good enough. Malcom X illustrates for us in his piece titled “My first Conk” how his first conking went. For those unfamiliar with the term conking is a procedure in which black males concoct a gel‚ using mainly household ingredients‚ then apply it to the hair in order to straighten it. The incorporation of lye in the gel is what causes the bearer to feel as though the scalp burns. Malcom was at first a devoted conker but through the years has come to regret his old habit. At first he explains how
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My First Conk Malcom X and his article titled “My First Conk” say that black men conked their hairs to unify their existence in the society of white people. This was never done to truly satisfy a personal desire. Conking was a popular procedure done in black males to straighten their hair in 1940’s. The author explains that getting his hair conked was definitely not a delightful experience. Going through the pain of the hot lye burning in his scalp was part of the conking procedure. This was to
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October 14‚ 2011 The Inside Counts In Malcolm X’s personal essay‚ “My First Conk”‚ Malcolm X describes a moment in his life where he changed his hairstyle. He altered his hair because he thought that the looks on the outside were more acceptable in society. Malcolm X was a young child when he got his first conk. He was looking up to the older black gentlemen in his town‚ and the majority of these men had conks. Conks gave the people of the town self-confidence and a sense of importance.
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"My First Conk" "My First Conk" is a story about part of Malcolm X’s life written by Malcolm X. The story was about when Malcolm had his first conk. A conk straightened a black man’s hair‚ so he could look more like a white man. It went through a process on how he and his friend conked his hair. At the end of the story‚ Malcolm talks about how he embarrassed himself and his race by trying to make himself look like a white man. This story about Malcolm X’s first conk is a process analysis
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Malcolm X writes about his experience as a young boy‚ wanting to be like the people around him. During the time period this short story‚ My First Conk was written‚ racism was very much alive. There is a short paragraph written about the author before the actual short story. This section reveals some of the background of Malcolm X. His entire family was targeted for the color of their skin. Back then‚ the ‘normal’ people were people with white skin. People with white skin had straight and smooth hair
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With education being the problem for Malcolm x‚ and also being one of many African Americans imprisoned with no sense of the English language. Malcolm x quickly found use of his time behind bars in the biography titled “Coming to an Awareness of Language”. With only a dictionary‚ dedication‚ and the willingness to emulate someone else‚ he gave himself the greatest gift of all‚ education. An important tool he planned to use more than ever. Before Malcolm X was in prison‚ he had never been the one for
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Racial defacing In Malcolm X’s excerpt My First Conk‚ He describes the process to get a conk. He talks about how his friend will do it for free instead of paying for it. He then goes on to list the items they need to buy to make the “congolene” to make the conk. They need “Red Devil lye‚ two eggs‚ and two medium- sized white potatoes… and a large jar of Vaseline‚ a large bar of soap.” Then the drugstore clerk comments about the Malcolm X getting a conk and Malcolm proudly says “Right!” He later
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Precis Type: Process “My First Conk” In “My First Conk” (1964)‚ Malcolm X reflects back upon receiving a conk and elaborates on how degrading it was to him and many other African-Americans to lose their identity. He reinforces his point that African-Americans lost their individuality by getting a conk by providing an anecdote from his life (“This was my first really big step toward self degradation.”) and then by giving examples of the other African-Americans who received conks (“…the one you’ll
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on Malcolm X learning words while in prison so that he’ll be able to understand books when he read them. Then‚ in paragraph 19‚ there’s a gap between the text signaling a new idea. Malcolm X begins to talk about Muhammad’s teachings and how the white men have plundered and abused black men throughout history. He goes on about this topic for most of the essay. After paragraph 38‚ there is another space between the text signaling a final idea. In these last few paragraphs‚ Malcolm X discusses how
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Malcolm X‚ born Malcolm Little and also known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz‚ was an African-American Muslim minister and human rights activist. To his admirers he was a courageous advocate for the rights of blacks‚ a man who indicted white America in the harshest terms for its crimes against black Americans; detractors accused him of preaching racism and violence. He has been called one of the greatest and most influential African Americans in history. Malcolm X ’s father died—killed by white supremacists
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