Malcolm X 5

Upon finishing the autobiography of Malcolm X, he was totally different than the man I thought he would be.  When I think back all the way to before I read the book, I can remember I did not know pretty much anything about him except that he was a black man that was a huge inspiration to other African Americans.  The name he has for himself today makes him sound like a man that has never sinned.  The kind of legend he has become makes him sound like Jesus with the impact he had on African Americans.  And then, when I read the book, I realized that he is a lot like Jesus Christ.  Short of looking like a hippie and being caucasian, Malcolm X was a bit of a prophet himself.  He spread his beliefs about his religion and tried to collect followers.  He spread his influence to blacks, became a leader, inspired people, set an image for himself as somewhat of a more advanced being, and people tried to kill him for sharing his beliefs with the world.  Then again, there were things about Malcolm that I learned from the book that were totally unexpected.  Upon moving away from his original home, he started his independent life in Boston and hit a point where he could not go any lower.  He was a drug-user, alcoholic, player, hustler, gambler, robber, and an overall criminal.  He was possibly the worst time of human being that one can possibly be.  Once he was finally caught and brought into custody, he started to think and see the world a completely different way that changed his life forever.  This completely surprised me because Malcolm's image today is somewhat of a saint-like person.  And to think, that all this time, he spent the majority of his life as a vigilante, running from the cops and the law.  Still, with a new thought of Malcolm in my mind, I can still say that he was an incredible and important person.  He gave hope to the hopeless and tried to help those who needed help.  If this does not sound like a saint, then I'm not sure what a saint is.  The last two paragraphs of the link summarize my feelings toward Malcolm and they define how he made a great transition from a sinner to a saint.

http://www.studyworld.com/newsite/reportessay/Biography/FamousPeople%5COprah_And_Malcolm_X.htm