Post #1

Reading chapter 11 while Malcolm is learning about the Islamic religion, it makes me think of how people learn today. Malcolm studies in a way that people who have a good education today would not quite understand. Malcolm questions," Where else but in prison could I have attacked my ignorance by being able to study intensely sometimes as much as fifteen hours a day" (183). I disagree with what Malcolm says here because Malcolm is using his studying method out of boredom. It seems to me that if he had never went to prison, he would have never even thought to pick up a book and read about certain topics. He also would have been satisfied with living his life robbing houses and selling drugs because he received money in return. People today, study of out achievement. They want to study to accomplish a certain goal that they have, which takes hard work and dedication. I'm not saying that people who have a poor education can't study and accomplish goals, I am just pointing out that Malcolm doesn't use his methods of studying the right way. 

In addition to Malcolm's studying, this reminded me of one of my friends. She is extremely into her social life and cares more about her friends than she does her school work. The day she found out she was failing some of her classes she decided to be a diligent worker. She studied all the time and found her grades suddenly approving. 

This relates to Malcolm X because my friend picked herself up from a bad situation because she felt that it would be better for herself. Malcolm, on the other hand, only decided to start his studying because he had no other choice in prison and would keep him occupied.

http://www.edquest.ca/content/view/57/

I found this website about studying tips that can improve the way you study. This also reminded me of Malcolm X because Malcolm wanted to learn new vocabulary so he read the dictionary and some of the methods he used are in the article above.

In response to the video that we watched in class, I felt extremely emotional. For me, I did not realize how much racism was incorporated into the daily lives of blacks and whites. It made me feel sorry for the black people that they had to go through such hard times. I think that blacks should be treated just like the whites. I think this because if everyone treated each other equally, we would live in a society where everyone would get along. In addition, I think that it is unjust how the white people treated the blacks. Beating and killing black people for their own pleasure or even if they didn't follow a certain order was inevitable during those days. Today, I think white people still feel racist against black people, but it has improved greatly. I am glad that today we do not treat others, including black people, with such disrespect like the whites used to do towards the black people. 

Another significant event in Malcolm's life was when his friend, Shorty, conked his hair. The black people did this because they wanted to be just like the white people so this straightened their hair to look like the white peoples hair. After Shorty was finished with Malcolm's hair, Malcolm said,"How ridiculous I was! Stupid enough to stand here simply lost in admiration of my hair now looking 'white,' reflected in the mirror in Shorty's room. I vowed that I'd never again be without a conk, and i never was for many years" (56). This expresses how at first, Malcolm was ashamed with himself because he was just like every other black man who was trying to look white. But after this, Malcolm liked the way that he looked and didn't care if he tried to look white.

I believe that one of the turning points in Malcolm's life was when he was sent to the detention home to live with Mr. and Mrs. Swerlin. Even though he was the only black kid in the school and thought of himself as a "pink poodle", he still was able to achieve success. He was his class president and was in the top of his class. Mrs. Swerlin said one day,"Malcolm, we're just so proud of you! (33). Malcolm was treated as a "good Negro". Back in those days, African-Americans were sometimes not even allowed to be the class president or even go to the same school as the white people. Even though Malcolm knew he was misplaced, he still felt that he was treated with respect compared to others. 

end of the book

I just finished Catcher and i really hated the ending. The book overall was pretty good and extremely detailed. I like when books are really detailed because sometimes we can relate to the books and it describes feelings rather than just what the characters are doing. The ending i think ruined the overall book and there should have been a better ending to fit with the well written portion of the book. 

Holden's personality

I think that Holden has an extremely weird personality. At the start of the story it almost seemed as if he was very to himself and didn't like to be around other people. As the story continued, he seemed to lie a lot about who he was. For example, on the train when he met his friend's mom he started telling her a bunch of lies for his own amusement. I think this shows that he is ashamed and self-conscious about who he is. I also don't think he can accept the fact that he got kicked out of his recent school and he is slightly depressed about they way he presents himself as a person.

the character

When i first started reading the catcher, I noticed that Holden was an extremely weird kid. It almost seemed as though he didn't have many friends and wrote a lot to get his mind off a lot, especially his life. He loves his family, especially his sister Phoebe, which shows he has a sensitive side.