Genre - Analysis, The Autobiography Of Malcolm X | The Autobiography of Malcolm X -Summary, Themes & Characters - Novels PDF Download

Autobiography, Biography, Coming-Of-Age

Looking at that list of genres, you're probably wondering if we forgot the definitions of autobiography and biography. Don't worry, we didn't. It's just kind of… complicated.

But let's start with the easy stuff. There's no doubt that The Autobiography of Malcolm X is a coming-of-age story. We follow Malcolm from before he's even born all the way into the final years of his life. We see how each of the experiences he has, even the negative ones, come together to create the man known in history as Malcolm X. That's basically the definition of a coming-of-age story.

Okay, now we have to roll up our sleeves.

Autobiography Or Biography?

This should be super easy. The word autobiography is even in the title. An autobiography is the tale of someone's life told in their own words, and a biography is the tale of someone's life told by someone else. Simple.

Not quite. The problem comes in with Alex Haley. The Autobiography of Malcolm X is the result of over 50 interviews between Malcolm X and Alex Haley that occurred between 1963 and 1965. While Malcolm X provided the memory and the base material, Alex Haley wrote, compiled, and edited the book.

See the problem? Malcolm X did tell his own story, but everyone knows that you can completely change a story just by changing how you tell it. So, who is the real author of The Autobiography of Malcolm X? If you go by hours, Alex Haley is the author because he spent many years editing, rewriting, changing names, deleting, and adding information to the book. If you go by content, obviously Malcolm X is the one who provided his life story, and had final say in the approval of the manuscript.

What do we think? Well, let's just say that it was a collaboration between the two. It could be a new category, the collabo-biography. Think it'll catch on?

Either way, it's important to remember that The Autobiography is not just a factual account of Malcolm X's life. Think about it. If you were telling your life story, wouldn't you emphasize the good stuff and downplay the bad? Plus, after Malcolm got through with his version of the story, Alex Haley got a turn at creating the Malcolm X he saw. Even though Haley does a pretty good job of making you believe that he just wrote down whatever Malcolm said, that's not quite the case, so don't fall for it.