ted him, Malcolm resented the fact that they talked about anything in front of him as if he was a dog or any other pet. Apparently he wasn't human enough to understand what a "nigger" was, because Malcolm recollects the countless times the Swerlin's would talk about him as if he weren't there and did not understand what was being said. It was as if he were wallpaper, up for display.
             By the time Malcolm was in 7th grade, he was trying so hard to be white, trying so hard to forget about whom he really was and his own unique heritage. Malcolm was elected class president, top student in the school, and most of all different. He didn't see it, but everyone else did. His wake-up call came when, in 8th grade, his teacher asked of Malcolm what his future career goals would be. Responding that he was thinking about becoming a lawyer, his teacher told him, "Malcolm, one of life's first needs is for us to be realistic. Don't misunderstand me, now. We all here like you, you know that. But you've got to be realistic about being a nigger. A lawyer-that's no realistic goal for a nigger. You need to think about something you can be. You're good with your hands-making things. Everybody admires your carpentry shop work. Why don't you plan on carpentry? People like you as a person-you'd get all kinds of work." (Page 37-38)
             At that young age, when children need to be encouraged in following their dreams and making their own future, this teacher thought he was doing the right thing in telling Malcolm to aim for something low to avoid disappointment. This was at the point when the reader could begin to see how Malcolm let that comment subconsciously dictate to him how much to expect from life. After that year, the top student in that junior high, the former class president, dropped out from school. He let his ignorant teacher make him feel less than he was, which is why in later...