Malcolm
X the Tragic Hero
Randi Francis English II
Final Paper December 11, 2001
Malcolm X and The Shakespearean Tragic heroes
Aristotle defines a tragic hero "as good but flawed, must be aristocratic, must be believable, and must behave consistently." -Aristotle. The Muslim leader Malcolm X can be compared to such tragic heroes such as Othello and Hamlet. Malcolm's life and his personality have similar traits from both of the famous Shakespearean heroes. In this paper we will look deeper into the life of Malcolm X and find the similarities between him and the tragic heroes, also we will prove that Malcolm X can also be referred to as one of the great tragic heroes. Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little. He grew up in the streets of Boston and New York where he was known as "Red". Malcolm became what most young black youths with no direction became "lost". He became a thief, a hustler, Drug dealer as well as user. He was going down a one way street the wrong way. Malcolm was unstoppable!
"I was a true hustler - uneducated, unskilled at anything honorable, and I considered myself nervy and cunning enough to live by my wits, exploiting any prey that presented itself I would risk just about anything. Right now, in every big city ghetto, tens of thousands of yesterdays and today's school drop outs are keeping body and soul together by some form of hustling in the same way I did And they inevitably move into more and more, worse and worse, illegality and immorality. Full time hustlers never can relax to appraise what they are doing and where they are bound. As is the case in any jungle, the hustler's - every waking hour is lived with both the practical and the subconscious knowledge that if he ever relaxes, if he ever slows down, the other hungry, restless foxes, ferrets, wolves, and vultures out there with him won't hesitate to make him their prey. (Autobiography, pp. 109-110)
Until his reckless ways landed him in prison. For a while Malcolm was still "lost" he couldn't
Final Paper December 11, 2001
Malcolm X and The Shakespearean Tragic heroes
Aristotle defines a tragic hero "as good but flawed, must be aristocratic, must be believable, and must behave consistently." -Aristotle. The Muslim leader Malcolm X can be compared to such tragic heroes such as Othello and Hamlet. Malcolm's life and his personality have similar traits from both of the famous Shakespearean heroes. In this paper we will look deeper into the life of Malcolm X and find the similarities between him and the tragic heroes, also we will prove that Malcolm X can also be referred to as one of the great tragic heroes. Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little. He grew up in the streets of Boston and New York where he was known as "Red". Malcolm became what most young black youths with no direction became "lost". He became a thief, a hustler, Drug dealer as well as user. He was going down a one way street the wrong way. Malcolm was unstoppable!
"I was a true hustler - uneducated, unskilled at anything honorable, and I considered myself nervy and cunning enough to live by my wits, exploiting any prey that presented itself I would risk just about anything. Right now, in every big city ghetto, tens of thousands of yesterdays and today's school drop outs are keeping body and soul together by some form of hustling in the same way I did And they inevitably move into more and more, worse and worse, illegality and immorality. Full time hustlers never can relax to appraise what they are doing and where they are bound. As is the case in any jungle, the hustler's - every waking hour is lived with both the practical and the subconscious knowledge that if he ever relaxes, if he ever slows down, the other hungry, restless foxes, ferrets, wolves, and vultures out there with him won't hesitate to make him their prey. (Autobiography, pp. 109-110)
Until his reckless ways landed him in prison. For a while Malcolm was still "lost" he couldn't