurture them, and be their providers. The families would support this adopted/foster child just as they support their own. Just because a child does not live with their biological family, their new family would love them as their own, and support this child through everything they go through.

Although best friends are different than foster children in many ways, my family considers my best friend, danielle, as part of our own family. She is always hanging around the house and the rules that apply to me and my siblings also apply to her. If anything were to happen to her my parents would worry just as much as they would worry about their own children. It's the same situation with my sister's two best friends, Mollie and Jackie. They are around us 24/7 and every time i walk into the kitchen there they are. They are apart of our family, not because they're always over but because we trust them with our hearts and love being in their company.

Being a family is more than having a blood relationship. There needs to be a strong bond between a group of people, there needs to be trust, and love between these people. So whether a child is adopted or biological, it doesn't matter, because they will be accepted just the same.

P.S. even though kevin buonadonna is not apart of our family he is accepted into our family as one of us because of all the heart worming, loving, cherish-able time he spends with us. 

My Comments :]

Shayna

I can't stop thinking about Brother Tyreak when he sat us down to teach and speak about his religion. I too liked the way the Brother approached us. Like you said, he wasn't at all intimating and he was very easy to listen to. I was actually interested in what he had to say and i learned a lot from him. The Brother was an interesting person to listen to and learn from.

At one part in his "speech" he mentioned how you can't base a relationship around love. Even if you have all the love in the world for a person, it may still come apart at the seams. I have been thinking greatly about what Brother Tyreak had said (and now that it's down i think i will blog about it later lol) but i felt it related to my situation with "the boy". I felt that what Brother Tyreak said to us during the field trip wasn't just some little speech that we will just toss away in a few days, i feel that everything he said was reassuring and like you said, the minute i walked in i felt welcomed and respected by the Brother. 

great blog...it got me thinking :]
- gabrielle

March 9, 2009 6:28 AM

Shayna

This really was an interesting blog to read because of how personal you made it. I respect you so much for sharing this. I think a majority of someone's life is written down, except the ending to all the experiences. I believe it is the way that person acts towards what is happening to them or to someone close that ends that part of the story. For example, although it was a really hard and terrifying time in your life, your sister's, parents and brother's lives, i believe that you all decided to learn from this illness your sister had. Your didn't let it destroy your lives. Each and everyone of you learned from it and grew as a person. Each one of you grew stronger from this unforgivable illness that changed all of your lives. Although no one deserves to get sick, i think one reason a force pushes illness on someone is so that person and the people around them become stronger and closer to one another.

March 1, 2009 2:15 PM

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Kimberly

I too wrote about how reading can change or even save a person's life. And Jodi Picoult is life. She has taught me so much through reading many of her books. When I'm down in the dumps, annoyed, or frustrated, I always open up one of her books because my worries at the current moment get drowned out by the words that sit on the pages of Jodi Picoult's books.

March 1, 2009 2:47 PM

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Angel

i too also get mad at malcolm x when he generalizes whites into the one basic group. It really ticks me off because not all whites were like that; not all whites think black people are terrible people. I also agree with you when you say that depending on where someone grows up, it determines how they view other races. Like you said, the south still hasn't moved away from the past; they still discriminate against people who are of a different skin color and that bothers me immensely because how is someone going to judge someone based on their skin? How can a white person stand there and judge a black person mainly on their outside appearance without getting to know them and the person they are on the inside? They can't; people can't pass judgment on someone they haven't met because all they would be doing is making an assumption. I find it mind blowing that if a person was to grow up in a different section of new jersey, or even a different part of the united states, they wouldn't be the same person they are today because of how the people around them have different beliefs and views.

March 1, 2009 2:40 PM

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Jaime


I really enjoyed reading about how you view people as ignorant. I agree with that statement as well. There are many things people can be ignorant towards such as different religions, races, political views, and so on. But one thing that most people can admit to being ignorant towards is definitely other races. Like you, i haven't truly been exposed to other races as much as others have. I myself was actually ignorant towards the Muslim religion (so i learned on the trip to Harlem). However, by sitting and listening to Brother Tyreak, his words made me open my eyes to many more new thoughts and ideas. I feel that people should go out and meet and learn about other races in order to open new vistas in their lives. Great Job blogging. (i couldn't open up the link, but it seems interesting but at the same time shocking and upsetting).

March 10, 2009 6:25 AM

Harlem trip...#5

Neal Shoemaker said in the beginning of the tour, Harlem has been through major change. Everything in Harlem is changing for the better. I went online and researched how people were viewing the change and this website links to different people who have different opinions on how change has impacted their lives and what they think of it. Although Neal viewed the change as good, other's had different thoughts and the subject.

Walking around the streets of Harlem were a lot more exciting than i thought they would be. Every step i took i said to myself, "so many heroic black people walked these same streets i am walking; so many heroic black people have stepped in the same places i am stepping". Then when we stepped into the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, i really got a sense of the struggle black people have been put through. In one part of the Schomburg Center, there was a section focused mainly on Barack Obama. This section opened my eye's and it showed me how far African American's and blacks have really come.

Yesterday's field trip to Harlem really opened my eye's especially when we walked into the mosque. I think it was the first thing that Brother Tyreak said that really got me thinking and wondering 'what if'? He said that Muslim's don't have a set idea of what God himself looks like. They do not need to know what he looks like because he is in their mind and that is all they need to know who he is and what he is there for. This differs from my religion greatly because i always grew up with a set image of what God looks like. God to me is a man with long brown hair, milk white skin, and is very tall. But maybe that's the problem. Maybe it's that a majority of people have this set image of what he appears to be. Ever since i was a little girl, there were always pictures to lead me to believe what God looks like. But that's the thing. They were all just pictures and paintings. It surprises me how much you can take away from a religion that is not your own. To this day, the beliefs of Brother Tyreak linger in my head, and they always come up at random but useful times. What the Brother spoke about really made me change the way i view God. Is it wrong of me to view him as this white man? Should i not have this set image of him? Because all he really is is someone a person can turn to, someone a person can trust with all their secrets, and a person to turn to when life gets tough. I believe that Everything Brother Tyreak said really touched my heart.

The Apollo Theatre was gorgeous! i didn't want to leave. It was one experience i will never forget. So many famous singers have stepped into that stage and there is so much history located in the theatre. Billy, the man who showed us around, was so funny and he made the experience that much better. Having him explain the history behind the theatre really impacted how i viewed it. To think that the Apollo Theatre was one a hooker house really blew my mind because how can something that low get built up into something magnificent? I think the Apollo Theatre is significant to Harlem because it is a symbol of what can be built when someone strives for something.

I believe everything we saw, observed, and even ate, has so much symbolism in it. The buildings, i couldn't stop looking at them. Almost every building we passed was exquisite. People always think of Harlem as the dirty, dangerous area of the city. But if people would take the time to drive through, get a bite to eat, and look at all the gorgeous building structures, they would really get a better sense of what Harlem is. There is so much to Harlem that doesn't meet the eye. And if people would open their minds to new things, they would see that Harlem isn't just a place, it's a place filled with years of history.

the true meaning of love...#4

A lot of people may think that they have fallen in love, but falling in love means learning to look into the other person's soul and bring out the beauty within it.

"The Western 'love' concept, you take it apart, it really is lust. But love transcends just the physical. Love is disposition, behavior, attitude, thoughts, likes, dislikes--these things make a beautiful woman, a beautiful wife. This is the beauty that never fades. You find in your Western civilization that when a man's wife's physical beauty fails, she loses her attraction. But Islam teaches us to look into the woman, and teaches her to look into us," (Haley 237).

Wow, this quote really hit me. Although it is only a small section of the book, i find it incredible. This book has legit everything; drugs, racism, religion, segregation vs. separation, powerful insights to other cultures, powerful insights to other races, and love. in just a paragraph or two, Malcolm X is able to grasp the real meaning of love. The real meaning of love is truly what Malcolm suggest. Love is accepting the flaws the other person has and looking into their heart to learn about them on a more deeper level.

My mom and dad have been married for 25 years and they still look at each other with all the love in the world. My mom used to be very very skinny, but lately she has been struggling with her weight. she never seems satisfied with how much she weighs, although everyone else thinks that she looks great the way she is (and we don't say she looks good to make her feel better, my mom is a really attractive lady). Anyways, my point is that while other men watch their wives gain a few pounds over the years, they may look at them differently, be less attracted to their physical appearance, and make not so nice comments about things their wives are self-conscience about. However, my dad is constantly telling my mom how beautiful she is, how great she looks, and he is always commenting on the small things she does to herself; things most men probably don't acknowledge. My mom knows that after a long day of work, my dad is always looking forward to her home cooked meals. My mom, no matter how tired she is, always manages to whip together something delicious for my dad; and to me that is what the meaning of love is. My parents understand each other; they know who they are as a person, their likes and dislikes, and they both can sense when the other is frustrated or mad. Most importantly, they know when to be there for each other, and they know when to give each other their room. My parents have taught me the meaning of love just by the way they act when they are together. My dad still sees the same woman he fell in love with in high school and my mom still sees the high school hockey star she fell in love with; they didn't fall in love with each others appearances, but who they were on the inside.

 

I know it is a silly comparison, but take the children's movie Beauty and the Beast. The Beast is really a prince trapped inside this Beast because he was arrogant to love. He did not know how to love. However, to break the spell, he must learn to love and be loved by another person. Belle becomes trapped inside the Beasts castle in replace of her father and in the begging, Belle could not fall in love with the beast because she viewed him simply as a monster. However, the movie takes a turn and Belle is able to learn to love the person inside the "monster". Belle not only taught the Beast (or the prince trapped inside this monster's body) the meaning of love, but Belle was able to look past the Beast's outside appearance and learn who he was on the inside. Belle was able to see the true "prince" that was trapped inside this monster's body. Love is only powerful when it teaches people to look past the flaws of people and accept them for who they are on a more deeper level.

White Man's Burden...#3

This autobiography really has opened my mind to many things. it has helped me relate history and english and combind the things i have learned into one idea. It has helped me to understand the pain blacks and Muslims felt in the 1960s. It also opened my mind to looking at different perspectives.

"The Honorable Elijah Muhammad teaches us that segregation is when your life and liberty are controlled, regulated, by someone else. To segregate means to control. Segregation is that which is forced upon inferiors by superiors. But separation is that which is done voluntarily, by two equals--for the good of both! The Honorable Elijah Muhammad teaches us that as long as our people here in America are dependent upon the white man, we will always be begging him for jobs, food, clothing, and housing. And he will control our lives, regulate our lives, and have the power to segregate us," (Haley 251).

Even though in the past few chapters Malcolm X has been ranting on and on about how much he hates the white devils, i have to admit that i understand where he is coming from when he emphasizes to the whites and the "yard" Negroes that what he wants in society is separation; the flexibility to run his own life, make his own decisions, and not have someone else control his life without a say. At first i questioned Malcolm and did not realize why he wanted to be separated from the whites because i though that would just segregate the community more; and i feel that is something Malcolm preaches against. However, his explanation and understanding of what he preaches really helped me to learn the way he truly felt. Blacks and Muslims want the right to control their own life and not have to depend on the whites to get the necessities in life. These people do not want to be controlled, they want to have control over everything in their life.

Last year in history, i learned about the white man's burden. The poem can have many meanings, depending on the way you approach it. I feel that the whites and the "integration"-mad Negroes in this time period felt it was their "burden" to get the Muslims to understand that integration was the answer to all their problems. That would be one way of looking at this poem. However, a more deeper understanding of this poem would lead a reader to observe that it wasn't the white mans burden but really the burden they pushed onto other ethnic groups and races to be more like them. it was the burden of the "minority" to have to listen to these whites talk and not get the chance to speak up. However, malcolm did speak up; he wasn't hesitant to let the white men know that there was no need to interfere with the lives of Muslims and blacks. He let them know that the way the white devil treated the blacks was unacceptable and a burden on the black people's way of living. 

I think it is wrong to try and change a person to make them more like yourself. It doesn't feel good at all when someone tries to push their on views and beliefs on you (when honestly, you don't want to change at all). My younger brother is in 7th grade and at that age, kids don't really care about school. It breaks my heart however because constantly he is coming home with not so great grades because he simply doesn't put the effort into the tests and work. And time after time my parents yell at him to have better study habits the way i do. I just feel like my brother over time is going to build resentment towards me because my parents constantly are telling him to be more on top of his school work the way i am. I've realized that my brother is more likely to get an attitude with me rather than my sister. And i think the reason for this is because they are never saying study more like felicia, they say study more like gabrielle. I know it's the right thing for a parent to do, and they probably don't even realize what they are doing, but it hurts me to think that because of this, my brother is going to feel threatened and insulted by the way my parents push him to be more studious.

Reading opens new doors...#2

Chapter 11

Saved

Reading, in a way, saved Malcolm X. Reading has not necessarily saved my life, but the stories and books i read have had such impact on my life by opening new vistas for me.

"I have often reflected upon the new vistas that reading opened to me. I knew right there in prison that reading had changed forever the course of my life," (Haley 182).

Reading has the power to bring out emotions that someone has never felt before. It opens new doors for people to travel through and it broadens their knowledge and horizon. Whether someone reads historical, fiction, non-fiction, or religious books, reading, no matter what, has a positive impact on people. Malcolm, while in jail, turned to books and he learned that time flies by when buried in a good book. I can agree with Malcolm that looking back at the books that I have read really have had an impact on my life. Reading Malcolm X has had a huge impact on my life so far because before reading this autobiography, I too was some-what blind to how badly blacks where and still are portrayed in a white society. Reading this book, as well as many others, has led me to discover the impact people can have on other's lives. Books have taught me the negative impact people can have on one another and this book in particular has opened my mind to seeing the negative impact whites have on blacks. Malcolm learned a lot from reading the dictionary, Oriental philosophers writings, Parkhurst, Gregor Mendel, and Uncle Tom's Cabin (Haley 178). Some of my favorite writer's whom I have learned a lot of life lessons from are Jodi Picoult, Kristin Hannah, and Mitch Albom. Books and readings have powerful impacts on a person's life, and when someone is in need to feel emotions they can't feel, or grasp ideas they can't touch upon...find the right book and it will be able to capture your thoughts and offer insightful ideas.

An example of how books are influential and powerful.

^ I find it amazing, even looking at myself, how books are able to help guide you through life. Whether life at the time is rough, happy, nerve racking, or scary, there will always be a book to help guide your emotions and yourself through the journey you're about to take.

Blindness...

Chapter 11

Saved

"America's U.N. Ambassador Adlai Stevenson complained not long ago that in the United Nations 'a skin game' being played. He was right. He was facing reality. A 'skin game' is being played. ...Because who in the world's history ever has played a worse 'skin game' than the white man?" (Haley 182).

This quote goes back to what the class was discussing a week ago about how whites are more privileged than other races. In Malcolm X, when Red China started their anti-white campaign and closed their doors to the Western white world, America's U.N. Ambassador, Adlai Stevenson, complained that the Chinese were playing a "skin game" (Haley 181-182). Whites have the satisfaction [or privilege one might say] of not having to care about the racism that goes on around them because it is not specifically directed towards them. Whites are threatened when racial remarks or even something as "hate-white" campaigns are sprung against them. However, whites are blind to the fact that these are the feelings that are spread among others of other races such as black people. Whites are able to see the hate that is pushed their way but they are blind when it comes to realizing their own mistakes in judging other people from different races because of their skin color or ethnicity.

This is the list of privileges that we read over in class a couple of weeks ago. If you go onto the next website though, it highlights some other aspects as well...

This is a political blog but it really does highlight the aspects of the privileges white people have that blacks would be accused of for being irresponsible and stupid. (Read the first four or so paragraphs. It is a really an interesting way to look at what we had discussed in class).

Malcolm #2 (over break reading) ... #1

Chapter Eight

Trapped

The more you read into the bibliography of Malcolm X, the more one can see the devastating life Malcolm is living. He lives a life centered around narcotics and danger.

"The amount of dope I put into myself within the next several hours sounds inconceivable," (Haley 133).

Malcolm always needs to be high. Getting opium and smoking it, next taking benzedrine tablets to make him less drowsy, then smoking marijuana. By now, Malcolm had opium, benzedrine and reefers in his system and when he went to Sammy's house, he soon had cocaine in his system. The way Malcolm describes his high as timeless is unreal. How is someone able to live a life without really being there to live it? How can someone live their life high 24/7? 

Chapter Nine

Caught

Sometimes in order to change your life around, it means having to look over your life and see the bad and the good in it. Malcolm sunk to the very low of the American white man's society before he realized that changing his life was an essential task he had to complete.

"But I am spending many hours because the full story is the best way that I know to have it seen, and understood, that I sunk to the very bottom of the American white man's society when--soon now, in prison--I found Allah and the religion of Islam and it completely transformed my life," (Haley 153). 

When there is nothing left to lose, turing to religion and having faith seems like the best answer. When someone does something that is unforgivable they learn to accept their Lord, turning to them, asking for forgiveness and guidance. I have watched someone turn to their savior in time of need and transform their life into a more religious and preservative way of living. This person completely transformed himself from the dangerous person he was to someone who was so much more spiritual and spiritually guided. I have watched this person who is very close to me change their life around completely by reading the bible. I watched this man rework who he had become over the years and put all his trust, guilt, and sorrow into his savior, God. I watched this man develop year after year asking the Lord for forgiveness for the sins he had committed in his earlier years. It amazes me how someone who had done wrong in the world can change their life around by simply living and learning the life of their Lord. This man learned and saw the importance of changing his life around. He sunk to a time in his life that was very low, but out of it came this whole new life that he is living by today. As bad as making mistakes are, I feel it is necessary for people to make them. If people do not make mistakes, there would never be a chance for someone to seek the change that is needed in order to remold their life. Malcolm's younger years were so non-religion based that I am exited to see where Allah and the Islam religion is going to take him.

In an article I read from the New York Times, I learned that federal prisons nation wide are getting rid of religious books and materials. These prisons nation wide want to suspend religious readings and materials because they do not want to encourage the gatherings of Islamic and other "militant" religious groups. I feel that religion in prisons is important because it gives the prisoners a chance to change themselves into better people. Although having faith and knowing their Lord is always listening, I feel that these people need to read and learn more about their religion in order to really understand and accept it. I do not agree with what has happened in this article because without faith and religion, Malcolm X and the person I know would not be guided in the right direction.

what it means to be privileged

In today's class, I had so many strong opinions about a variety of topics. First off, I know that white people have so many privileges than other races do not. Some people may not care that they are white or that others are black but they don't understand that that is just one more privilege whites can add onto their lists; whites don't have to worry that they are white because people accept them just for that reason. However, blacks have been degraded for so many years that they see themselves as a burden in society. They constantly want to fit the white persons image in order to be accepted into a society that realistically is a society that isn't just made up of one religion, ethnic group, or race; it is a society filled with people of different skin colors, religions, beliefs, and ethnic groups. Yesterday I was in the car with my mom, brother, and my brother's two frienda. I found this situation to be a perfect example of what we are learning about in class. My brother's one friend is a white boy and the second is a black boy. it was dark outside when we were driving the two boys home. We dropped my brother's frist frien off at his house and when he opened the door to get out, the lights when one. I heard my brother's black friend say, "Oh look!  Now you can see me!" That's when it came to me that black people will make fun of their own skin to sort of get the sense of acceptance. Although me, my mom, and brother, along with many others don't judge blacks because they are a few shades darker than us, I kind of got the feeling that someone who is black will more likely make fun of his skin color than someone who is white.  

movie

Between today's class and the movie yesterday, so much has built up inside me that I want to speak about. I wish I could speak about it in a class discussion but everyday English flies by and there is just not enough time for everyone to voice their opinions and thoughts. I am passionate about the topics we discuss in class such as race and what it means to be privileged. I would first like to talk about the movie we watched on Wednesday, February 11.

The movie about how blacks have been portrayed throughout the years really got me frustrated. I found it heart aching how constantly African Americans were portrayed as animals. There were many examples in the movie such as how the "mammy" of the house would breast feed the white child. To white mistresses, this was viewed as dirty and something a lady should not do. The white mistresses saw nursing their child as something an animal would do. The way that cartoonist portrayed blacks as wild and crazy and always out in the yard also added on to the racist image that blacks were animals. Also, the way that the cartoonist portrayed blacks with extremely over exaggerated lips really stuck to me. I was shocked to become familiar with the way the white people in that time saw blacks. To judge someone on the size of their lips really took the racism to the next level. It shocked me how ignorant the white people were back then when it came to African. At the end of the movie, there was a book called "Ten Little Niggers". This book is extremely controversial because of the way that it portrays black children as prey to other animals. Also, I feel that this children's book from long ago can relate to a more modern children's story called "Five Little Monkeys". I don't want to be or sound racist but i'm not sure how to explain myself properly. My thoughts on this are that the monkeys in "Five Little Monkeys" = the ten little black children. This goes back to the old cartoons and how the blacks in them had big lips. Monkey's are seen to have over sized lips, just as the blacks were seen as having over over sized lips back then too. Monkey's are animals that live in nature, and back then, African Americans were viewed as animal like, always out in the yard or near the streams. I personally feel that 5 Little Monkeys was based off the old story of "Ten Little Niggers". This may rise other questions about other children books as well; which may have racism in them and what are they teaching kids?

Malcolm X #1

So far, I'm really enjoying the autobiography of Malcolm X. I find it extremely interesting the struggles Malcolm is faced with as well as all the opportunities that arise in his life. In chapter 2, Mascot, I found it interesting the way that Malcolm felt accepted by the people around him, but in reality he wasn't. Malcolm was blind to this until one day, his teacher, Mr. Ostrowski, began a conversation with Malcolm about the careers he wished to pursue later on in life. Mr. Ostrowski shot Malcolm's dream down when he said he wanted to become a lawyer. He told Malcolm to be realistic about his career choices and think of a career Malcolm could actually become. Malcolm talking of Mr. Ostrowski, "What made it really begin to disturb me was Mr. Ostrowski's advice to others in my class--all of them white. Most of them told him they were planning to become farmers. But those who wanted to strike out on their own, to try something new, he had encouraged" (38). Malcolm was one of the smartest kids in his class. However, his teacher did not see the potential Malcolm had to become what he wanted to be just because of his skin color. I think it is insane that people judge others on their physical features, not their personalities and intelligence. Numerous times, Malcolm was judged on the color of his skin, and although he was a very intelligent child, no white person acknowledged that characteristic about him. A little while into chapter 3, "Homeboy", Malcolm becomes associated with people of his skin color and the real feeling of acceptance swarms over him. However, Malcolm changes his whole outside appearance to suit the likings of what white people want blacks to be. I think Malcolm is extremely hypocritical because he always talked of how he wished black people would wake up and not fall into the hypnotism of the white "expectations". But, in chapter 3, Malcolm himself falls into that "expectation" by conking his hair and by buying a zoot suit. Malcolm talking of self shame, "But I don't see how on earth a black woman with any race pride could walk down the street with any black man wearing a conk--the emblem of his shame that he is black" (57). I think this quote is extremely meaningful because it shows how the black man is so desperate to be accepted by whites that he will shame his own race by simply changing the style of his hair into a style the white people approve of. However, in reality, the white people always see the blacks as blacks; they never see them as equals, no matter how much they change their outside appearance.