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

Act I

A One-Way Ticket to Boston

Malcolm X only gets six short years before his family is torn apart by the death of his father and the nervous breakdown of his mother. He and his siblings become wards of the state, but when he meets his half-sister Ella, he starts to dream of living in Boston. That's when everything starts to change.

Act II

Y U So Jelly?

In the next stage of Malcolm's life, he goes through all kinds of transformations. He starts out as a wide-eyed country bumpkin, turns into a big-time dancer, becomes a drug dealer, and lands in jail. From there he converts to the Nation of Islam, becomes a minister, and rises to the number two spot in the Nation of Islam. But that's where the hardest part of his journey begins because jealousy and scandal make Malcolm's life way harder than it ever was when he was hustling on the streets.

Act III

It's A New Day, It's A New Dawn, It's A New Life

That whole excommunication thing was pretty bad, but Malcolm eventually gets over it. He starts his own black nationalist organization, leaves the Nation of Islam, learns more about Islam, and develops his own unique position on the issue of black rights. Normally act three would end with a satisfying conclusion, but in The Autobiography, the end is only implied. And we know what it is. It's Malcolm's death.