The Autobiographies of BTW and Malcolm X
In this blog, I will discuss the differing tone and audience between Booker T. Washington’s Up from Slavery and Malcolm X’s The Autobiography of Malcolm X. Both autobiographies showcase the stories of important Black leaders and also use personal experience to make a larger argument about race in America. However, I noticed that they spoke to the reader in pretty different ways. Washington wrote with a calmer, more careful tone, and it sounded like he was arguing towards multiple groups of people at the same time, like the white majority as well as the Black community. In comparison, Malcolm X wrote in a more confrontational way, and in some moments he seemed to completely disregard the idea of comforting white readers. In my opinion, that difference shows what each author thinks is possible for Black progress in his own time. Booker T. Washington forms a pretty optimistic tone in Up from Slavery in comparison to what you might expect. Even when he discusses slavery, he doesn’t usually remain angered, which is surprising considering his early life in slavery. Instead, he describes the education and progress that he achieved afterwards, seeming to lead the reader to focus on what can be built from the suffering rather than only on the suffering itself. This connects to his intended audience, because Washington wrote for both Black readers who needed encouragement but also for white readers who had power and money. His famous “cast down your bucket where you are” idea shows this very clearly:
“To those of my race who depend on bettering their condition in a foreign land or who underestimate the importance of cultivating friendly relations with the Southern white man, who is their next-door neighbour, I would say: ‘Cast down your bucket where you are’ - cast it down in making friends in every manly way of the people of all races by whom we are surrounded” (Washington, 152).
In this, Washington instructs Black readers to be more practical while also telling white readers that Black advancement will not threaten them. This tone that Washington writes can be bothersome since it seems to be asking Black people to be calm inside a very unequal society. But I do say that Washington’s writing makes sense strategically, especially in a period when being too openly critical could make white support disappear.
(note: I lost my Malcolm X autobiography packet so I used an online source, linked at the end)
Malcolm X’s tone is a lot different, and is almost the complete opposite of Washington in some places. In The Autobiography of Malcolm X, he writes with a sort of anger and urgency that influences this kind of “pain through uncovering something”, completely indulging himself in being blunt. This is especially clear where Malcolm describes the process of straightening his hair: “The congolene just felt warm when Shorty started combing it in. But then my head caught fire. I gritted my teeth and tried to pull the sides of the kitchen table together. The comb felt as if it was raking my skin off” (Malcolm X, pdf page 44). After seeing himself in the mirror, he says that his hair looked “as straight as any white man’s”, and then he looks back on the moment with disgust, calling it his “first really big step toward self-degradation” (Malcolm X, pdf page 45). To Malcolm, this metaphor of changing hairstyles was proof of how deeply racism had taught Black people to hate parts of themselves and chase white standards of beauty. This is what I think causes the sharp tone and almost uncomfortableness in his autobiography, because he chooses to force the reader to see how racism has damaged the identity of Black people.
I believe this difference in tone comes from the difference in audience and historical moment. Washington’s autobiography is written in a more careful tone since he attempts to both inspire Black readers and also present Black progress as unharmful towards White people. Malcolm X’s autobiography feels more catered towards Black people and is more up-front because he’s less interested in proving that Black people deserve respect and more interested in showing that they should stop measuring themselves by white standards. Both autobiographies chose different ways to be powerful. Together, the two autobiographies show that Black autobiography is a way of choosing who needs to be spoken to, and how honestly they need to hear it.
Malcolm X Autobiography:
Hi Ian,
ReplyDeleteI really like how you describe Malcolm's writing as being angry and urgent and how you tie that into how it's all influenced by the society of the time. I think if we read the autobiographies out of context, it would create an image that is completely different than what the authors intended. Also like how you describe Malcolm's writing as sharp, which goes along well with your previous description about anger and urgency. Overall, I like this blog!
Ian, I enjoyed reading your blog and the quotes that you picked out from the Malcolm X autobiography. The stark difference from him and BTW is quite jarring, but also interesting at the same time. They do have similar ideas, but their ways of communicating them are very different. Good job!
ReplyDeleteHey Ian, I like the way that you depict BTW as a little bit slower paced, while Malcolm X is a lot more urgent and, as you say, angry. Thinking about it this way was very interesting because if BTW was a lot earlier in the movement. On the one hand, he could have wanted it more because black people hadn't been experiencing this for a while, but he also might have just acknowledged it as a process that would take a while. Malcolm, in my opinion, was probably looking at how long things were taking and wanted to see change now, and that's what fueled his extremism.
ReplyDeleteHello Ian, I found it interesting how you explained that the state of society contributed to differences in tone within the two texts. Given the time period, it was more likely that Washington would try to appeal to white audiences to gain their support, rather than push them away. On the other hand, Malcolm X saw the results of past methods and felt a greater sense of urgency to create change, so he cared less about appealing to white audiences.
ReplyDeleteHey Ian, I hadn't thought about how their emotions were so different from each other but after reading your blog it makes sense why. Malcolm X's autobiography definitely feels a lot more direct towards his audience, being harsh and critical where it is due, while BTW eases into his life, talking about his negative experiences in a neutral way. Thinking about their style of writing, you can see how no matter which way they choose, they manage to reach their end goals.
ReplyDeleteHey Ian, I like how you compared these two influential African Americans and their intended audiences for their autobiographies. It's important to remember why their audiences differ so much, as BTW had less of a base to work off of, which required him to gain the support of white people, while Malcolm X had the Nation of Islam and other groups who backed him and his ideas. But at the end of the day, both autobiographies were important landmarks in African American literature, even though they had different levels of radical ideas. Overall, nice post!
ReplyDeleteHey Ian, I really enjoyed reading your The Autobiographies of BTW and Malcolm X post and how you compared the two authors. It was very interesting to see how their different times and readers changed the way they wrote, especially Washington's calm hope versus Malcolm X's strong anger. I really liked how you explained that both men shared their own important messages, making this a great read.
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