"He asked what kind of work I had done. I told him that I'd washed restaurant dishes in Mason, Michigan. He nearly dropped the powder can. 'My homeboy! Man, gimme some skin! I'm from Lansing!'" (Haley 46).
Shorty gave Malcolm a job-- shoe shining. Malcolm did it for some time, but decided he loved to dance more than shining shoes so he went to pursue with his love of dancing. He would go to socials every week and dance. Interestingly enough, wherever Malcolm went, his connection with Shorty worked out to his benefit. My favorite part of this chapter was when Malcolm was getting his hair straightened by Shorty by using chemicals that burned the scalp on Malcolm's head.
"And the top of my head was this thick, smooth sheen of shining red hair--real red-- as straight as any white man's" (Haley 56).
I thought it was interesting how Malcolm would go through all of this pain to look more "white." He should've accepted himself for who he was, but because of society, it was almost impossible to. I think this chapter exposes the prejudice that not only lives in society but also in the African-American community's minds as well. Malcolm then said that he would never straighten his hair again because he wouldn't be able to endure the pain and he thought he looked ridiculous. He realized the pain wasn't worth the result.
No comments:
Post a Comment